The project Perception by Jan Šépka will cover the fountain in České Budějovice for a month

České Budějovice - The project titled Perception will hide the Samson Fountain in České Budějovice this autumn for a month. One of the city’s symbols will be covered. People will only see the fountain from a footbridge that connects the House of Art to the very center of Přemysl Otakar II Square. Today, the project Perception, which will take place from September 8 to October 9, was presented to journalists by its author, architect Jan Šépka.

He mentioned that he was approached by the House of Art in České Budějovice some time ago. "I didn't want to present my previous works or any specific project that could be exhibited at any time. I wanted to highlight the uniqueness of České Budějovice, which, in my opinion, is the magnificent square with the dominant fountain," Šépka stated.

In autumn, the Samson Fountain will be covered by a wall approximately seven meters high. People will only overcome it using a footbridge leading from the windows of the House of Art, which is located on the square. According to Šépka, one of the purposes of the project is to draw attention to the existence of exceptional values, which people tend to take for granted. This is exactly what the Samson Fountain represents. "It seems to me that we really no longer realize the values and meaning of dominant structures and the significance of public space," the architect noted.

According to him, the goal of the project is not to shock people. This was confirmed by the curator of the event, Michal Škoda. "My aim is not to shock. It is about opening a topic that goes beyond the spaces of our gallery and engages in a dialogue between contemporary and old art," Škoda said.

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The project is a reflection on what we consider an important part and a dominant feature of public space, and how we perceive some hidden spaces that provide us with social and cultural enjoyment.

The Baroque Samson Fountain, located on Přemysl Otakar II Square in České Budějovice, is one of the largest of its kind in the country and represents an important monument and symbol of the city. Its artistic quality is undeniable, and currently, none of us can imagine the square without this dominant feature. The question, however, may be whether today we perceive such dominants only as a side note. We pass by them every day, and because their value is historically and spatially confirmed, we no longer think about the essence of this monument or its relationship to the generous square space.

Conversely, the spaces on the first floor of the House of Art, which in recent years have offered very attractive artistic experiences, are obscured before our eyes. An uninformed visitor would find it difficult to locate the gallery. It is clear that a certain form of concealment of the gallery space can also be an advantage; however, the experience of the exhibition and potential discussions about art and culture are fading from our daily repertoire.

The project seeks to point out how we perceive, or rather do not perceive, dominants and hidden places that are not far apart, located in the center of events, and offer cultural enjoyment. The aim should be to challenge our stereotypical perception of such values and to encourage reflection and discussion on these topics.

The Samson Fountain would find itself in a circular space for about a month, which would both separate it from the square itself and create a calm background and intimacy that this dominant feature has never had. The fountain would thus be akin to a gem in a gallery. The circular space would be directly connected by a path with stairs to the first-floor area of the House of Art, where another circle would appear, but in different contexts. Visitors would be able to move around the gallery space only on a designated circular path and would actually not access the open areas of the gallery; they would perceive only the space through a ceiling that would not be installed in the inner promenade. The intentional alienation of the fountain and the highlighting of the entrance to the House of Art through the window encapsulates the overall intention of the proposed project. An interesting confrontation emerges between things that apparently have no relation to each other. The project is an artistic installation that can parallel some similar endeavors abroad by well-known figures such as Christo and the group of Parisian New Realists, who started considering the entry of visual art into public space in the 1960s, or the Japanese artist Tadeshi Kawamata. These artists succeeded in their intention to expand art from museums and galleries into urban space and nature. Given the proportions of their projects and their social appeal, they non-violently conveyed their artistic vision to a large audience, which is also our aim.