Radek Mužík↓

About the work

Boundary Stones

Every person is formed from birth by the space in which he or she exists and which constantly surrounds him or her throughout life. My native Wallachia is a mountainous and beautiful landscape. The soil is stony and clayey. The region is poor, but rich in craftsmanship of everything that nature has to offer, mostly wood.

During the reconstruction of my parents’ traditional wooden house, I noticed the carpentry elements and the style of execution of the rough construction. The beams and their corner locks. A non-exact joint solved with a considerable dose of adaptability and with no more care than absolutely necessary. I viewed this as extremely important for the basic understanding of the principle of folk work – work in general.

I am inclined to the opinion that art is not a matter of craftsmanship; but through craftsmanship I can enjoy the pleasure of the work done. In my work I tend to elementary shapes. I employ the principles of architecture, specific construction elements, and functions of tools and their use to achieve the desired idea, to draw myself nearer to and fulfill the impression of the seen and the felt. I interpret the impression gained from personal experience in sculptural language – as a celebration of human work.

In the fifth year of my studies, I began to pursue the subject of “boundary stones.” They seemed to me like points fastened in the landscape and delimiting space. They are interesting through the imaginary division of the landscape, but unimportant in terms of land ownership.

The boundary stones, whose physical frames become deformed under the influence of the natural phenomena around them, disintegrate, tilt back. They are symbols of the constant definition of an ever-changing environment. I departed from the need to delineate the space around us. The alternation of stable and unstable forms. In my diploma, I started to look at this subject from a different perspective. The boundary stones, delimiting physical space, have turned into mental milestones. It was about selecting a subject and the subsequent desire for its imprint, as a mental point of departure.