bonn

on saturday we left siegen on a day trip to bonn, to see a large modigliani exhibition at the kunst und ausstellungshalle.  the paintings, of course, were touching and beautiful as always, but there at the museum was another exhibition...czech photography of the twentieth century!  i leave the czechs only to find that they have travelled with me.  it was a gigantic collection of photographs, mostly from the uměleckoprůmyslové muzeum, featuring well-known masters: josef sudek, františek drtikol, jan saudek...but i was smitten with some interesting contemporary photography as well, especially the work of miro švolik and his series "môj život človeka" ("my life as a man," pictured above).  if i was a photographer, i would have liked to do something like this.

výstava klauzurních prací

illustration

my postcards on display.  i also included my sketchbook if anybody wants to see where this pattern business came from, and what i have been doing for the last few months.

architecture

product design

all of the studios were set up very beautifully, even though some of the work - mostly in the more conceptual studios - was of questionable craftsmanship.  it looks so good!

berlin: three

we spent most of tuesday soaking up the perfect lines of antiquity at the pergamonmuseum, and wandering around the city afterwards.  if we didn't have m. to guide us when she had time, we never would have found, and wouldn't have even remembered about tacheles, a former department store and later nazi administration building in east berlin, that stands in ruins after being hit by several ally bombs during the second world war.  in 1990 it was taken over by young artists who used and continue to use the building as living and studio space.  the inside is completely covered in wall art, and the atmosphere is like an extreme version of baltimore's copycat building.  for me, it was moving to see the building because i only know it from a scene in goodbye, lenin! and then suddenly, here it was.

dresden: two

there are many museums in dresden, and seeing all of them in one day is humanly impossible, and i don't believe in seeing everything just for the sake of seeing it, anyway. we picked the gemäldegalerie alte meister (old masters picture gallery), and that was enough. the old masters can be extremely tiring if taken in excessive amounts, and i like to play games to make the experience more exciting. one such game involves looking for the most hilariously proportioned baby jesuses. another is finding as many dashing men as possible. the gemäldegalerie alte meister is not lacking in either department.

afons mucha

i woke up feeling very enthusiastic about art nouveau, so i visited the alfons mucha museum and then went in search of prominent art nouveau architecture throughout the city.  i collected a few interesting examples but i don't believe in long blog posts, so i will do a little research to supplement my photographs and then introduce them separately.  

about mucha: besides his famous parisian works (the theatrical posters for the "divine sarah" bernhard),  mucha also designed advertisements featuring traditional czech faces and patterns, such as the one above, for the moravian teachers' choir.  i had never seen this work before, and since i am in prague, i think it important to mention it.  the exhibition also includes a few paintings, his beautiful atelier photography, and commissioned work for the newly independent czechoslovakia (banknotes and medals).

folkin' around

i found a hidden gem today. the historické muzeum, a branch of národní muzeum tucked away in a little white chateau in a corner of the park kinského zahrada, houses a precious collection of czech costume, toys, embroidery, and other traditional crafts. each room is dedicated to a different part of czech traditions, such as crafts, feasting, customs of spring, summer, christmas, birth and death, and wedding.

 everything is in czech, but between buying a student ticket, turning in my coat, and being given directions to where everything is in the museum, i am happy to say that i did not have to resort to english for one second.  the museum is quiet and not very big, but was clearly put together with such love and care, that i felt so happy and calm to carefully observe each beautiful object, to the sound of traditional music in some rooms, and simply chirping birds in others.  i want to come back here every weekend until i have drawn every item on display!

baila bamba

j. and i wanted to look at this ball outside of kampa museum, but there were three women all over it, laughing and photographing it for-ever.  of course we got annoyed waiting for them to leave the ball already, it's just a stupid ball that reflects things, but when they did leave, it all suddenly made sense because this ball is actually oh such fun.

artěl: art for everyday use, 1908-1935

last tuesday, when the city gallery was discovered closed and exhibition-less,  our weekly guide zuzana bauerova took the group to the uměleckoprůmyslové museum v praze (the museum of applied arts in prague), which currently has on exhibit beautifully designed objects for everyday use, and especially the most precious, cutest little wooden toys from the czech artěl applied arts scene of the early 20th century.  no photography allowed in the museum, so i drew some of them instead.

re-evolution

yesterday evening i went with n. and i. and r. to popo cafe petl in malá strana for live latin music.  we sat at a very small round table with giant mugs of hoegaarden, and stood up sometimes to dance in front of the stage.  i did not plan on dancing, but "seize the day more often" is one of my resolutions for the new year.  also, these glowing penguins were accidently discovered by me when i was wandering around aimlessly on kampa island.  they are part of kampa museum's exhibition called re-evolution.

zoo praha

this morning i went to a lecture on the history of graphic design with alan záruba, and then to the prague zoo, where i ran straight for the elephants because i had to meet again with saul and pavel this afternoon to see an exhibition of the national gallery's dance-themed paintings and prints at the wallenstein riding school. 

at dinner yesterday pavel hardly addressed me, which i had no qualms about because i was just happy to look and listen without any motives (although it was reassuring when i ventured to share an opinion and found him nodding vigorously), but then he offered to help me with learning linocut, suggesting that i can use his tools and studio, and that he can help me in the lithograph workshop at school. and then i somehow got an invitation to come with him to venice for the biennale, where he is a commissioner of the czech/slovak pavilion and has an extra room in the apartment he keeps there. yes, i am curious, but i had to decline!