Tomáš Moravanský

Juan C. P Rz
May 18, 2023
4 min read

Tomáš Moravanský is an interdisciplinary artist and dramaturg who is an established author in the contemporary art, contemporary dance, and independent music scene. His work is known for its diversity of expressive media across disciplines and collaborations, including narrative structures, sophisticated visuals, interactive environments, subversion, and alternative comedic elements. His long-standing research interests include post-dance choreography and psychogeography in relation to superstition, attention deficit disorder, and interactive storytelling. In his works, audience-visitors-listeners naturally become an activating variable and part of them, making the situation an intellectual and cognitive exercise with a professional overlap into contemporary art. Moravansky's input also appears frequently in the works of other artists as a co-creator, dramaturg, and curator.

"Creativity is the fuel that drives my daily interactions and work, infusing life with fascination and intrigue. It's not just limited to the realm of arts; it's a constant self-development in any field..."

Nový Prostor.app is a mobile app and public intervention created by interdisciplinary artist and dramaturg Tomáš Moravanský, IT specialist Victoria Duryagina, and 3D scanning expert Dominik Hlinka. Using augmented reality (AR), the app allows users to insert virtual figures of homeless individuals into physical spaces, providing a unique experience of "virtue signaling" while maintaining a safe distance. The app also retrospectively converts users' personal activity to a fictitious monetary value, based on the energy usage of a distant server that stores the data. Recorded screenshots of these modified spaces are then anonymously uploaded to a cloud storage and can be found on the curated Instagram profile @novyprostor.app. The app is available for download on Google Play and is not for everyone, only working on smartphones that support AR. The title of the app is borrowed from the magazine of the same name, whose sellers are individuals experiencing social distress, homelessness, and social exclusion.

Intellect, Comedy, and Expression: Insights from Tomáš Moravanský

What is your experience with creativity?

I use creativity every day in social contact and work to make life more interesting for me and for others.

Did you find life uninteresting without creativity?

Things are definitely more interesting when we approach things creatively. Creativity can also mean choosing to be uncreative in a situation. It's a constant self-development. It doesn't have to be in the arts, but in any field.

Why do you create?

What does one digest food for?

Then tell me, what is most satisfying aspect of your career as an artist?

Wait, that might be interesting. I'm going to say some kind of brutal perversion:-) But no. Wait, I'll think about it. Wow. The process itself is satisfying, and even better when that work is evaluated and confronted in a way that allows for further development. It is also satisfying to work with people or to work alone (depending on the type of work). So self-development and money (sometimes), the advancement of society, cultural enrichment…There are also times when I've learned to do things that I wouldn't normally be able to do in my life that are useful, practical. Who knows what I've managed to miss in the meantime...

Who does your target group consist of?

With each piece, I take a specific approach to what the target group is and if there is a “target group”. There are times when it makes sense to think about who will see the work, because it's somewhere and it depends on where it is. But I try to avoid underestimating people and their ability to understand the work. I don't have a unique target audience. If anything the target group is specified by the fact that they are looking for me and not me looking for them. I definitely work with some cultural codes and information that refer to something and often ironize various social phenomena. I also reflect on my field and my position in it. I'm interdisciplinary, so it's a very broad spectrum of information that one operates with.

"Artistic satisfaction stems from the transformative process and the evaluation that fosters growth."

If you can name a series of pressing social issues at the moment - both long and short term - which ones are you paying attention to and why?

If I'm dealing with something current, I'm interested in mutations of current situations from situations before that. How society evolves, not what repeats itself. I'm interested in people and people in those situations. I'm fascinated by human behavior, and I really enjoy working with that. I also try to present information as if it were timeless, so as not to come off as some sort of current trends and topics exploiting, quickie. I don't have any established pattern of behavior that I would respond to in a new situation. I try not to make art by preying on something or somebody.

When and how does the content of your work make its way into your work?

I'm always trying to observe things and figure things out. When I have an offer or when I apply for an open call and get selected (or not), or when I just have a (maybe) good idea, finding a solution to it - that's when I get motivated. And It's (mostly) fun. It's not a monotonous thing.

Do you think art has the ability to address pressing social issues?

I have a problem lately with forcing the idea that art is moral, or art is a political tool. And that all artists are, or should be, fighters for justice. Otherwise, I think art has the power to change the world for better or worse. It's an activity we have in our inventory as something we can do. It's very interesting to see throughout history, through art, how people have evolved.

Social art as a goal can be a very unhealthy approach in my opinion. The more this sort of thing becomes the norm, the more it becomes apparent how unhealthy the art scene is. It puts terribly high demands on people who often don't have the ability to function healthily as it is.

How do you reflect on the fact that the European funds are coming up with calls for grants that are trying to connect the arts and social sectors to work together. Do you think that's ok?

Like some other things, art has an advantage and at the same time it can be dangerous, a kind of shield against what is ethical and unethical. Within art you can afford everything, but you can hurt people by doing it.