Associated Projects of the Czech Participation in EXPO 2010 Shanghai
In addition to the exposition itself, part of the Czech pavilion will be another exhibition space, the so-called Multimedia Hall, in which an extensive exhibition or presentation will be mounted every month.
May and October will be devoted to the Czech visual arts, which will be represented by the Monkey King exhibition. Visitors will be able to see the remarkable illustrations to the Chinese legend of the Monkey King, by Czech painter Zdeněk Sklenář. The exhibition will be complemented by animations and interactive elements.
May will also see one of the most important events directly at the Exposition Grounds - the Czech National Day. In the course of a single day almost 200 Czech artists will present at several places throughout the Exposition Ground, the culmination of this important event being a performance by the corps de ballet of the National Theatre. Part of this, inter alia, will also be the world premiere of choreography by Petr Zuska prepared exclusively for EXPO.
EXPO in Shanghai will be aimed firmly at the younger generation, therefore the organisers of the Czech participation have in June gone for a presentation of contemporary artistic trends which are inseparably linked to the urban environment. Graffiti and street art, both originally quite inextricable from the bowels of the city, have also shifted more and more on the Czech scene in recent years into the galleries and maisons de culture. And it is this wave that the party of Czech street writers will be riding in China. Chinese visitors in Shanghai will see the very best of the Czech scene - Pasta, Point, Masker, Tron, Cryptic 257. The exhibition will be accompanied by a video collage by Scarf . The street art and graffiti exhibition, contrasted with the traditional elements of Czech history and architecture, and together with the contemporary minimalist clean design of the Czech pavilion, will undoubtedly be a great draw for all visitors. In parallel with this exhibition in the Czech Republic pavilion, Czech street art and graffiti will also be presented outside the Exposition Ground - the Source gallery in the centre of Shanghai has shown interest in an independent project.
The urban environment and our lives are inherently linked with another phenomenon which has recently become an exceptionally attractive theme for exhibitions and specialised expositionss. This is design, which will be presented in the Czech pavilion during August. The exposition's curators are the Profilmedia company and the Studio Olgoj Chorchoj. To bring closer the exceptional nature of Czech design, its ability to generate original ideas and exceptional quality of thought and technology, they have chosen as the key to the exposition the abstract themes of desires, dreams and simple personal moments of happiness. So ten chosen artists using ten techniques or materials will bring these desires and feelings to specific objects and ten exclusive objects or collections will be generated for EXPO by the following artists: Eva Eisler, Hippos Design, Salim Issa, Anna Kozová, Olgoj Chorchoj, Daniel Piršč, Rony Plesl, Liběna Rochová, René Šulc, Hana Zárubová, Monika Drápalová, Pavel Ivančic, Klára Nademlýnská, Denisa Nová and Tomáš Luňák. Under a glass tree in the Czech exposition, together these will tell the story of the everyday miracles of our lives.
In September the Czech pavilion will enjoy a unique literary event. Arnošt Lustig will personally launch the Chinese translation of his book The White Birches and will also open an exhibition prepared by the organisers in conjunction with the Franz Kafka Centre.
Another part of the supporting events will be a presentation of the regions of the Czech Republic and a whole series of events on the stage at Europe Square, just in front of the Czech Republic pavilion. For the pavilion and also the exposition there is a visually very attractive and unique documentary film about the Czech Republic, presenting the Czech Republic using the extraordinary skills, natural resources, architecture and products of the various regions. It was produced by the Oficina studio.
For those who are interested but cannot visit EXPO 2010 in Shanghai themselves, and would like to see the exhibition area and the Czech exposition, an electronic virtual presentation will be prepared using the EXPO On-line project. Modern 3D technology will enable people to visit EXPO 2010 and the Czech Republic pavilion on-line, from the comfort of their homes or offices.
