MEMORY OF IMAGINATION – REFLECTIONS OF PQ 2019

The face of the Prague Quadrennial (PQ) has been slowly changing from the traditional gallery style presentation with national competitions toward an immersive experiential event, a festival. But the key question and the main mission of PQ is still the same: finding engaging ways to present and exhibit performance design/scenography. As the curator of the PQ 2019 and also for the next event that will happen in 2023, I present in this brief essay the changings that have been happening along the years, and not only by one curatorship but by a team of curators that work to discuss the artistic vision, where we collaboratively developed an overall concept for all projects of the festival - an example of the teamwork we sought in our exhibitions and performances. KeywordsCurator. Curatorship. PQ 2019. Prague Quadrennial

Witnessing the Wilderness

The exhibition interrogates our preconceptions of the wilderness,and the role of the artist as adventurer, witness and mediator. Wilderness is both physical topography and a social and cultural construct, promising an untrammelled refuge or a stage for physical challenge and heroic endeavour. Meanwhile, the growth of technologies brings wild places into clear view, allowing them to be witnessed remotely or experienced through mass tourism producing a complex and evolving definition

The Politics of Abstract Art. Forma 1 and the Italian Communist Party

Este artículo examina el papel del grupo de artistas abstractos Forma 1 en relación con la política cultural del Partido Comunista Italiano durante la posguerra, como ejemplo de los intentos de superar la dicotomía establecida en Italia entre arte abstracto y realismo socialista y producir una alternativa a la confrontación entre ambos discursos estéticos. Mientras los artistas realistas socialistas subrayaban la necesidad de expresar contenidos políticos explícitos con un estilo que asegurase su máxima legibilidad para una audiencia de masas, los artistas de Forma 1 argumentaban que la abstracción significaba una crítica de la representación pictórica que podía contribuir a la crítica de la ideología burguesa, armonizando de este modo el marxismo con los desarrollos artísticos más avanzados. El PCI, por su parte, basaba su política artística en amplias alianzas de artistas e intelectuales antifascistas, que cada vez eran más difíciles de mantener en el clima de creciente confrontación política y cultural que siguió a la II Guerra Mundial

The Politics of Abstract Art. Forma 1 and the Italian Communist Party

Este artículo examina el papel del grupo de artistas abstractos Forma 1 en relación con la política cultural del Partido Comunista Italiano durante la posguerra, como ejemplo de los intentos de superar la dicotomía establecida en Italia entre arte abstracto y realismo socialista y producir una alternativa a la confrontación entre ambos discursos estéticos. Mientras los artistas realistas socialistas subrayaban la necesidad de expresar contenidos políticos explícitos con un estilo que asegurase su máxima legibilidad para una audiencia de masas, los artistas de Forma 1 argumentaban que la abstracción significaba una crítica de la representación pictórica que podía contribuir a la crítica de la ideología burguesa, armonizando de este modo el marxismo con los desarrollos artísticos más avanzados. El PCI, por su parte, basaba su política artística en amplias alianzas de artistas e intelectuales antifascistas, que cada vez eran más difíciles de mantener en el clima de creciente confrontación política y cultural que siguió a la II Guerra Mundial

Historical jewels in the museums of the world

The purpose of the article is to characterize the museum biography of the famous jewels of the world, to systemize and summarize the information about historical jewels of world importance in various collections. The scientific work novelty is to identify the failure of complex scientific developments in art history that would systematically cover the historical jewels of the worldwide level in the context of their museum biography, with the provenance emphasis and works storage, so information systematization relevance about these art works as about museum objects is hard to deny especially in the light of current realities when tourism is growing rapidly and visits to museums are highly increasing. There is a number of world museums, exhibits and funds of which contain a significant quantity of historical jewels described in the article, museums visits by connoisseurs of art masterpieces specificity and such goods exhibiting peculiarities are emphasize

Teaching and Professional Fellowship Report 2004-2005 : A Framework for Networking for the Study and Research of Costume for Performance

The ideas behind this fellowship emerge from teaching the subject, from the research into contemporary practice undertaken and also from my own practice as a costume designer. The aim was the creation of an international network that will facilitate the exchange of information, student exchanges, collaborative projects, and research projects to raise the profile of the subject

The Currency of Art: a collaboration between the Baring Archive and the Graduate School of CCW.

