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Artificial Light in Art
Víchová, Ilona ; Rakušanová, Marie (advisor) ; Wittlich, Petr (referee) ; Petříček, Miroslav (referee)
In my dissertation I focus on light and spatial situations rooted in a dialogue between an empty space and artificial light. These environments are so charged in terms of perception that their experience affects the processes in the viewer's consciousness. First, there are usually the feelings of increased instability and disorientation. These factors were first explored in depth by the Californian artists James Turrell and Robert Irwin in the mid-1960s, in response to psychological and neurological scientific experiments in the field of sensory deprivation. Turrell's and Irwin's progressive approach found a host of followers. In Europe, it was developed, in particular, by the contemporary artists Olafur Eliasson and Ann Veronica Janssens, in the Czech milieu by Pavel Korbička. Korbička's interest in the potential of space and its definition by artificial light constitutes a key material in my dissertation for the explanation of the links between light and spatial works and the processes regarding the viewer's perception. Inside light and spatial works, the limits of the viewer's body dissolve; at the same time, the natural dependence of human orientation on allocentric representation (i.e. on the relationship between the subject and the surrounding landmarks) is stimulated, to the extent that the...
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Czech Neo-baroque Sculpture
Bezoušková, Martina ; Wittlich, Petr (advisor) ; Prahl, Roman (referee) ; Šámal, Petr (referee)
One of the main goals of this thesis is to better understand Czech Neo-Baroque tendencies and their placement within the context of Czech sculpture in general. To be able to better understand the role of Neo-Baroque in this artistic branch it is important to first cover the process of Baroque's revival in Czech lands which triggered creative approach to Baroque motifs and the birth of Neo-Baroque at the end of the 19th century. This is covered in the first part of the thesis. The opening chapter mentions different perceptions of the term Neo-Baroque and how its understanding evolved from the 19th century until present. Chapter that follows elaborates on the topic of Neo-Baroque being one of the historicizing styles and discusses the cultural and ideological circumstances which led to its widespread use. The topic that strongly resonates here is the Prague urban sanitation which turned most of the sculptors into modelers who would transform Neo-Baroque facades of new buildings into complex decorative schemes. The topic in question also covers periodical swatches of Celda Klouček and Friedrich Ohmann, a very valuable ideological impulse which significantly contributed to raising awareness of the Baroque beauties of Czech provenience as an inspirational source for decorative sculpture and plaster...
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Coincidence as the animator of the indenpendent Czech art of the 1960s
Kulová, Eva ; Wittlich, Petr (advisor) ; Petříček, Miroslav (referee) ; Konečný, Lubomír (referee)
Coincidence as the animator of the independent Czech art of the 1960s We are currently progressing to viewing coincidence as a phenomenon. While coincidence cannot be explained, it needs to be understood. It may be an important program principle of the universe, where coincidence may give life and matters a different direction, and it is undoubtedly part of all of our creative and resourceful efforts. Therefore, we treasure coincidence and in art, we even intentionally call for it frequently. Naturally, the history of art gives us many examples, where coincidence helped an artist to revive their imagination and strengthened their ability to improvise. Dealing with coincidence and activating coincidence intentionally or unintentionally have always been one of the most tantalising moments of many creative endeavours. It is interesting to observe how the role of coincidence and its impact in art, as well as in a human life intermittently diminishes only to resurface again as if in connection with measuring the powers of the acting individual and the current being. It is exciting to follow the complex movement of coincidence in the wide field of potential meanings and understanding, somewhere between Freedom, Necessity, Fate, Fortune, Higher Power or perhaps Providence, and examine the complexity of...
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The Mirror of Reality in the Imagery of Dreams of the 19th and 20th Centuries. Creative Individuality versus the Chaos of the Time
Šmejkalová, Adriana ; Wittlich, Petr (advisor) ; Prahl, Roman (referee) ; Winter, Tomáš (referee)
ANNOTATION: The work The Mirror of Reality in the Imagery of Dreams of the 19th and 20th Centuries - Creative Individuality versus the Chaos of the Time is based on the assumption that dreams are inseparably linked to the concept of existence in human life (Michel Foucault). The study touches on the ways in which dreams are depicted in visual culture that does not coincide with chronologically organized historical events, but is an expression of a free alliance between artists in the European space and centuries of common experience. These works are generally socially critical, exposed to unimaginable pressure from public censorship. The artist must pretend it is only an innocent game, a crazy idea, a whim. At the same time, these paintings are not an expression of boundless imagination, but they are subject to the firm rules of spatial construction of the painting. This is due to the traditional delimitation of dark depths - the underworld of Virgil's Saturn myth of pre-Roman culture, alternating with the vertically felt open heavens as variants of the original Plato's The Myth of Er, which in the 20th century paintings is replaced by the idea of an open landscape with illumination on the low horizon. The work deals with the work of Albrecht Dürer, his copperplate Melancholia I (1514) and his so-called...
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The role of sculpture in the official art of totalitarian regimes: DDR and ČSR 1948 - 1968 compared
Břízová, Daniela ; Wittlich, Petr (advisor) ; Klimešová, Marie (referee) ; Dickel, Hans (referee)
The dissertation is dedicated to the under-researched subject of the official sculpture in the DDR and ČSR in the time-frame 1948-1968. By evaluating the material on a broad background of the art historical, historical, cultural and ideological determinants, the dissertation endeavour to provide an accurate insight into the internal processes of the cultural machinery of the Socialist states with regard to sculpture and sculptors. The comparative character of the dissertation contributes to the understanding of the critical questions of art historical research of the period - such as the (in)authenticity of the local varieties of Socialist Realism and relatedness to the SSSR Socrealism, dates of the Socrealism existence, engagement of modernist sculptors, principles of the state/artist relationship or the second life of the Socrealist sculpture.
