Supervisor: prof. Mgr. art. Dušan Zahoranský

The dissertation project Partisan × Saboteur examines artistic strategies of resistance through the historical and theoretical contrast between the figures of the partisan and the saboteur. While the partisan represents open opposition to power from a position outside the system, the saboteur operates within existing structures, disrupting their functioning through subtle and often inconspicuous interventions. The project draws, among other sources, on The Simple Sabotage Field Manual (OSS, 1944), which understands sabotage as a form of creative action capable of transforming everyday activities into instruments of resistance.

The research focuses on the figure of the artist-saboteur and investigates strategies of infiltration, mimicry, ambiguity, steganography, and covert communication in art from the 1950s to the present. A central component of the project is the development of the Almanac of Sabotages, a collection of selected artworks that employ codes, hidden meanings, or apparent collaboration with dominant systems in order to articulate critical positions toward structures of power.

The theoretical framework is informed primarily by the work of James C. Scott, particularly his concepts of the “public transcript” of power and the “hidden transcript” of resistance. The project traces the transformation of these artistic strategies across differing political and economic contexts before and after 1989. Rather than producing a comprehensive art-historical survey, the dissertation seeks to identify and interpret selected models of artistic sabotage and to test their potential through the author’s own artistic practice. By connecting theoretical inquiry with artistic research, the project contributes to contemporary discussions on the cultural and political dimensions of resistance.

MgA. Artur Magrot,

Studio:

Dissertation: Partisan × Saboteur

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