Conference: NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL. Architecture and Interiors of the Twentieth Century in Artistic and Political Context

The Moravian Gallery in Brno is organizing an international conference NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL under the subtitle Architecture and Interiors of the Twentieth Century in Artistic and Political Context. Registered participants will experience two days of panels featuring significant experts – curators of museums, historians, architects, designers, and theorists from European countries, as well as from the USA and South America, supplemented by presentations and video projections.
Conference participants will also head into the field. The conference includes excursions to significant architectural monuments in Brno, such as Dušan Jurkovič's own villa, the Leoš Janáček memorial, and Villa Tugendhat. Furthermore, participants will have the opportunity to visit the city of Tomáš Baťa - Zlín, explore one of the masterpieces of architect Adolf Loos, the Müller Villa in Prague, as well as the Birthplace of Josef Hoffmann in Brtnice near Jihlava and many other significant architectural monuments.
The co-organizer of the conference is ICOM-ICDAD - the International Committee for Arts and Design under the International Council of Museums ICOM. The Czech Committee ICOM also plays a significant role in its organization.

"The main theme of the conference NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL will be exploring Central European architecture and its relationship to Viennese, Parisian, London architecture, and others. Therefore, we have selected exemplary cases such as the Birthplace of Josef Hoffmann, Jurkovič's villa, or the villa of Adolf Bauer by architect Josef Gočár in Libodřice, where we can compare the influence of national and international styles, as preferred or created by their owners. We will touch on examples of living spaces, as well as gardens typical for Western, Northern, and Central Europe, such as Swiss, Finnish, Slovak, Hungarian, but also Indian or Brazilian, supplemented by views of Moravian buildings."

"The conference, which is aimed at all interested parties among professionals, curators, educators and university students, but also historians, designers, art theorists, or journalists, will feature leading figures in their fields, such as architectural historian and director of the Institute of Art History of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences Damjan Prelovšek, also the lecturer at the University of Vienna, president of ICOM-ICDAD and author of numerous exhibitions and publications on Viennese modernism, Josef Hoffmann, and Adolf Loos Rainald Franz, as well as the vice president of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy and director of Fallingwater Museum Lynda S. Waggoner and others."

SELECTION OF LECTURERS AT THE NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

Rainald Franz, MA, Ph.D. - Cultivated Folk Style. Josef Hoffmann and Otto Primavesi's villa in Kouty nad Desnou
Deputy Director of the library and printed collections of MAK - Austrian Museum of Applied and Contemporary Art in Vienna. He is the author of numerous exhibitions and publications on Viennese modernism, Josef Hoffmann, Gottfried Semper, and Adolf Loos. He works at the University of Vienna and the University of Applied Arts in Vienna. He focuses on the history of ornamentation. Since 2007, he has served as the chairman of ICOM-ICDAD.

Daniela U. Ball - National and International Aspects in 20th Century Swiss Architecture: Resonating with the Culture of a Democratic Society
Director of the historical museum Burg Zug in Switzerland. She holds a doctorate in history and has been involved with museums established in historical houses for over twenty years. Her research focuses primarily on the reform movement period, especially the architecture and decorative arts from 1850 to 1945. Her interests also include decorative arts, mainly ceramics and silverware from all historical periods. She has been a member of the ICOM-DEMHIST committee since 2000, and chair of the ICOM International Committee for Museums in Historic Houses, DEMHIST, since 2005.

Damjan Prelovšek - National and International in Josip Plečnik’s Work
Historian of architecture, director of the Institute of Art History of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences, Directorate for Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia. He is a member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts. He focuses primarily on the history of Slovenian architecture and the arts of the modern age, particularly the works of architect Josip Plečnik. From 1998 to 2002, he served as an ambassador of the Republic of Slovenia in the Czech Republic.

Natascha Drabbe - New Life for the Houses of Avant-Garde Architects
Residing in Amsterdam, Natascha Drabbe is an independent architectural historian, journalist, and consultant whose current interest is primarily in modern design. In her work "Form by Vision," she describes two decades of the architectural studio Brandes en Meurs's creation, focusing on industrial design and the changing role of designers in a globalizing world. However, she also engages with older creators, as evidenced by her role as founder and president of the Marta van Schijndel Foundation, which aims to preserve the legacy of the famous architect and designer.

Lynda S. Waggoner - Fallingwater: Frank Lloyd Wright's Response to the International Style
Lynda S. Waggoner, vice president of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy and director of Fallingwater Museum, has been associated with Frank Lloyd Wright's masterpiece since her high school days when she guided tours there. She is now widely regarded as one of the foremost experts on the house. She has received several awards, including the "Wright Spirit Award" presented by the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy for her contributions to the preservation of Wright's buildings. Additionally, she is a Gold Medal recipient of the American Institute of Architects (Pittsburgh) and an honorary lecturer at the Frick Fine Arts School of Art History and Architectural Studies at the University of Pittsburgh. She speaks at various venues, including the Getty Museum in Los Angeles and the National Building Museum in Washington.


SELECTION OF PLANNED EXCURSIONS

Jurkovič's Villa
A model residence for modern Slavs. On August 26, 1906, an exhibition of modern housing was opened in Brno. The venue was the newly completed villa of architect Dušan Jurkovič, which was also the main exhibit of the exhibition. Jurkovič aimed to elevate the culture of living, promoting the modern type of villa construction with a staircase hall, as he knew from examples of British architecture applied in Central Europe, primarily in German-speaking client circles. The family villa is currently undergoing restoration and transformation into a museum. www.moravska-galerie.cz

"New Slavic Metropolis" Spa Luhačovice
The strengthening of the Slavic national spirit at the end of the 19th century in Austria-Hungary led to an increase in nationality-oriented activities. One manifestation was the desire for integration with other Slavs outside the monarchy. The spa town Luhačovice aimed to become a meeting place and a center for the development of Slavic cultural life. In the years 1901-1903, architect Dušan Jurkovič infused it with a distinctive spirit. Inspired especially by Central European Slavic artistic motifs, he created a specific architecture that is one expression of the national movements we can observe in Hungary, Finland, and elsewhere in Europe. www.lazneluhacovice.cz

The Most Beautiful House. Müller Villa of the Architect in Prague
Built between 1928-1930, it is one of the peak works of architect Adolf Loos, whom the architect himself greatly valued. Here, he best realized his unique concept of the so-called Raumplan, constructing the house as a single continuous space. The quality of the architectural concept and of the internal, largely original, furnishing is unique.


The organization of the conference was made possible by financial support from the grant program EU Culture 2007-2013 as part of the project Architecture and Interior Design in Central Europe at the beginning of the 20th century. Josef Hoffmann and Dušan Jurkovič. This is a joint project of the Moravian Gallery in Brno, MAK-Austrian Museum of Applied and Contemporary Art in Vienna, Slovak National Gallery in Bratislava, and ICOM-ICDAD (International Council of Museums - Committee for Applied Art and Design).