In the Glare of Lightning

We enter the landscape. Our map is a sketchbook. We follow in the footsteps of Pepa Beuys. First he flew, then he was shot down, but he recovered, became an artist, and wore a hat. He drew lines and spent his whole life asking what art is. What is this language we can use to talk to each other somewhere beyond rational understanding? It rebels, yet attracts and entices, revealing the invisible. Just like magic.

Robert Smolík and Veronika Vlková look together at the work and legacy of artist, performer, educator, and art theorist Joseph Beuys. In the 1970s, his thinking brought about a significant shift in the perception of art as part of every person’s life and a way to change the world. In the Glow of Lightning combines the situation of a theater performance and an exhibition with elements of a séance, a healing ritual, or a celebration of art and creation. It invites anyone who is not afraid to get muddy into a landscape of objects that conceal the seeds of transformation. In a quiet conversation, Smolík and Vlková seek possibilities for renewing our relationship with the Earth and its inhabitants. The duo thus seamlessly continue their previous collaboration with Terén on the production Návštěva (The Visit), which has been performed in South Korea, Mexico, Finland, Croatia, Slovakia, and at a number of domestic festivals.