Martina Hončíková, Events Manager, KGK EXPO
1. Weeks of Czech Art and Culture, Monkey King Exhibition (5 - 19 May 2010, 9-31 October 2010)
Curator: Zdeněk Sklenář
Animation: Ondřej Doležal and the pixl-e studio
The Czech
Republic will delight China and the world with the Monkey King. The greatest of Chinese heroes, who has lived in the
hearts and minds of generations of the Chinese nation for more than five hundred years, will come to life at the EXPO 2010 World
Exposition in Shanghai. This will be thanks to the immortal illustrations by Zdeněk Sklenář for the Czech edition of the Monkey
King from 1959, brought to life interactively by Ondřej Doležal and the pixl-e studio. The Monkey King project for Shanghai
arose at the Zdeněk Sklenář Gallery in Prague as a result of the great response to the Zdeněk Sklenář's China exhibition in
Beijing's National Gallery in April last year. In particular the originals on display for the Monkey King, in which Czech artist and
illustrator Zdeněk Sklenář, in a highly original synthesis, linked together the European and Chinese cultural traditions, were
received with great enthusiasm. The Monkey King was a hit with the Chinese public across all generations of visitors to the
National Gallery. During May and October 2010 the animated Monkey King will be the main draw of the supporting events which
have been prepared for the Czech pavilion at EXPO 2010 in Shanghai.
The design for the spatial projection of the animated Sklenář illustrations to the Monkey King is the work of Ondřej Doležal and a large number of workers at the pixl-e studio, while the designer of the visual concept for the space is Federico Díaz. The projection will take place in the Multimedia Hall in the Czech pavilion. In one part of the hall there will be a table bearing an open copy of the Songs of Ancient China. This large-format book, decorated with Sklenář's illustrations, came about on the occasion of last year's Beijng exhibition. The top of the table, including the pages of the book, will become a projection screen with sound, where the battle of the Monkey King with the demons will take place. The other part of the hall will contain a screen. In front of the screen there will be a touchscreen with a selection of cartoon figures from the story of the Monkey King. Visitors both large and small will be able to choose by touch both individual characters and launch various animations, as well as mix music and the spoken word. On the screen the fairytale world of the Monkey King will come to life in an exceptional combination of the old legend, the graphically and artistically unique Sklenář illustrations and the highly imaginative animations with the very latest in interactive technology.
The spatial projection of the Monkey King in the Multimedia Hall also links to interactive internet pages, where on the monkeyking.cz or opicikral.eu websites adults and children can play a game based on the Monkey King interactive animation. In this way the exposition in the Czech pavilion will reach out by means of the internet to the whole world. Visitors to the websites will also be able to generate their own picture which can be downloaded as a wallpaper to their mobile or computer, and can also be sent out as a greeting. All of the visual activities on the Monkey King websites are based on the original artistic style of Zdeněk Sklenář, confirming his unique timelessness and exceptional ability to communicate across continents and differing cultures. Zdeněk Sklenář and his Monkey King are returning to China and are a reminder of the exceptional, exciting, open and artistically precious connection between the cultures and societies of China and the Czech Republic. They became a shining example for global co-existence on the threshold of the third millennium.
Author: Zdeněk Sklenář
2. Czech National Day (17 May 2010)
Theatrical direction by Michal Caban, scenography by Šimon Caban
The traditional culmination of Czech participation in EXPO, regularly involving not only leading artists, but also the leading representatives of the Czech Republic, is the Czech National Day.
The principal aim of the Czech National Day is to be representative, to choose from Czech culture in such a way as to speak of the breadth of Czech abilities and the Czech spirit, which Michal Caban and his brother Šimon have tried to transfer into a kind of Czech creative cuisine and relate to the Czech pavilion, not only in terms of content, but also in visual terms. The outer skin of the Czech pavilion is covered in a groundplan of Prague's Old Town made out of ice hockey pucks, and the dramaturgy for the Czech National Day links to this scenographic element, with the pucks spreading out into all the places where the Czech National Day will take place, where small stages in the shape of pucks will be displayed.
The Czech National Day will take place in 4 main places. The gala opening of the Czech National Day will take place in the EXPO Center, one of the cultural centres for the whole Exposition Ground. On the Bocheng Road boulevard there will be a parade, the work of Jakub Vedral. The third space is Europe Square, a square surrounded by the pavilions of the European countries including that of the Czech Republic. This is the location of the main stage, with the space in front of the Czech pavilion also being important. The final location is the smaller Group Level 5 stage for more intimate theatre-type productions.
