The Art of History

The Art of History

            During my final two years in the International Baccalaureate program, I created a collection of artworks as an exploration of recent Czech history. This allowed me to not only learn about my own heritage, but also to gain confidence and grow as an artist. Here is my collection, with explanations to go along with each piece.

                This was my first piece, created at a time when I had no solid idea of what theme my collection would ultimately take on. I mainly focused on trying to convey the woman’s emotions; I pictured her looking back at her life, reflecting on all the struggles as well as all the joys. Metaphorically, I wanted to look back at the history of the Czech Republic and show those memories through my art.

            This second piece was similar; I wasn’t taking many risks yet. The only hint the Czech culture or history is in the headscarf—I researched traditional Czech fabric patterns and tried to replicate them here. I also played more with the shading and spectrum of color, and I pushed my abilities to capture the details of a human face on paper. At this stage, I decided to continue drawing portraits of older people, for two reasons: 1. Metaphorically, it allowed me to look into their past and discover their memories, and 2. I could work in much greater detail, because of the interesting curves and lines of their faces.

            Here I took a dramatic leap, and decided to start creating backgrounds in my work. “Ničeho Nebojsa” translates to “Fear Nothing”; my grandmother used to say this to my father often, as Communism was intensifying in Czechoslovakia; I wanted to create this piece as a tribute to her. More traditional Czech clothing and patterns can also be seen in this piece.

            I discovered that the Orloj, or the “Prague Astronomical Clock” located in Prague’s Old Town Square, is the third-oldest astronomical clock in the world and the oldest one still working—it was first installed in 1410. Because I am fascinated by the concept of time and I love the mechanics and general look of clocks, I decided to feature the Orloj in this piece. I also wrote “A Přece se Točí” along the outside rim of the clock, which translates to “And Yet it Turns”—time keeps moving, life does go on, and the struggles of the past do not define the future. Also, more literally, the Czech Orloj keeps moving, still working perfectly after over 600 years.

            At this point, I also decided to disguise my background words, making them more of an interesting design rather than a clear collection of letters.

            I was interested in presenting an account of what it felt like to live in Communist Czechoslovakia, so I did a bit of interviewing with my parents and grandfather, and ultimately came up with this piece. Though many people think the “Iron Curtain” is a mere metaphor, an actual fence existed. I looked up photographs of the fences that surrounded Czechoslovakia, and found out that they were made of thickly intertwined barbed wire, which I represented in this piece. I made the barbed wire wrap around the couple, trapping them, just as the Iron Curtain trapped the Czech people and dictated their every move.

            I looked to the Berlin Wall for further inspiration, and became intrigued by the graffiti that covers it in many photographs. Therefore, I used a graffiti-like font for the word “Ponížení”, or “Belittlement”. At that time, I didn’t know quite how perfect and accurate that word was; since then, I have read many books written by Czech people reflecting on their lives under Communism, and the word “belittlement” comes up a surprisingly large number of times.

            However, I did want to inject some hope into this dark and hopeless piece, and therefore drew a couple rather than only one person. Regardless of the political and cultural turmoil, those with family and loved ones were able carry on and fight for what they believed. Furthermore, the family unit served as a buffer against all of the unpleasantness that raged through the outside world.

            Many stories of life under Communism deal with losing something—property, an opportunity, or a loved one. I paired this heartbreaking (I find it heartbreaking) portrait of a Czech woman with the words “Ztracené Sny”, “Lost Dreams”.

            Under Communism, many Czech people were prevented from receiving a higher education, such as my grandfather, the reason being that his family owned property on which they ran a farm. Even more people were prevented from travelling outside the Czech borders. In fact, almost no one could do so besides celebrities and artists whose work took them on the road. Even the simple dream of living a normal, peaceful life was taken away; anyone could become an enemy, anyone could be searching for a reason to throw you into jail.

            Overall, I wanted to reflect on the fact that millions of people were kept from not only realizing their dreams, but from having any dreams at all. Creating this piece certainly made me reflect on the opportunities that await me, and reminded me how thankful I should be every day, even for the mere chance to dream.