This publication arises from a collaborative project undertaken by The Baring Archive and the Graduate School of CCW (Camberwell College of Arts, Chelsea College of Art and Design and Wimbledon College of Art, three of the constituent colleges of University of the Arts London). In 1995, ING acquired the business of Barings plc, after Barings became insolvent as a result of unauthorized trading. Along with the acquisition of the company came a collection of archival material relating to the long history of Barings, whose origins stretch back to 1717 when John Baring of Bremen settled in Exeter and set up business as a merchant and manufacturer. In 1762, his three sons established the London merchant house of John & Francis Baring & Co., later known as Baring Brothers and, by the nineteenth century, the firm had expanded to become a leading financier for overseas governments and businesses. Documentation and objects relating to the illustrious history of the bank were augmented by portraits – eighteenth and nineteenth century paintings of the Baring family by leading practitioners of the period, such as Thomas Lawrence, Benjamin West, John Linnell, Ambrose McEvoy and William Orpen. From the 1970s onwards, a distinguished collection of water-colours was added to the historical archive, containing works by artists such as Paul Sandby, Francis Towne and David Cox, and Barings, with great discernment, had also accrued an impressive group of modern British artworks to hang on its office walls.Prunella Clough, L.S. Lowry, Paul Nash, Matthew Smith, Stanley Spencer, Keith Vaughan and Carel Weight are just a few of the artists represented. The Currency of Art is one outcome of a collaboration initiated with ING seven years ago. Staff and students from Wimbledon College of Art, and pupils from three of its neighbouring secondary schools, were invited to create new works in response to the painting collection which now hangs in ING’s offices at 60 London Wall. The staff, students and schoolchildren – diverse communities in themselves – brought fresh perspectives, distinct from those of financial historians or more traditional academics, to the collection. Residencies, symposia and workshops generated responses to the paintings, culminating in two exhibitions hosted by ING, re:MAKING and re:INVENTING, whereby the newly created works were hung alongside the originals that had inspired them. This represented an unusual opportunity, given the problems associated with conservation and stewardship that often inhibit such a combination

Italian Renaissance Chests in the Czech Collections

Práce se zabývá tématem italských renesančních truhel (cassone) v českých sbírkách, mapováním tuzemského fondu a jejich kritickým zhodnocením. Výběrově byly zpracovávány nejvýznamnější kolekce v Moravské galerii v Brně, Severočeském muzeu v Liberci, Uměleckoprůmyslovém muzeu v Praze, Národním muzeu v Praze, Národní galerii v Praze a ve Slezském zemském muzeu v Opavě. Dále je pozornost věnována užitým zdobným technikám, materiálům, typologii a konstrukčním řešením. Nastíněna je i problematika odlišností v produkcích různých italských oblastí. Součástí práce je zárodek katalogu italských renesančních truhel v českých sbírkách.This work deals with the subject of Italian renaissance chests (cassone) in Czech collections, mapping the fund of cassones in the Czech Republic and its critical evaluation. The most important collections of the Moravian Gallery in Brno, North Bohemian Museum in Liberec, Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague, the National Museum in Prague, the National Gallery in Prague and Silesian Museum in Opava were selectively processed for this research. The attention is also paid to decorative techniques, materials, design, typology and construction solutions used in the cassone- making process. The issues of differences in the production of cassones among various Italian regions are also outlined. This work also contains a concept of an Italian-renaissance chests catalogue in the Czech collections.Institute of Art HistoryÚstav pro dějiny uměníFaculty of ArtsFilozofická fakult

Research methodology in montanistic tourism

Research methodology in montanistic tourism involves the archival research and study of special literature, surface and underground field survey, the analysis of findings of rock fragments, mineral composition, traces of metallurgical processes, fragments of pottery, etc. A separate problem is the study and evaluation of the development of mining and post-mining landscapes, focusing on the entire supply chain of resource industries and their impact on the cultural development of the country