Our aspiration was to choose artists from the Czech musical, theatre and dance milieux, from that which is high-quality, of good repute and where the artists' performances are younger and from a broad range of genres.
The artists who will perform at the various locations will represent music in all its breadth - from the alternative to the classical: Dan Bárta & Illustratosphere, Čechomor, Pavel Šporcl, Emil Viklický, Feng-Yün Song, Gypsi.cz, the Tam Tam Orchestra, Jiří Korn's 4TET, Toxique, Laura and Her Tigers, and with the following theatre performances: La Putyka, the Marionette National Theatre, Skutr, Spejbl a Hurvínek, the untraditional sketches of the Tros Sketos and Thomas & Ruller groups, and not forgetting the various dance performances: Lenka Bartůňková, Jednotka rychlého nasazení (Rapid Response Unit).
Author: Michal Caban
3. The National Theatre Ballet (Czech National Day 17th May 2010))
The corps de ballet of the National Theatre occupies a special place in the development of Czech ballet as the largest and best manned ensemble in the Czech Republic. It is with its foundation in 1883 that t the developmental tradition of Czech professional dance first began.
Dancer and choreographer Petr Zuska became the new Artistic Director of the National Theatre Ballet at the start of the 2002 - 2003 season. Under his leadership the corps has moved in a number of varying directions. It still presents works from the classical repertoire (Swan Lake, the Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Raymonda, Giselle, La Sylphide / Napoli), the neo-classical repertoire (the ballets of John Crank The Taming of the Shrew and Onegin, Youri Vàmos's Romeo and Juliet and Nutcracker - a Christmas Story, George Balanchine's Tchaikovsky, Pas de Deux) as well as modern works of both Czech and foreign origin (choreography by Jiří Kylián, Itzik Galili, Conny Janssen, Mats Ek, Petr Zuska, Nacho Duato, Jan Kodet, Stijn Celis and others).
Currently the National Theatre Ballet presents one of the artistically most interesting ensembles in the Czech Republic, with fifty dancers drawn mainly from the Czech Republic but also from Russia, Slovakia, Hungary, Australia, Great Britain, Germany and Italy.
PROGRAMME:
SYMPHONY IN D MAJOR
Choreography, design and lighting: Petr Zuska
Music: Gustav Mahler
Costumes: Roman Šolc
Artistic Director of the National Theatre Ballet Petr Zuska has created a new work especially for EXPO 2010, which will have its world premiere at the Czech National Day on 17th May 2010. The choreography is a pure realisation of the music of Gustav Mahler, his famous 1st Symphony (parts of the 1st and 2nd movements) and is based on a neo-classical lexicon of movement. Also of significance is that in 2010 we are commemorating with the whole of the world of culture the 150th anniversary of the birth of this important composer, and in 2011 one hundred years from his death. Mahler's work is characterised by its monumental nature, by its purity and depth as well as a marked emotional tonality, all of which are firmly reflected in Petr Zuska's choreographic representation.
DÉJÀ VU
Choreography: Petr Zuska
Music: Frédéric Chopin, Niccolo Paganini, Nino Rota
Design and lighting: Petr Zuska
An attractive Pas de deux which develops choreographically in a somewhat unconventional manner - beginning with classically refined steps and ending with a cheerfully tuned movement free-for-all. In three dynamically diverse musical movements the choreographer reflects in a bizarre light his ideas of the opening position of the dance couple: their joint dance gradually turns to the light of the opposing levels of the same couple.
LYRICAL
Music: Ruthenian, Ukrainian, East Slovak ballads
Choreography: Petr Zuska
Costumes: Roman Šolc
Design and lighting: Petr Zuska
A duet based on the motifs of three Slavonic songs, in which Petr Zuska's choreography brilliantly depicts a touching lyrical "story". From the essence of these lyrical ballads there emerges a unified picture of love, loneliness and death.