                I wanted to keep challenging myself, and decided to not only change my drawing from landscape to portrait, but also to add more symbolic designs to the background of my pieces. Furthermore, I decided that I had dwelled on the struggles of Czech Communism for far too long, and chose to look at the current problems that I have witnessed in Czech society. It was not difficult for me to choose my topic: Capitalism and Consumerism.

            Capitalism has swept across the Czech Republic, so much so that true Czech culture is getting lost in some places, especially in large cities such as Prague. When tourism takes over, a city becomes a business and stops being a home, even to the people that live there. My father used to live and study in Prague, and where there once were small student cafes and family restaurants, there are now many Starbucks and McDonalds. The desire for financial gain is destroying the very thing that so many people come to the Czech Republic to see.

            Furthermore, it seems that many Czech people welcome this change and the adaptation of American culture. Indeed, so many Czech people admire the USA that they seek to imitate it, as though their own traditions and ways of doing things were not good enough. Perhaps because I have lived in America I have de-idolized it, and I can see that beauty lies in the maintenance of tradition. I wish more Czech people, especially the younger generation, were proud of where they come from.

            As I have witnessed the growing importance of money and capitalism in the Czech Republic, I created a chain in the piece , whose design is an interpretation of the design that marks the Czech koruna, or crown. I also chose to write “Tam u Nebeských Bran”, or “There at Heaven’s Gates”. I feel that money and financial gain has been raised to almost God-like importance, and I see this as a terrifying and dangerous trend. “Tam u Nebeských Bran” also happens to be the title of one of my favorite Czech songs, which speaks of the beauty of the Czech lands, the beauty of simple things like the shadows of trees and rivers running through forests. I tried to convey that the priorities of modern society are traveling along a dangerous path, and that we should all reexamine the things that we value most.

            I drew the woman in the piece in a contemplative pose, thinking back on her life. Certainly, there was tremendous oppression under Communism. But situations are rarely fully evil or fully good. The progress made in recent times is accompanied by new worries and new oppressions; under Communism, the Czech people were stripped of their true identity; now, the Czech identity is being altered and filtered by new waves of Capitalism and Consumerism.

A detail-shot of the woman’s face.

            This, my final piece, is the one I took the most risks with, the one that I poured most of myself into, and the one that I am the most proud of (funny how that works out).

            Perhaps the cause that I am most passionate about is environmental preservation, and I truly cannot understand why someone would be opposed to it (other than for financial gain, but I have already discussed my views on that subject). A few summers ago as I was walking through a forest-covered mountain near my home in the Czech Republic, I saw a large area of trees that had bright orange X’s spray-painted on them. My heart sank. Clearly, these were trees marked for chopping. That image has stayed with me to this day, and it is the image that inspired this final piece.

            I took those X’s and drew them onto the man himself, showing that whatever damage humans do to the environment they also do to themselves. I inverted my usual color choice for the background and words, surrounding the man in darkness—hopelessness, fear, and destruction. I drew the words “Snídaně v Trávě” (“Breakfast in the Grass”) to vaguely resemble factory smoke, swirling around the man and destroying both him and the world around him. The man himself looks sick, one eye damaged, physically embodying the damage that humans have inflicted on the world around them. He looks up for help, for hope, and we don’t know whether he will receive it.

            “Snídaně v Trávě” is another title of one of my favorite Czech songs, one that highlights the beauty of nature; it mentions the wide fields, the rising sun, and the beautiful simplicity that life can have—that life did have in the past.

            This artwork is my message to the world. I am so thankful that I found art, because sometime I can’t find the words to explain my ideas, my frustrations, and my opinions, but I can find the images. A picture may really be worth a thousand words.

A detail-shot of the man’s face.

            And that’s it! My collection. I learned so much about myself and my heritage in the process, and I hope that you, too, have learned something. Art is so very important. It lets us say the things we never know how to say.

            Thanks for listening,

            Veronica