| Abstrakt: |
The article deals with the construction of the artistic decoration of the Municipal Theatre in Zlín, placing it in an artistic context. It points towards those qualities, even considering the problematic circumstances of its creation that were quite complicated due to the economic and political situation. In 1962, a nationwide, anonymous competition was announced to select the four main representative works (sculptures in front of the building as well as those on the fountain, a mosaic for the vestibule and the theatre curtain). The selection of the works was not entirely successful, even though there were many participants, including leading representatives of the Czech art scene from that era. These included Miloš Chlupáč, Adriena Šimotová, Josef Liesler, Olbram Zoubek, Eva Kmentová among others who significantly influenced the subsequent development of art in public space not only in Gottwaldov, but also in other locations in the former Czechoslovakia. Out of the total of 119 designs, only two designs for the mosaic and the curtain emerged victorious. Over the course of the following years, more competitions were eventually announced, although these were no longer anonymous. Dozens of non-monumental works were also created in close cooperation with the building’s architects - Miroslav Řepa and František Rozhon, who were significant participants in the project following the death of Karel Řepa. The key relationship between the building and the artworks was crucial for the architects and the ideological board who selected the works. As a result, the works and the building grew together, eventually not being opened to the public until November 1967, when the last and most representative statue was installed in front of the entrance. Initially, the concept of the decoration, which was clearly ideologically focused, had a change of direction: this was due to the change of attitudes in the cultural environment, stipulated by the success of Czechoslovakia during the EXPO’58 world exhibition in Brussels, among other factors. A unique set of works of art eventually resulted, breaking away from the doctrines of socialist realism and responding to the modernist development tendencies of the 1960s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
