Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 1991 - 50

The informal, relaxed nature of the
opening remarks was reflected in the
exhibit itself. Arranged on up-ended platforms, common stage flats and other thearrical detrirus all painred a uniform flat
black, the exhibit featured models,
sketches, props, puppets and installations
from a host of Czech designers all
arranged in a kind of raucous ftee-fot-all
within the staid, conservative, multisrory lobby of the ova Scena. Information concerning designer, production and
thearre was written in chalk on the srructural membets of the platfotms and flats.
Unfonunately, no catalog was published
for this exhibit (probably owing ro the
fact that it was still in the process of
being pur rogether on June 9). The sense
of a kind of Czech parody of the 1863
"Salon of the Refused" in Paris permeated the exhibir. Chaotic, jumbled and free
form, the exhibit seemed, however, finally ro be not so much a statemenr about
Czech Scenography or a rejection of PQ,
but rather of the irrepressible energy that
now bubbles up, unresrrained, in the
soclery.

THE FRANTISEK TROSTER
EXHIBIT
The Franrisek Traster Exhibit at Vystavni
Sin Uluv on Narodni Srreet was a beautifully mounred exhibit of the work of the
man who was the father of conremporary
Czechoslovakian Scenography. Architecrural, indusrrial and theatrical designs of
Traster were all organized inro a comprehensive rerrospective. It was firring that
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this tetrospective was mounred as a pan
of the mulriple Czechoslovakian exhibits
of PQ'91 following the political and
social changes of the "Velvet Revolution." Fot many years the wotk of Ttaster
was, while not ovenly suppressed, not
much in official favor because of his
opposition ro the Communist Parry prior
ro the Prague Spring of 1968.
The exhibit was designed and supervised by Miroslav Melena, a former srudenr of Traster, designer for Srudio Y in
Prague and a member of the inrernational jury for PQ. Melena's careful and
devoted supervision of the collection of
Traster's work and installation of the
exhibit extended ro the refurbishmenr of
the otiginal works and the creation of
new models of Traster's designs from the
original plans. The large and detailed
models (Traster built his models ro his
own distinctive scale of 12.5cm. ro 1m,
since he mainrained that 20cm. ro 1m.
was roo large and 10 ro I was roo small)
were the most srriking fearures of the
exhibit. Handsomely presented and
lighted and often with large blow-ups of
production phoros
serving as backdrops,
the models were artesting not only in size bur
in conception. Traster's
was a unique talenr and
theatrical vision. One
was sometimes taken
up shon when one realized that the design for
Gogol's The Inspector
GeneraL, or Moliere's
DOli juan, or The Cherry Orchard, for example, were executed in
1936, 1957 and 1967,
respectively. Indeed,
much of the creative
force and imagination
that has characterized
Czechoslovakian
Scenography for the
past 30 years has its
roots in the work of
Traster. Even the currenr theories of Action
Design that have been
developed in Czechoslovakian stage
design in the past 15 years find their
beginnings in the work of Traster.

THE SLOVAK EXHIBIT
An independent exhibition of Slovak
scenography was housed in the Umelecka
Beseda in Bratislava, the capital city of
Slovakia, located some 300 kilometers
southeast of Prague. The lively exhibition

featured designs by 24 of the principal
Slovakian scenic and cosrume designers
including such noted medal-winners
from previous Prague Quadtennials as
Helena Bezakova, Jozef Ciller and
Ladislav Vychodil.
The exhibition ran for a monrh following its 14 June 1991 premiete, scheduled to coincide with a two-and-a-half
day excutsion ro Slovakia for inrernational delegates to PQ'91. In addition to a
visit ro the opening of the Slovak Scenography exhibit, the excursion included
theatre performances, receptions with
members of the Slovak thearre community and funher exhibitions mounred at
the Bratislava School of Scenography and
the recenrly founded Cenrer for Practical
Culrural Education. This new four-year
rrade school aims to train anisans and
craftspeople while preserving the skills of
such professions as scenic anist, cobbler,
tailor, milliner, cabinetmaker and blacksmith.
The exhibitions in Bratislavaalthough unfonunately seen by few of
the international visitors ro PQ'91served ro illustrate the vital theatre communiry of Slovakia as well as ro remind
us that the country we have known as
Czechoslovakia is now officially called
The Czech and Slovak Federal Republic.

CONCLUSION
The full impact of all the Czechoslovakian exhibits was a bit overwhelming
(as was the rest of PQ) and also bewildering. The conrenr was probably not what
was expected and cenainly the form
seemed srrange at times. But the fact that
almost all of the exhibits were retrospective and transitional in nature should not
srrike us as odd at all, if we only think fot
a momenr. For a nation and its anists ro
have undergone such profound transitions in such a shon time could only lead
to a period of self-reflection and selfexamination. The model exists in our
cenrury as ro how ro change a free sociery
inro a rotalitarian sociery. But no model
yet exists for doing the reverse. The
Czechoslovakian Thearre, positioned as it
was in the vanguatd of the political and
social change, is now in the process of
helping ro invenr this new model. As a
part of that invenrion, their healthy, open
and .free examination of their past, present and furure is perfectly appropriate.
And reasonable. And necessary.
ffi

Del Unruh is fI member of the design
faculty fit the University of KfI!I5f1S fllld fI
contributing editor to TD&T.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 1991