EMPTY TITLE
Choreography: Petr Zuska
Music: Elvis Costello – The Juliet Letters, The Brodsky Quartet, Tango
Costumes: Roman Šolc
This Pas de deux without a title - an "Empty Title" is based on a combination of two musical and design contrasts. Two diametrically opposed images and moods put next to each other, in a kind of violent and incongruous styling, two dancers dressed up as a pair in a refined and superficial gilt veneer, only to turn in a moment into two human beings with a deep personal emotional testimony full of sadness and loneliness, and without hope.
SINFONIETTA
Music: Leoš Janáček
Choreography: Jiří Kylián
Production: Roslyn Anderson, Arlette van Boven
Design and costumes: Walter Nobbe
Lighting: Kees Tjebbes
Sinfonietta is perhaps my most spontaneous work - not intentionally, but because of the extremely limited time available and the exceptional conditions under which it was created. … And the result certainly entirely reflects the spontaneity with which the work was created, caused by the lack of time and the feeling of balancing on the edge. … This work, in which simplicity was one of the main characteristics, became a foundation stone in the repertoire of the Nederlands Dans Theater, opening up new possibilities for the future of that company.
Jiří Kylián, Choreographer
4. Street Art, Metropolis exhibition (30th May - 20th June 2010)
Exhibitors: Cryptic 257, Masker, Pasta, Point, Scarf, Tron
Curator: Blanka Čermáková
For people throughout the world street art and graffiti are a relatively easy-to-read, clear and visible artistic form, not needing a deeper knowledge of the visual arts. Because of this it quickly acquires fans who do not need to know the language, political situation or other details, mainly because of its visual aggression and aptness, heightened by the locations in which it turns up or which it oddly and often wittily complements.
Based on the theme of the entire international Expo 2010 Exposition "A better city means a better life" and the motto of the Czech pavilion "Fruits of Civilisation" we have focused on a vision which is naturally closer to us, the depiction of the city existing in our own imaginations. The ideal step was to demolish in visitors' eyes the gallery space with its four walls and to replace it with materialised graffiti in a unaccustomed urban environment. This has given rise to a fanciful vision of the future which in its roots also sticks to the essential architectural elements of Czech towns, which make up its distinctive character.
In a space measuring 9 x 10m in the Multimedia Hall of the Czech pavilion there will be a small urban collage, which visitors will enter passing brick walls and bridges, going then into the entrance hall of a Prague metro station with typical marble walls, notice boards and a grafittomat, a dispensing machine issuing spray cans and masks instead of drinks.
The underground setting links to a surrealistic vision of socialist tower blocks, permeated with coloured organic matter - is this destroying them or on the contrary, holding them together? It functions as both a play element and also as a nightmarish urban worm, eating out the insides of the city.
A necessary element which shaped the whole installation in the space was the time-lapse video montage monitoring the change of the environment over time, which lends the whole gallery/urban space a uniform atmosphere using the sounds and noises of urban life, like the rumble of traffic, the sound of cash registers in shops, birdsong and toilets flushing.
In addition to the projection showing destruction, clusters of skyscrapers look down at us from a height, their shapes making up the grand inscription TRON (the artist's nick). The effective light show is complemented by changing, flickering signs, recalling a futuristic vision of cities.
Behind the high-rise buildings awaits a visit to a confectioner's full of unusual sweets with the aesthetics of the 1960s, to motifs from Charlie's Chocolate Factory by Tim Burton, acting on the boundary between art and kitsch.
The final object in the exhibition is a miniature tower block with three floors where through one of the walls we can observe days in the lives of surreal characters who live on the different floors.
The street art and graffiti exhibition plays with the scale of things, with reality and with dreaming. In contrast to the traditional elements of Czech history and architecture, and together with the contemporary minimalist clean design of the Czech pavilion at Expo 2010 in Shanghai, it will stand out.
During the exhibition the artists will be painting "live" outside on a 10 metre-wide wall panel.
The exhibition will be accompanied by a 94-page catalogue providing more information about the different artists.
Author: Blanka Čermáková
5. Presentation of the regions in cooperation with CzechTourism (12th July - 21st July)
All 14 regions of the Czech Republic will be presented to visitors in the Multimedia Hall using projections, photographs and artefacts which are typical for the regions in question. Tastings of local specialists and culture performances will also be part of this event.