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The Issues of Modernist Orientation of Sculpture Studio Graduates at the Academy of Arts in Prague in 1896-1914
Baborovská, Sandra ; Wittlich, Petr (advisor) ; Šámal, Petr (referee) ; Fišer, Marcel (referee)
The main subject of the thesis are the beginnings of the studio founded by J. V. Myslbek at the Academy of Arts in Prague in 1896. Firstly, the personality of J. V. Myslbek and his evolution as an artist since the early sixties of the 19th century are being discussed. This part covers Myslbek's trip to Paris in 1878 and his friendship with Vojtech Hynais, which helped him gain a deeper understanding of the contemporary French sculpture and which was vital to the stylistic formation of his sculpture "Music" (created between 1891 and 1907, during Myslbek's presence at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design and at the Academy of Arts). Myslbek's first students at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design were influenced by his lyrical conception; the generation of Maratka's classmates have followed their teacher to the newly established Academy of Arts. Around 1900 sharp controversies between the teacher and his students have arised - these in retrograde seem to be essential for their future success. Graduates of the College of Stonemasonry and Sculpture in Horice were among the students of the sculpture studio at the Academy of Arts in Prague. Their previous training laid an ideal foundation for artistic growth under the tuition of Myslbek, who have stressed the importance of craft, which...
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František Urban's Stained Glass
Cachová, Tereza ; Wittlich, Petr (advisor) ; Mergl, Jan (referee)
František Urban (1868-1919) devoted himself mainly to religious painting, the majority of his production was commissioned by the Church. Among these, the least attention has been dedicated to his stained glass designs, with the exception of his most famous complex in the Cathedral of St Barbara in Kutná Hora. However, these designs were held in high regard among the commissioners and Urban drew them for almost twenty churches and chapels. The supreme phase of his production was caught and can be now accessed in a representative publication of his designs for churches, published 1907-1909 in two parts. Urban's style has been classified as Art Nouveau; it is, however, only a simplistic description. Urban used older elements and composition schemes, brought by the Nazarenes at the beginning of 19th century. These he repurposed for the Art Noveau style, using the typical flatness and delicate colouring, idealization, ornamental elements in the fashion of that time, and most of all the then so popular folklore motifs. Urban's wife, Marie Urbanová- Zahradnická, contributed to some of the ornamental elements. This thesis attempts to assemble Urban's stained glass complexes and the knowledge about them, and to put them into the context of other painters who created their stained glass designs in a similar...
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Incentives and determinants of changes in visual language in terms of Czech spatial production betwen 1965 and 1975 - on the fringe of official structures
Voborníková Mašková, Markéta ; Klimešová, Marie (advisor) ; Wittlich, Petr (referee)
This bachelor thesis focuses on the complicated period of the development of Czech art - specifically spatial production between 1965 and 1975. Based on the study of the former situation, artworks and fates of selected authors it aims to clearly map out all the incentives and determinants which led to a significant metamorphosis of their expressive language in the late sixties and early seventies. It focuses on artists who were not tendentious and, consequently, were on the fringe of official structures. This kind of ostracism can certainly be regarded as just one of the above-mentioned pulses, which include, for example, the development of industrial technology, exploring new materials, change of the production process, historical references or the unmistakable personal experience of the author.
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The Temptation of Saint Anthony. The Theme of Modern Art between Text and Image.
Hekrdlová, Alice ; Wittlich, Petr (referee) ; Rakušanová, Marie (referee)
This thesis examines the Temptation of Saint Anthony in the last quarter of the 19th century in France and Belgium. By analysis of particular art works it shows the variability of iconography and complexity of the Temptation theme which reflects the contemporary relation to religion, history, science, exotism, eroticism and other areas, which man living in the era of greate changes was confronted with. The importance of "The Temptation of Saint Anthony" by Gustave Flaubert is emphasized as an inspirational source for fine arts and on the general level the relation of text and visual presentation is discussed. The final part of the thesis dealing with "fin de siècle" art references the metamorphosis of the Temptation of st. Anthony in literature and fine arts as well as historical, social and religious relations in the context of which the character of Saint Anthony gradually became a permanent part of French culture.
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Graphic Scores as a Way towards Reality. Example of "Complex Realism" in the Works of Czechoslovak Artists of the 1960s and 1970s within the Context of International Experimental Creation Movement.
Hlaváčková, Jitka ; Lahoda, Vojtěch (advisor) ; Wittlich, Petr (referee) ; Bláha, Jaroslav (referee)
The present work deals, from a general point of view, with the research of methods of depiction. In particular, it focuses on the phenomenon of graphical or visual scores in the former Czechoslovakia within the context of experimental creation movement of the early 1960s. It tries to discover the historical and also immediate social and artistic sources of their existence. It finds them in the need to express the primary (empiric) sensual experience, free from any formal assumptions stemming out of the traditional ways of depiction. The text points out mainly to the multidisciplinary qualities of the studied phenomenon defining "intermediality" as a "realistic tendency" and trying to substantiate both the origins and importance of intermediality within the artistic context of second half of 20th century by means of reflexion of older sources from the fields of history of art, music, philosophy (T. W. Adorno), sociology (M. McLuhan), semiotics (N. Goodman), as well as through original analysis of material. The work further investigates into the parallels within the evolution of visual art and music, mainly of the early avant-garde period (Dadaism, birth of conceptual art and complex work of the Bauhaus circle). It reflexes on the contemporary, and mostly foreign, context of the existence of the...
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