Course detail

Czech Art of the Second Half of the 20th Century in Context

FaVU-1CU20st-LAcad. year: 2017/2018

The course provides an overview of the essential tendencies and personalities in Czech art from 1940s to 1990s. The course provides a survey of important art groups and individual artists and reflects their links in European and international tendencies, as well as art developments within political contexts.
As for 1940s, the course emphasizes the importance of the so-called "groups of the war period", but also stresses the importance of presonalities so far neglected. We will also look at surrealist and parasurrealist tendencies in these groups and outside them, and some time will be devoted to the local art scenes in regional or distric towns (Kolin, Zlin)
1950s: we will attempt to judge objectively the works of artists active in the style of socialist realism, map the activities of the surrealist and parasurrealist groups, Vladimir Boudnik as the pioneer of the so called explosionalism, and the iniciators of the "Czech grotesque," The Smidras (The Fiddlers).
The activities of well-known artistic groups will be described (May, The Route, UB12], however, we will also devote our attention to those which are lesser known (M52, RADAR]. We will trace the continuous change of official art doctrine from the 50s to the 80s and survey the key personalities of socialist realism.
1960s: new tendencies, the influence of informel, its localized versions. The influence of neo-dada and pop on Czech art of the second half of the 60s. We will situate the "new figuration" tendencies as the result of many art developments and strong personalities.
1970s: mapping the new structuration of Czech art scene from official tendencies in its specific and grotesque aspects (The Army Studio of the Arts, art laureates and national artists) to the "unofficial scene" and straightforward underground.
We will trace the specificity of Czech performance and happenings.
The role of the Jazz Section will be described.
1980s: the course will focus on the lesser known aspects of the social and political context of the decades.
artists: the importance of the 12/15 group, the arrival of new generation born in 1950s, art of the non-declared but practicaly active art groups. We will look at the change of the situation in late 1980s, the arrival of the Stubborn group and the wider context of its activities.

Language of instruction

Czech

Number of ECTS credits

3

Mode of study

Not applicable.

Learning outcomes of the course unit

Students will be aware of the basic and other, seemingly less important tendencies of Czech art of the given period, they will be able to match tem with the adequate movements in international art, they will be able to point to artists specific for Czech art who are not so easily definable and pigeonholed. We will also emphasize trends begun in this period which are still important for art at the beginning of the 21st century.

Prerequisites

Basic knowledge of general Czech history, especially of the 20th century is desirable.

Co-requisites

Not applicable.

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

Teaching methods depend on the type of course unit as specified in the article 7 of BUT Rules for Studies and Examinations..

Assesment methods and criteria linked to learning outcomes

Test

Course curriculum

1. Czech art of the 1940s, art groups and tendencies during the WWII, postwar illusions, socialist art versus underground.
2. Post-stalinist "warming up" , art groups 1957 - 1969, "tame modernity" Brusel 1958 exhibition, hard edge art underground - informel since 1965.
3. Concretism as an opposition, Czech New Figurative Paintig of the 60s.
4. 1968. Post - occupation shock, communist "normalisation" of the 70s, end of the art scene. Action art, happening, performances (including rock) as an antidotum.
5. Re-constitution of the art scene in 70s and 80s. Postsurrealism, hyperrealism, abstraction, direct realism.
6. Semi-official scene, rock and jazz music, art exhibitions, publications under the aegis of the (lately banned) music society.
7. New wave of art exhibitions of new generations between 1980 - 1985.
8. Postmodern discontinuity of the postmodern "Stubborn generation" after 1985.
9. Reconstitution of art scene in the end of 80´s, Velvet revolution 1989 as the end of 40 years of political and cultural totalities.
10. The lost world of cultural semi - undergrounds of the 70´s and 80´s in the era of the so-called "normalization". Official art. Artists in prison. the unofficial scene and its fight againts oblivion.Editions. The Jazz section. Local scenes, samizdats. "Home art." "Magical realism." Theodor Pištěk, the renewed surrealist group.
11. New wave in music and art - 1980 - 1985. Semi-official exhibitions and the possibilities of their "legitimiyation." The middle and young generations.
12. 1985 - 1989 - the Postmodern generation; discontinuity, expressions, irony.
13. Local scenes of the 1980s - Brno, Olomouc, undeclared artistic groups. The return of the political symbolics in 1988 and 1989.

