:41:03
The in-depth essay was published
in Sculpture magazine last week.
:41:15
Prague sculptor Bedrich Má ra
:41:17
is an artist the regime
chased into an existential trap.
:41:21
Mára's promising career,
which began in the sixties
:41:25
with exhibitions in Goteborg,
Salzburg,
:41:28
and his last in Madrid in 1970,
is now fading.
:41:32
This talent of a generation
found himself completely outside
:41:37
the official mainstream,
unable to exhibit his work.
:41:40
Bureaucratic power
puts conformists on a pedestal,
:41:45
while the best find
themselves at the very bottom.
:41:50
Of course we cannot generalize;
There are shinning exceptions.
:41:54
For example, art historian
Dr. Magdalena Brecková.
:41:59
She and those like her try to
destroy the system from within.
:42:05
With skillful diplomacy they try
to lobby for discarded artists
:42:09
within the ossified structures
of artistic unions
:42:12
and various
Party selection committees.
:42:15
In Dr. Brecková words, if
former plasterers and cobblers,
:42:20
with their fake academic titles,
:42:24
persist in assessing artistic
quality, nothing will change.
:42:45
Lock the door please, Alena.
:42:48
Why should she lock it?
:42:50
Don't lock it.
:42:52
Come, on! Relax.
:42:55
Hey, I'm as cool as a cucumber.
I've just got one question.
:42:59
-Was he trying to get revenge?
-No, no, he wanted to help out.