From the Weeklies
June 9 - 13, 1997
By Daniela Lazarova
When Praguites want to get away from it all for a couple of hours over the weekend the ideal destination is Prague Castle, which this summer houses the biggest ever exposition of the life and times of Austrian emperor Rudolf II. Weak ruler though he was, Rudolf II made Prague capital of the Habsburg Empire in the late 16th century and turned it into a glittering city , a cosmopolitan beacon of art and learning and a magnet for artists and craftsmen. The Imperial Court fills four halls at the Castle and The Residential City occupies the Wallenstein Riding School. In all visitors can admire 2,300 objects from 21 Czech and 115 foreign collections and savour late 16th century music at open air concerts. Numerous souvenirs and books on the Rudolf era are available and the tickets are valid for the whole day on the premises. The emperor who inspired one of the most popular Czech comedies of the 50s , seems omnipresent in Prague this summer. The Postal Museum features an exposition on Postal Services During the Time of Rudolf II and the House at the Stone Bell features an expo on "the esoteric sciences" of alchemy, hermetic philosophy and magic, which the emperor so loved to exploit. Co-organized by Prague Castle, the Czech ministry of culture and the Prague Magistrate the Rudolf II project is a hugely ambitious undertaking -which has already proved an immense success with Czechs and tourists alike. Rudolf II and Prague, as the exhibition is called, runs through the summer, until September 7th.
Not every expo makes it quite so close to the one time residence of kings. Indeed some are not even allowed as close as Charles Bridge - the king's traditional route to the Castle. Lebanese sculptor Nadim Karam was well aware that Czechs would resent his Archaic procession on the city's most famous bridge peopled with the statues of saints and he placed his post-modern collection along the Manes Bridge - changing the plot of the story slightly, and making it appear that the Archaic procession had visited Prague Castle and was making its way back across a different bridge. Even in the politically oppressive climate of past weeks, President Havel found the time to admire Karam's sculptures , saying it was good for a city which was "just a little bit provincial and a little bit xenophobic" to open its doors to world art. The fact that the Archaic procession had "visited" Prague Castle this summer seems symbolic, Havel said, noting that it would be good if Prague could attract artists and men of learning the way it did in the Rudolf era. Even though the publics reaction to Karam' sculptures has been controversial - President Havel for one said he wouldn't mind if they stayed in place for a longer period. All twenty of them are due to be dismantled on June 15th.
And finally, preceding the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, due to open July 4th, the Organization for Aid to Refugees is holding a five day film festival entitled " Servile Art" in Terezin and Prague to mark Refugee Day. The purpose of the festival, featuring films that span 60 years of art in the service of ideology, is to show how art has been and continues to be used to manipulate public opinion. After each film there is a discussion on the relationship between culture and propaganda. The films shown can be divided into two groups - typical Nazi and communist propaganda and films about artists who served the cause. In the documentaries many of them are interviewed in person , and for the most part, they do not feel in any way guilty about it. Most describe themselves as professionals who had simply "worked and done a good job".
The discussions following the screening focus on a highly controversial issue not only among Czechs - i.e. whether these propaganda films should be featured today or whether they should be banned . According to some the films are still potent and dangerous - others feel they should be shown as often as possible as a memento of the subtle manner in which people can be manipulated. Pavel Tychtl, director of the Organization for Aid to Refugees , argues that there is a topical message in the films. When propaganda is used against a minority, then not only that minority but all the citizens of that country are heading for trouble. In fighting for minorities' rights they are fighting for their own, he insists. Tychtl claims that refugees in the Czech republic are widely misunderstood both by the government and the public.
Refugees don't need old clothing, he says, they need contact with the host society, opportunities for employment and education. In his view there is a continuity between the propaganda films and the present fear of an invasion of refugees from the East. The propaganda films show how art portrayed a group of "others" who were believed to be dangerous . That, Tychtl says is a fair description of current attitudes towards refugees. The festival is underway having opened in Terezin on June 11th, in Prague the screening begins on the 13th with the 1933 Nazi propaganda film The Eternal Jew. Other films to be shown include You kissed the Devil's Rear, The Wonderful and Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl, and as an example of communist propaganda, Accusation, a Czechoslovak film made in 1980.
/For further information about The Organization for Aid to Refugees contact Pavel Tychtl at Veletrzni 24,Prague 7. Tel. 37 12 41-9, ext. 377 Fax: 37 44 58 /
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