Work placements

Not applicable.

Aims

The course aims at imforming students about Czech art scene of the second half of the 20th century without prejudice and received opinions. We will revisit the avantgarde, mainstream, and "politically engaged" tendencies and discover new contexts (between art of the 40s and 60s, tracing the surrealist, parasurrealist, and imaginist tendencies from the 40s to the present, we will trace the international tendencies such as art brut, abstraction, abstract expressionism, neodada, pop art, happening,s hyperrealism, transavantguardia, neoexpressionism, and other movements).

Specification of controlled education, way of implementation and compensation for absences

Lecures are optional.

Recommended optional programme components

Not applicable.

Prerequisites and corequisites

Not applicable.

Basic literature

Altmann, S.; Klimešová, M.; Kalinovská, M.: Magdalena Jetelová : Dotek doby / Touch of time. Praha 2017 (CS)
Chalupa, P.: Bohuslav Reynek (1892-1971). Řevnice 2011 (CS)
Klimešová, M.: Roky ve dnech: české umění 1945-1957. Řevnice; Praha 2010 (CS)
Kol. aut.: Skupina Ra: Josef Istler, Miloš Koreček, Ludvík Kundera, Bohdan Lacina, Zdeněk Lorenc, Vilém Reichmann, Václav Tikal, Václav Zykmund. Praha 1988 (CS)
Kol. aut.: Tvrdohlaví: [katalog výstavy skupiny Tvrdohlaví, Městské kulturní středisko Havířov, Výstavní síň V. Wünsche, červen-červenec 1989. Havířov 1989 (CS)
Nešlehová, M.: Jan Koblasa. Praha 2002 (CS)
Ševčík J., Morganová P. Dušková D., České umění 1938-1989, programy, kritické texty, dokumenty, Praha 2001 (CS)
Švácha, R.-Platovská, M. (eds.): Dějiny českého výtvarného umění 1939-1958. Praha 2005 (1 díl) (CS)
Švácha, R.-Platovská, M. (eds.): Dějiny českého výtvarného umění 1958–2000. Praha 2008 (2 díly) (CS)

Recommended reading

Not applicable.

Classification of course in study plans

  • Programme IT-BC-3 Bachelor's

    branch BIT , 1. year of study, summer semester, elective

  • Programme Bachelor's

    branch AGD2 , 3. year of study, summer semester, elective
    branch APD , 3. year of study, summer semester, elective
    branch AGD1 , 3. year of study, summer semester, elective
    branch AS2 , 3. year of study, summer semester, elective
    branch AS1 , 3. year of study, summer semester, elective
    branch AM1 , 3. year of study, summer semester, elective
    branch AKG , 3. year of study, summer semester, elective
    branch AM3 , 3. year of study, summer semester, elective
    branch AM2 , 3. year of study, summer semester, elective
    branch AIN , 3. year of study, summer semester, elective
    branch AVI , 3. year of study, summer semester, elective
    branch APE , 3. year of study, summer semester, elective
    branch AEN , 3. year of study, summer semester, elective
    branch AMU , 3. year of study, summer semester, elective
    branch ATD , 3. year of study, summer semester, elective

Type of course unit

 

Lecture

26 hours, optionally

Teacher / Lecturer

Syllabus

1. Czech art of the 1940s, art groups and tendencies during the WWII, postwar illusions, socialist art versus underground.
2. Post-stalinist "warming up" , art groups 1957 - 1969, "tame modernity" Brusel 1958 exhibition, hard edge art underground - informel since 1965.
3. Concretism as an opposition, Czech New Figurative Paintig of the 60s.
4. 1968. Post - occupation shock, communist "normalisation" of the 70s, end of the art scene. Action art, happening, performances (including rock) as an antidotum.
5. Re-constitution of the art scene in 70s and 80s. Postsurrealism, hyperrealism, abstraction, direct realism.
6. Semi-official scene, rock and jazz music, art exhibitions, publications under the aegis of the (lately banned) music society.
7. New wave of art exhibitions of new generations between 1980 - 1985.
8. Postmodern discontinuity of the postmodern "Stubborn generation" after 1985.
9. Reconstitution of art scene in the end of 80´s, Velvet revolution 1989 as the end of 40 years of political and cultural totalities.
10. Lost world of cultural semi - undergrounds of the 70´s and 80´s,