The filmed material is edited into two versions. One long one, which is purely documentation and the other shorter distribution one. The film is conceived as a walk through the object in which my kunstkamera is installed /Horní Staňkov castle and the former granary there/. But it is not an art history film in the true sense of the word, but about capturing the imaginative, magical atmosphere of this collection and the environment in which it is located. The sound side of the film is limited only to music and noises. In addition, I would like to create the impression in the viewer that this is not a “dead”, closed collection, but a space in which people normally live, that is, that it is a “living” and used reality. /e.g. a shot of an uneaten snack lying among artefacts, a dog or cat’s water bowl, a discarded shirt, worn shoes, an unmade bed, etc.
Why did I want to make this film? Historical experience says that all kunstkomoras that were created until these days were looted and sold or destroyed after the death of their creators / e.g. Rudolph’s collection, and most recently André Breton’s kunstkamera / At the same time, these are unique documents of the state of imagination at that time . Official museums cannot replace these collections because they lack personal commitment.
I realized that the same fate undoubtedly awaits my collection in the future, and that is why I decided to document the state of the imagination of this time /the rest of the magical world/ at least in this way.
Jan Švankmajer