Milan Kohout “I.C.A.” guerrilla intervention,1994, Boston

Installation adjustment of an installation by Milena Dopitová, “Four Masks”. Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, USA; Interventional performance, 1994.
Performance: Milan Kohout Videography: David Franklin
This guerrilla intervention and interactive completion of an installation by the visiting Czech artist Milena Dopitová (who is a personal friend of Kohout’s) ended with Kohout’s expulsion from the ICA gallery. The concept of Milena Dopitová’s installation could be interpreted by visitors to the show to mean that women have to compete in the (labor) “pool” for the sake of success in their careers. Ko- hout felt that there was a need for an adjustment to the installation to make it fit better in American culture, where everybody competes for money. So he threw a bag of American coins into the pool. ICA maintenance workers cleaned the pool overnight, removing the coins, and did not mention any- thing about it to Milena Dopitová.