Theatre Design & Technology - Feb 1970 - 4

Svoboda in his Prague Studio,
Photo © Ned A Bowman, 1970.

February,

1970.

Josef Svoboda
And His Czech Scenographic Milieu
HENRY HEYMANN
University of Pittsburgh
The most reknowned, and probably the most
inventive of contemporary Czech designers is
Josef Svoboda. Known for his work with
Laterna Magika, for the exhibitions he has
designed both for the Brussels and Montreal
World's Fairs, and for opera designs executed outside Czechoslovakia, his is truly
an international reputation. Among designers
he exerts a charismatic hold on the imagination. Whether it is proper and meet that he
should be more highly regarded than such
other gifted Czechoslovak designers (as Ladislov Vychodil, for one) may be questionable; but his career has been flashy enough
(and he has been canny enough to circumnavigate political barriers through his career) that his is the best known work on
the international circuit.
Svoboda's achievements are solid and exciting. He always seems a jump ahead of
his fellows, particularly in the use and integration of lighting in his designs. Denis
Bablet says:
"Svoboda's originality lies in the fact that he knows
how to make full use of present-day formulas and to
apply them at the service of dramatic works of the
past and present, while at the same time he continues artistic and technical research offering the playwright the elements of a radically new stage language, permitting (him) even to envisage new forms
of performances.'"

What is his background? The official biography says: "Architect Josef Svoboda was
born on May 10, 1920 in Caslav, CSSR.
After graduating from the School of Applied
Arts, he was appointed head scenographer
of the Prague 5th May Opera. Since 1950
head scenographer of the Prague National
Theatre he also held the post of head scenographer of the Laterna Magika Theatre." 2
The biography says nothing of the war years
or of school, but we may perhaps read between the lines. Since he was awarded the
head scenographer's position at the Prague
5th May Opera in his mid 20's, he must
have been ambitious to succeed (he must
have known the right people); obviously
talented (his design school work must have
been exceptional); and incredibly prolific
and well organized (he has over 300 designs to his credit plus all the exhibitions
and innovations); and he has so far ridden
political storms well. He was awarded the
State Prize for 1954, in 1963 the "Order
of Work." and in 1966 the title of "Artist
of Merit" was conferred on him by the
Czechoslovak government. Also he was
awarded a gold medal at the Third Biennale
of Scenic Design in 1961 in Sao Paulo
with his government's obvious blessing.

A Selection of Josef Svoboda's P
Notes by Jarka Burian

The range and variety of Svoboda's scenography is suggested in the following brief
survey of some of his most interesting work
during the past five years. Special techniques of lighting, kinetics, projections, and
reflections at the service of a controlling artistic vision result in productions whose
theatrical impact can only be hinted at in
static, two-dimensional, black and white illustrations.

(photo: Jaromir Svoboda)

Fig. 7. The Insect Comedy, by Josef and
Karel Capek (Prague 1965, and still in the
active repertoire), features a classic use of
mirrors by Svoboda. In his own words, their
function is "to reveal the sheer multitudinousness of man, the sheer numbers that
make one question the difference between
insects and people." * The basic scenographic device consists of two large honeycombed mirrors set at special, asymetrical
angles behind a turntable, thus providing
a multiplicity of kinetic images.

Fig.'s 2 and 3. The Last Ones, by Maxim
Gorki (Prague 1966). According to Svoboda, the production represented a revision
and rehabilitation of the Laterna Magika principle-a special synthesis of film and live
actors in which the same actors appear in
two media and subtly interact with each
other (see Fig. 3 for one example of this
technique). Whereas Laterna Magika employed a primarily lateral format of images
and stage action, The Last Ones shifted to
a principle of depth arrangement to intensify the dramatic effect. Fig. 2 represents
this principle: the forestage figures, the
cluster of people up-stage left, the group
in the alcove above and behind the plane of
the door, and fi nally the projected image of
a military figure.

@illC] THEATER DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

FEBRUARY, 1970

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