She is mad about theater

Video art and video installation

She is mad about theater

Myroslav Kulchytskiy was born in Uzhhorod in 1970.
Artist, curator, iconic figure of Ukrainian media art.

Myroslav himself characterized his artistic method as a public experiment: a kind of shared practice with the viewer, a cure for the blurred vision.
Participant of numerous exhibitions in iconic locations of Europe. Most of the time he worked in co-authorship with Vadym Chekorskiy, who was born in the same year. This duo created the most famous works of Odesa video art.

In the work “She is mad about theater” Myroslav Kulchytskiy and Vadym Chekorskiy tried to convey almost mystical admiration for the theater world. The main element in this work is a television set. It is installed on a stand a little more than a meter high. Dramatic music plays. The screen shows some mysterious woman wrapped in a golden cloth as a sorceress or a priestess. It should be noted that this role is performed by the legendary artist and critic Ute Kilter. The level of performance of the role allows Ms. Kilter to be credited as a co-author of this video. The stand with the TV is installed inside a magic circle, created according to the description in the book “Heptameron or Magical Elements” by Peter de Abano, which lies on the floor. The names of angels are circled there. The woman in the TV is in an illuminated circle, walks inside it, leans in different directions and spreads her arms. In a terrible, otherworldly voice, she calls to enter the circle, exclaiming it several times. For a moment, the music almost drowns out the woman’s scream. You can hear only her separate random words. In a few seconds, the voice becomes more distinguished. She looks surprised and asks someone “So… I’m not worthy?” and repeats it for several times, changing the intonation. For a moment you may hear “to be with God?”. At the same time, she throws her hands up, moves faster and stops, wrapping her arms around herself.

This work seems to be one of the simplest and at the same time the most mysterious among Miroslav and Vadym`s works. The authors, with the help of a mystical personage, invite you to plunge into the magical world of the theater. Not everyone is able to get to it. The viewer appears in a situation of disorientation. She/he is forced to revise the standard ideas about art, which becomes a tool for self-expression and an attempt to interact with reality.