Univerzálny Futurologický Otaźnik (U.F.O.) – activation!

We invite you to take an active part in the reconstruction of the legendary “anti-happening” by Július Koller, Univerzálny Futurologický Otaźnik (U.F.O.) It consists of the simple gesture of forming a question mark out of human bodies. Koller created it for the first time in 1978 with a group of schoolchildren, and photos from this action went on to find a place in art history textbooks.

Koller used found objects, operating within the existing reality, and ranked “real life” above artistic visions. Question marks appeared often in the work of this Slovak conceptual artist, as an expression of uncertainty: questioning the rulebook, inquiring into the future of the world and the boundaries of art. Koller also incorporated ping-pong sessions into his creation of art, always insisting on “fair play.”

We invite you to participate in this session, which is being recreated as part of the program “The Kontakt Collection at MSN Warsaw.”

Presentation of this series in the opening program of the new MSN Warsaw building is made possible through cooperation with the Vienna-based Kontakt Collection, a foundation focusing on art from this part of Europe, especially from the 1960s and 70s. The Kontakt Collection, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, combines collecting with research and instigating exhibitions, often put on in non-museum spaces such as office buildings or shopping malls. The foundation currently operates under artistic director Kathrin Rhomberg, and combines reflections on art from decades past with current political, social and environmental issues. The name “Kontakt” (full name “Kontakt Collection: Association for the Promotion of Central, Eastern and Southeastern European Art,” founded by the Erste Foundation in cooperation with Erste Group) was taken from the title of a work by the Slovak artist Július Koller, who insisted that art should be about “engaging rather than arranging.”