The future of civilization Part 4

The Seventies

The anti-war works of the Seventies are rather different from all the anti-war works from years  39-68.The fine art conception is changing partially too.The essential change of my father´s way of seeing the  world  was caused by the Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1968.Father did not understand when  given books of Vaculík,Kundera and  of other writters from my mother in period of The Prague Spring.Only the Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia changed my father´s  world  view  completely.

There were no more liberators and bad capitalists here…I was arrested and convicted of taking part on anti-occupiers manifestations in 1969,in year of the 1st occupation anniversary.Only after that, my father started to get interested in literature of present authors.In literature ,supplied by our mother, was also Solzhenitsyn – particularly samizdat issue of  „Archipelag  Gulag“ book.

Zánik 1973 (The Termination ), oil, canvas, 280 x 550 cm

The Termination – a sad look of the painter and his art musis at the destroyed world. Relentless military tension in the world is represented  as a kind of warning and legacy to humankind before a real self-destruction with weapons of mass destruction. Father´s  memory of  Hirošimu a Nagasaki is still alive….

Zlatý věk lidstva 1973 (The Golden Age of Humankind ), oil, canvas, 300 x 500 cm

Golden age – Father´s vision of happy world without wars …

When I was talking with my father about the monumental work „The golden age“, he said:  „this is my world,this is my fairy tale…“ 

Then half in fun and half seriously,he pointed at  the center of The  Golden Age painting where  a  little church was displayed and said :  „…this is my church in Dolany, I had to paint it for myself…“ and this… he pointed at the folded canvas of The Termination work…  „this I explained to you a little while ago,you understand that  … it is the end of civilization“.

In the subsequent paintings: „Absence pokory a rozumu(The Humility and Sense Absence) “,  „Generálové(The Generals)“ , „Vojenské pakty(The Military  Pacts)“ , „Lenin(The Lenin)“ , „Říjnová revoluce(The October Revolution)“ , „Bankéři“(The Bankers), „Osvětim“(The Auschwitz), and some more paintings  made in 1974-75 – my father is returning back to a question of  „good –evil“ thing.From  all the works I present  „The Auschwitz“ ,because right in these days – on  January 27th,we commemorate the seventieth anniversary of Auschwitz extermination camp liberation, where also my relatives died.

Osvětim,  1975, (The Auschwitz),oil, canvas, ca. 1,70 x 1,80 cm

Work  that symbolizes  repulsively awful  tragedy of the 20th century…

And as if the painter answers to himself,he simultaneously paints more and more symbols of the historical events.He shortly visits countries of south Europe,Egypt and some states of the Soviet Federation. He paints some kind of memories of vanished Egypt,Greece and Rome cultures.He paints significant european cities :  „Paris“ , „Moscow“ , „Petersburg“ and also our czech  „Prague“.

Praha a dějiny Evropy, 1975 (The Prague and History of Europe), oil, canvas, ca. 170 x 200 cm

At the same time ,he paints religious icons as „Budha“ ,  „Kristus“ and „Osud(The Faith)“, he paints beauty of people in poetic symbols „Ženy (The Women)“, and expresses himself to human characters through painting. After that, he briefly returns to paintings which he needs to get finished i.e. to the theme: „Ohrožená Země a Budoucnost civilizace (The Endangered Earth and The future of civilization)“.

Ohrožená Země, 1973 (The Endangered Earth),oil, canvas, ca. 150 x 300 cm

Budoucnost civilizace, 1973 (The Future of Civilization), oil, canvas, ca. 150 x 300 cm

He closes his lifelong pilgrimage with works „Pomíjivost života“ (The Transcience of Life) and „Pieta“ (The Reverence). Painer K.Š. passed away on March 2,1981, in age of 78 years

What to add?

The number of troubles ,our present civilization must cope with, is  countless. They exist in all spheres of our lifes.Only tens of military conflicts  all over the world are coming into being every year. Apart from  the others,very often dismal long-lasting troubles,the military ones above all differ in its senseless killing and suffering. That is why I attempted to remind the events of the 20th century here in Bohemia,in the middle of civilized Europe.  

petrslengr@centrum.cz