WIDE WORLD OF CRAFT
Past
Shaping
Present
Above:
Rony Plesl
Hemingway,
2000
cut crystal glasses;
dimensions vary
Top:
L L E V
Season
wall clock,
2008; steel
15.75 in. dia.
Opposite:
Daniel Pirsc
j l ) Wallpaper
-
Airplane,
2008; porcelain, platinum
8.9 x n in. (each airplane)
STORY BY
Joann Plockovâ
A T A R E C E N T E X H IB IT I
N IN
Prague of work that merges
Czech folk art and craft tradi-
tions with contemporary
design, a young product design-
er stressed the importance of
history. “You always have to
reflect on your roots,” said
Sergej Kuckir.
Kuckir could be speaking
for many craft artists in his
country. The Czech Republic
has deep roots in the folk arts,
as well as centuries-old tradi-
tions in glassmaking and porce-
lain. It breathes the legacy of
Artél - a cooperative of artisans
in the first part of the 20th cen-
tury, whose contributions
included Cubist ceramics and
artistically designed wooden
toys. On top of that, 40 years
of austere Communist rule cre-
ated a nation of DIYers who
made home décor, clothing,
and household items with their
own two hands. A history of
making permeates the country
and its people.
Today, 22 years into a free-
market economy, many Czech
designers and artisans - includ-
ing Kuckir and others in the
Prague exhibition - are merging
past with present, applying new
approaches to create unique
contemporary works, shown
in venues throughout the
capital city.
To trace the country’s roots,
you can start at Prague’s Musaion
(the ethnographic exhibition in
the National Museum), which
displays traditional handcrafts
and folk art from the 19th cen-
tury through the first half of the
20th century. On the other side
of the Vltava River, the Muse-
um of Decorative Arts offers a
rich assortment of craft through
its permanent collection, which
charts a path through Czech
history and the development of
glass and ceramics, textiles and
fashion, toys and furniture,
jewelry and metals. The muse-
um’s temporary exhibitions have
commemorated the centennial
of the Artel group, explored the
history of Czech glass, and cel-
ebrated the 90th anniversary of
one of the oldest glass schools
in the country.
Many Czech designers and
artists have attended special-
ized, applied-arts secondary
schools and then studied at
Prague’s Academy of Arts,
Architecture, and Design,
founded in 1885. Graduate
Rony Plesl, one of the country’s
most notable contemporary
glass designers, heads the acad-
emy’s glass department, where
traditional Czech glassmaking
techniques - cutting, painting,
engraving - are emphasized.
“It is necessary to know the
basics of all the techniques
so [artists] can use all the pos-
sibilities that glass offers,”
Plesl says.
068 american craft jun/juln
Hemingway
photo : Rony Plesl Studio /
Season
photo: Jan Kudéj, LLE V /
Wallpaper
photo: David Zidlicky
