Václav Cigler and Michal Motyčka: Luminously

The installation: Luminously, by artists Václav Cigler and Michal Motyčka, visually enters the historically and aesthetically strategic place within the environment of the Olomouc Archdiocesan Museum, referring to specific things – to the consciousness of the place and to various events, creating a dialogical relationship of our way of perceiving the present and the past. An incredible period of more than 340 years has passed since the first formulations of scientific hypotheses focusing on the theories of light speed, and dealing with the movement and measurement of electromagnetic radiation – the basic premise for life on Earth and the unit that measures the universe. During this same period, in Olomouc, a construction transformation of the profane structure of the tower into the sacral space of the chapel took place. An interconnection with light, such as a view from the outer space, suggests not only the visual, but also the spiritual axis of the story, dealing with the search for new content in the chapel of St. Barbara – in the multi-layered space of the Baroque chapel in the round Romanesque tower of the Olomouc Castle. This story is perceived as a shared thought about beauty both in terms of its utility and as an experienced emotion – both in amazement and in making the situation special. As timeless principles or means of visual art transcending the boundaries of established cultural stereotypes, light and water create a new reality and, through the participation of the viewer and the performative nature of the installation, allow us to share the experience of the visible.