The future of civilization Part 1
„The human society is unable to learn lesson…“, my dad used to say in the 1970s. „Not even two world wars made world´s reaches and its economic and political leaders rational. There is still an arms race in the world and number of little wars is increasing more and more …“ I do repeat,this is what my dad used to say in the 1970s,and unfortunately ,there are still little wars in the world nowdays …
My dad was a painter. They say distinguished one.Even though it is not written anywhere,some experts affirm that anti-war part of my dad´s(K.Šlenger) work makes the greatest and simultaneously the most monumental anti-war fine art collection in Bohemia and apparently in whole Europe.I do not know whether they are right. I would like to exhibit somewhere the complete collection permanently. I am not successful at that so far.The fact is,that the Prague National Galerie realized a great collected exhibition of K.Š. work and bought almost two tens of this artist´s works into the collection.
On January 27th, 2015,we comemorate the seventieth anniversary of Osvětim extermination camp liberation and then on May 9th,2015,we commemorate the seventieth anniversary of the end of World War II .I am persuaded ,that this should not only be a social act of politicians ,but a moment for all of us to remind us of our past and realize that any of us should forget about all the martyred and fallen ancestors.
Let me therefore,on the occasion of these anniversaries,publish a small part of fine art works from a family foto archive, which should remind you not only of the war events,but also of the further political and military development. A painter - from Sorbonne in Paris not graduated philosopher, Karel Šlenger had posed himself a question: why there are wars,what is the future of civilization.
I start the presentation with two examples of the inter-war creation from the period after Hitler came to power.
Předtucha(THE Presentiment), 1939, oil, canvas , dimension ca. 120 x 90 cm
„It was close.None of us knew it was so awfully close.Death and unbridled element of destruction was approaching “ (author text K.Š.)
Rozklad(The Disintegration) 1939, oil ,canvas,dimension ca. 137 x 192 cm
K.Šlenger perceived a threatening danger very soon and is repeatedly warning his Jewish friends of the threatening danger. Unfortunately,nobody was listening to him. My future mom,14 years old at that time,lost her parents, 4 years old sister and Jewish relatives.They perished in Auschwitz.
Some examples of K.Š. works from the World War II period follow.
Mythus (The Mythus), 1939-40, oil, juta, dimension,ca. 120 x 100 cm
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Protiválečný motiv I. – Evropa (The Anti - War Motif I. - Europe), 1939-45, oil ,canvas, 240 x 180 cm
„Pain,poverty and suffering of millions of people.I feel the gruesome faithfulness which is mankind slowly escaping from and still not understanding that it has been its work.“ (author´s text K.Š.)
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Protiválečný motiv II. Hirošima 1945 (The Anti - War Motif II. – Hirosima), oil canvas, 250 x 180 cm
„I express ,just in a symbolic way, terrible bestiality which is able to inflict on our planet sheer carnage.“ (author´s text K.Š.)
Protiválečný motiv III (The Anti – War Motif III), 1939-45, oil ,canvas, 253 x 180 cm
„A man is defending himself.Yet ,he only wants to flee from monsters with human claws.Untill now he is small and feable.“ (autho´s text K.Š.)
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Protiválečný motiv IV (The Anti – War Motif IV), 1939-45, oil ,canvas, 250 x 180 cm
„The world of erratic darkness is still threatening to destroy humankind.There is no way that there can be peace as long as people remain wicked and where evil holds sway.There will be no justice without our help.“ (author´s text K.Š.)
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Ochránce národa (The Nation´s Guardian,) 1941, oil canvas, 140 x 110 cm
„We call for help in our plight and a life full of beauty appears in flowers and youth .“ (author´s text K.Š.)
