In the days of May, the Slovak Institute in Prague will host an exhibition of the Slovak artist and teacher Pavel Rusk. As the author himself told us, it will mainly be about his current painting work. Visitors to the exhibition can look forward not only to the artist's paintings, but also to his own poetic work. This interesting combination promises to enrich Prague's cultural life and at the same time an extraordinary artistic experience.
You are preparing an exhibition called Contactless Communication at the Slovak Institute in Prague. What can visitors look forward to?
Will it be new works or rather a cross-section of your entire work? It will not be a retrospective exhibition, the premises of the Slovak Institute in Prague are somewhat limited for such a possibility. That would have to be an exhibition in a larger gallery, for example in the Veletržní palác. At this exhibition, we will present my current painting work to the public.
Why contactless intercourse? Is there a link we should be looking for in your paintings?
Nowadays, this term is very frequent. Many new words, such as virtual reality, ATM, internet, etc., have entered the Slovak language, or the frequency of their use has increased. We pay contactless, we shop from home, e-mails and other impersonal things have replaced the post office. However, the name bezkontaktný styk also has a slightly erotic touch, and this is also the name of one of the poems that will be presented at the exhibition.
In addition to painting, you also write poems, which is not a very common combination among artists. What led you to express your visions of the world in a verbal form?
I have been devoted to poetry since childhood. I recited on various occasions, participated in several competitions (Hviezdoslavov Kubín, Sládkovičova Radvaň, Veniec Slavína, ASUT in Bechyn, etc.) Naturally, my relationship with poetry motivated me to start writing. I published my first poems in student magazines or recited them at my exhibitions. However, I never published a collection. I am only now thinking about this possibility.
Will you present some of your poems as part of the Prague exhibition?
Yes, in this very place I want to present not only the latest painting work, but also to point out how important it is for me, as a person and a creator, to verbalize my thoughts. Why in Prague? If you remember the exhibition of the Rozeta Free Art Association in the Břevnov Monastery twenty years ago, it was there that my poems from the series Verbal Self-Portrait were performed for the first time.
In your earlier work, you focused more on textile design, currently you are more involved in painting. What caused this artistic transformation of yours?
I think it's mainly related to the fact that I excelled more in geometric abstraction. Color is of great importance in my work. In textiles, I used material and structure much more, and now color, sign, symbolism dominate in painting. More than once I have heard the epithet "that's the colored geometer" in connection with my name. I often exhibit with concretists. And not only Slovak and Czech, but for example in the summer we had an exhibition Geometric Tendencies in Europe in Bratislava. Even though I'm currently working on painting and computer graphics, that doesn't mean I've completely resented textiles.
He exhibited a lot at home and abroad. Especially in Hungary and Poland. Why did you choose Prague to present your work? Is it more of a random choice or do you have a closer relationship with this city?
Prague is Prague. Already as a high school student, I was in Prague for a summer activity. We worked at the Smíchovský Lihovar. I wandered the streets in my free time and was proud that it was our capital. Later, during my university studies, I went to Prague to "sweep" second-hand bookshops and recharge my batteries. I also won the Czechoslovak artistic creativity competition /ŠUOČ/ here. Now that I had the opportunity to exhibit at the Slovak Institute, I was very pleased.
What about small town life? Can it be a source of inspiration for an artist?
Today, in my opinion, it doesn't even matter what big city you live in, but how you live. Globalization and the Internet have brought information from the busiest places and events into our homes. I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything in my city at all. On the contrary, many people here know me personally and therefore it obliges me to a certain responsibility. Maybe the anonymity of the big city would harm me. Or not?
You also have extensive teaching experience. Did you study at the University of Fine Arts in Bratislava, at the Ján Dlugosz University in Częstochowa, and are you currently a docent and deputy head of the Department of Fine Arts at the Faculty of Education of the Catholic University in Ružomberok? When do you actually find time for your own work with all those responsibilities?
There are many more responsibilities of a pedagogical, professional, organizational and educational nature. Yes, it's hard to find time to create. But it's all about energy. You either have it or you don't. There are challenges that give me a kick. This is also the upcoming exhibition in Prague.
What are today's students like with whom you come into contact? Are they as receptive as they were in your student days? Doesn't the rushed material time and long hours sitting at computers completely kill creativity in them?
It is also individual. Some are superficial, some are not. There is always someone among them who deserves my two hundred percent attention. These then pull the whole group and it is a joy to observe how they mature. In the first semesters, they do not understand what we want from them, but over time they become our partners in communication. Just yesterday, we opened an exhibition in Zvolen called "Teacher and pupil, or vice versa", where I am exhibiting together with six of our graduates.
When did you actually decide to dedicate your life to visual arts?
It was in the last years of elementary school. During the pioneering meeting, we visited the Gallery of Ľudovít Fulla. We looked at the exhibition and left. It was raining outside. I still had an hour until my bus left. I went back to the gallery. And it was. The paintings radiated an amazing energy to me. My head was spinning when I saw the painting "Dream on the Farmhouse" and my dream was suddenly clear. Become an artist.
If you had such an opportunity, would you change anything in your life?
Sometimes I think so. I was a decent athlete, I did top football, cross-country skiing, athletics. Maybe I could have been involved in sports and after my career in art. But I would probably be someone completely different. My problem is that God has given me a lot and I have to deal with it. Pruning the branches of my interests so that the fruits are bigger and bigger.
And finally, do you still have any unfulfilled goals ahead of you, either in your work or in life, that you would like to achieve?
I would like to paint at least one excellent picture, write one decent poem, publish summaries of my teaching experience. I would like our daughters to be meaningfully and happily employed in life and my wife and I to live to old age and grandchildren.
The interview was prepared by: Vladimír Dubeň