The lecture on the painter, graphic artist, writer, and poet Josef Váchal (1884-1969), who lived at the corner of Vršovice streets Žitomírská and Kodaňská, will be delivered by Jiří Olič from Bratislava, a writer, poet, and essayist who has published several books about Váchal.
"I began to engage with the work of Josef Váchal more systematically in the early 1980s. It seemed (and was) current, free, and original. This interest also stemmed from the heavy atmosphere of normalization and my stances, not just political; there was always something more in that work that transcended contemporary attitudes, opinions, and trends. It personified something of the national plight paradoxically, as it was somewhat anarchist against everyone. How else in the work of an artist who, although born out of wedlock through his mother Váchal, had a father who was Josef Aleš, the national Mikuláš Aleš was Váchal's uncle. Josef Váchal, however, not only stood against all national myths in art and politics from his symbolist Art Nouveau beginnings but also against everything 'foreign.' He was at home and more in the spiritual world. He lived in a world of phantoms and visions that haunted him even as an apprentice bookbinder, hence his tendencies toward mysticism, occultism, theosophy, and magic. Moreover, he was extremely hardworking and thus opposed everything that was effortless, too fashionable, and timely; even in this, his example can still serve today. His emphasis on graphics is a separate chapter; graphic artists in Czech art still create a special and distinct line." (Jiří Olič)
The series of lectures at Café Sladkovský focuses on modern and contemporary art, architecture, public space, and significant personalities who lived/live in Vršovice. They are complemented by video art evenings organized in collaboration with VVP AVU.
Café Sladkovský Loves Art and Art Loves Vršovice!
Entry is voluntary, we look forward to seeing you.
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