Course detail
Czechoslovakian Art from 1960s to early 1990s 1
FaVU-1PČU60-90-1Acad. year: 2024/2025
Instead of a chronological overview, the course focuses on specific themes and progressive artistic tendencies that fundamentally shaped the form of Czechoslovak art in the second half of the 20th century.
Special attention will also be paid to dematerialized forms of art and to the description of the transformation of the ways of distribution and presentation of the so-called unofficial art in the conditions of totalitarian Czechoslovakia before 1989. Progressive art forms sought an alternative form of sharing and presentation for their existence, independent of institutional support. The art network relied on the postal distribution of works, on the presentation of art in the form of artists' books and short-term presentations in non-literary settings.
Language of instruction
Number of ECTS credits
Mode of study
Guarantor
Entry knowledge
Rules for evaluation and completion of the course
The colloquium, which concludes the course, consists of presentations of short papers (in several small groups) followed by feedback and guided discussion. The assessment is based on preparation for the paper, adherence to the parameters of the presentation and the ability to engage in discussion.
Teaching takes place in the classrooms of the FFA BUT in the hours determined by the schedule. Attendance is compulsory (2 unexcused absences allowed). Higher number of absences can be compensated by submitting an alternative assignment after agreement with the teachers.
Aims
The course presents, on the basis of thematic blocks, the development, curatorial and historiographical reflection of Czechoslovak art of the second half of the 20th century in the context of international artistic events and wider contemporary contexts. Undergraduate students will become familiar with conceptual art, visual and concrete poetry, minimalism, new media practice, action art, and neo-constructivist tendencies, for example. After completing the course, they will understand the basic terminology of art practice in the second half of the 20th century and will be able to relate this terminology to specific events, artists and artists in the space of Central and Eastern Europe with special emphasis on local forms of art practice and its international context.
By completing the course, students will gain an overview of the forms of Czechoslovak art from the 1960s to the early 1990s. They will be familiar with the basic terminology and facts that will enable them to perceive their own artistic activity in the context of the visual arts of the second half of the 20th century in the context of Central and Eastern Europe.
Study aids
Prerequisites and corequisites
Basic literature
Ondřej CHROBÁK, Petr INGERLE, Jana PÍSAŘÍKOVÁ, Jiří Valoch: Whatever, výběr z textů 1966–1989, Brno, 2020. (CS)
Recommended reading
Helena MUSILOVÁ, Jiří Valoch: curator, theoretician, collector 1965–1980, Praha, 2018. (EN)
Karel CÍSAŘ, Abeceda věcí: poznámky k modernímu a současnému umění, Praha: UMPRUM, 2014. (CS)
Klara KEMP WELSCH, Networking the Bloc: Experimental Art in Eastern Europe 1965–1981, MIT Press, 2018. (EN)
Maja FOWKES, The Green Bloc: neoavantgarde art and ekology under Socialism, Budapest; New York, 2015. (EN)
Nathalie ZONNENBERG, Conceptual art in a Curatorial Perspectives: between Dematerialization and Documentation, Amsterdam, 2019. (EN)
Ondřej CHROBÁK, Pavel KAPPEL, Jana PÍSAŘÍKOVÁ, Computerart1968, Brno, 2018. (CS)
Pavlína MORGANOVÁ – Terezie NEKVINDOVÁ – Dagmar SVATOŠOVÁ, Výstava jako médium: české umění 1957–1999, Praha: Akademie výtvarných umění v Praze, Vědecko-výzkumné pracoviště AVU, 2020. (CS)
Pavlína MORGANOVÁ, Martin ŠKABRAHA, Umění a emancipace: výbor z textů Piotra Piotrowského, Praha, 2022. (CS)
Piotr PIOTROWSKI, Významy modernismu, Hradec Králové, 2022. (CS)
Tomáš POSPISZYL, Asociativní dějepis umění: poválečné umění napříč generacemi a médii (koláž, intermediální a konceptuální umění, performance a film), Praha: Tranzit, 2014. (CS)
Classification of course in study plans
- Programme VUM_B Bachelor's 3 year of study, winter semester, compulsory-optional
4 year of study, winter semester, elective
3 year of study, winter semester, compulsory-optional
4 year of study, winter semester, elective
3 year of study, winter semester, compulsory-optional
4 year of study, winter semester, elective
3 year of study, winter semester, compulsory-optional
4 year of study, winter semester, elective
3 year of study, winter semester, compulsory-optional
4 year of study, winter semester, elective
3 year of study, winter semester, compulsory-optional
4 year of study, winter semester, elective
3 year of study, winter semester, compulsory-optional
4 year of study, winter semester, elective
3 year of study, winter semester, compulsory-optional
4 year of study, winter semester, elective
3 year of study, winter semester, compulsory-optional
4 year of study, winter semester, elective
3 year of study, winter semester, compulsory-optional
4 year of study, winter semester, elective
3 year of study, winter semester, compulsory-optional
4 year of study, winter semester, elective
3 year of study, winter semester, compulsory-optional
4 year of study, winter semester, elective
3 year of study, winter semester, compulsory-optional
4 year of study, winter semester, elective
Type of course unit
Lecture
Teacher / Lecturer
Syllabus
The course is based on a combination of lecture and seminar. While in the lectures we will focus on the theoretical grasp of the chosen thematic blocks. The seminar will introduce students to the issues discussed in a practical way, through visits to artists' studios (Marian Palla, J. H. Kocman, Dezidér Tóth), as well as through excursions to the Jiří Valoch Archive and Collection at the Moravian Gallery in Brno, where they will get acquainted with authentic documentary and artistic material.
Following topics are discussed during the semester:
The Western Canon of Conceptual Art
Eastern European Conceptualism and Global Conceptualism
The global movement of visual and concrete poetry
Action art
The Fluxus movement
Mail art
New Tendencies Movement and the beginnings of new media art practice
Kinetic and Neoconstructive Art
The shape of art in the 1960s and 1970s in Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary and the former Yugoslavia.