6. Documentary film about the Czech Republic
The film spot by the Oficina studio is based on the overall theme of the Czech Republic presentation, which is the "Fruits of Civilisation".
It develops this idea into the form of the very process of creating and developing these fruits, with everything being played out in an authentic environment, with the maximum number of the possible links and resources which a given person uses or on which he draws in his day-to-day life.
The film spot also functions as a kind of link between the various parts of the exposition. It shows that nothing happens by chance and that nothing arises of its own accord. All trains of thought, working habits and extraordinary results grow out of a chain of thought-through steps and historical contexts. And this also is one of the reasons why the Czech Republic is an exceptional country.
The focus and connecting theme of the spot are personalities who illustrate the distinctiveness and diversity of the inhabitants of the Czech Republic. It shows the faces and characters of people who are exceptional in their craftsmanship and intelligence and the character of each and every one of them thus has a significant share in the perception of the Czech Republic as a society of value.
The Czech Republic is a place where from time immemorial unique approaches and original, fresh ideas have been valued. Its inhabitants do not remake their surroundings thoughtlessly, but try to keep the city and nature in balance, in line with each other, making use of their mutual potential and thus creating a functioning symbiosis. They are creating places which hand on a message to future generations. Thanks to new technologies and materials they manufacture products which are of use for the present, but always with care for their local and long-standing traditions.
This perception is also reflected in the actual technical preparation of the film spot. The technology works in harmony with the subject matter and complements it in an appropriate way. The use of photo sequences is a reference to famous Czech photographers, the pixilation and animation to the famous history of Czech animated film. From the standpoint of the necessary feeling for topicality and in particular the progressive nature of the Czech Republic the directors used the very latest film techniques - high-speed recording, simple motion control, varying recording speeds and so on. All in the effort to show that the Czech Republic is a pioneer in new technologies and approaches.
An important and inseparable part of this are the graphics. They are included across the whole spectrum, from 2D to 3D, with maximum emphasis on current trends and taste. Not only do they complement the film recordings, but they themselves in many places take up the role of critic. The original music, just like the visual component, builds a whole up out of the details, and using local means composes specific melodies typical for any given region. Within these appear local quotations, as well as characteristic, authentic sounds.
In its final form the film spot is a highly visual entity with logical, but untraditional views on the traditional work of man and his place in the world. It presents the Czech Republic as a creative environment full of energetic people, as a space which has a marked influence on the surrounding world.
Within the Czech Republic pavilion the film spot will be presented in the Multimedia Hall, as well as in the spiral entrance used by visitors coming into the pavilion.
7. Weeks of Czech Art and Culture, Monkey King Exhibition (8 - 31 August 2010)
Authors of the Concept: Jana Zielinski, Jiří Macek, Michal Froněk , Jan Němeček
Curators: Jana Zielinski, Jiří Macek /Profil Media s.r.o.
Exhibition Designers: Michal Froněk, Jan Němeček / Olgoj Chorchoj
We live in urban environments which we have made for ourselves for a happier life. The moments we consider happy are independent of the city and are the sum of our desires and our dreams. We have fulfilled many of them long ago and are not even that aware of them. Designers are those who give shape to the city, as well as to our desires.
To bring closer the exceptional nature of Czech design, its ability to generate original ideas and exceptional quality of thought and technology, we have chosen as the key to the exposition exactly those abstract themes of desires, dreams and simple personal moments of happiness. Ten chosen artists using ten techniques or materials will bring these desires and feelings to specific objects. These will not be objects intended for mass production, nor sculptures, but a collection of inspirational objects which can help us to develop our perception of the world of objects and in the final analysis lead to new visions for design. In addition Therefore to traditional designers of objects we have turned for these design objects also to garment designers, to an architect, a jewellery designer and a photographer. Chosen themes: Tranquillity, time, movement, rain, flying, ground, growth, man and image explore the miracle of our existence from a wide variety of angles and using a wide range of technologies. Through their works these renowned Czech artists will try to embody this miracle in individual objects: Eva Eisler, Hippos design, Salim Issa, Anna Kozová, Olgoj Chorchoj, Daniel Piršč, Rony Plesl, Liběna Rochová, René Šulc and Hana Zárubová. The motif of memory will be presented in three joint fashion shows through their collections and remembrances by designers Monika Drápalová, Pavel Ivančic, Klára Nademlýnská, Denisa Nová and Liběna Rochová, each of whom will design for this purpose an inspiration collection of ten garments.
All these aspects then intersect in Tomáš Luňak's film projection which will be part of the installation in the Media Hall. Under a glass tree in the Czech exposition, together these will tell the story of the everyday miracles of our lives.
Miracles and their creators:
Liběna Rochová: Flying
Olgoj Chorchoj: Childhood
Eva Eisler: Light
Hippos Design: Surprise
René Šulc: Time
Anna Kozová: Tranquillity
Hana Zárubová: Image
Rony Plesl: Ground
Daniel Piršč: Movement
Salim Issa: Rain
+ 5 fashion collections on the theme of the miracles of memory: Klára Nademlýnská, Pavel Ivančic, Liběna Rochová, Monika Drápalová, Denisa Nová
Author: Jana Zielinski, Jiří Macek
8. Weeks of Czech Art and Culture, Arnošt Lustig and Franz Kafka (4th - 19th September 2010)
The Franz Kafka Society, which promotes research and teaching in literature and brings together readers and admirers of Kafka's work from all over the world, has prepared a project for the Czech Republic pavilion at EXPO 2010 which commemorates Franz Kafka and Prague – a connection, which is one of the most valuable and most world-renowned values in the cultural and literary heritage of our country. In the middle of a room whose walls are made up of enlarged period photographs of the writer, facsimiles of Kafka manuscripts and Prague motifs by Jan Lukas (an important American photographer with Czech roots), there is Kafka´s writing table. Thus there also arises a symbolic space for contemporary literature, which will be presented through Arnošt Lustig.
On 4th September 2010 the Czech Republic pavilion will see the gala launch of the Chinese translation of Lustig's book The White Birches in cooperation with the Book Division of the Mladá Fronta a.s publishing house, with the personal participation of the author. This is the first book from this acknowledged writer to appear in Chinese; his books have now been translated into 17 languages. Arnošt Lustig is Kafka´s Award laureate and Pulitzer Prize Nominee.
9. V.O.S.A. Street Theatre (May, August, October 2010)
The
project begins as a live hologrammatic theatre poster, drawing people to the Czech pavilion. Its aim is to engage you even at
first glance, but also when you have been looking at it for an hour. You want to keep coming back to it, because each time it is a little different, you are discovering its third dimension.
The V.O.S.A (Free Occasional Association of Alternative Artists) is made up of professional actors and musicians who have many years' experience of the work of so-called independent, alternative theatre, both street as well as in special non-theatrical spaces. The V.O.S.A association comes together mainly to implement interesting and prestigious international projects for which they always develop a unique presentation made to measure for the particular event. For example in recent years we have developed street parade representing Prague at the anniversary celebrations in St. Petersburg, a street presentation for Czech Trade in London and for the Czech Centres in Berlin. We have also given the parades and giant puppets in Gdyně and Lvov. This year our priority is in particular our participation at EXPO in Shanghai and before that our representation of the city of Prague in Sarajevo.
Dreaming High….
A dream of flying machines, a dream of the landbound about the sea, slightly strange characters on special moving machines tell a series of little stories about the relations between people. They are constantly in motion, like individual atoms make up the molecules of a microstory about human desire.
Through a keyhole we look into a world of attractive obsessions. We see unrecognized Edisons riding the Tour de France on a velocipede, crossing the English Channel in a punt, climbing Sněžka mountain barefoot in summer....
Running until I am exhausted, laughing until it hurts, looking at the sun without glasses, diving as deep as possible, doing whatever I have a mind to. Like a bride looking for ice-cream, a waiter serving on a pedestrian crossing, like a 21st century Don Quixote..
A unique parade accompanied by live music, unique moving figures and the sounds of the city. High acrobatics, elements of juggling, pantomime and imagination.
Author: Jakub Vedral
Contact for further information:
Events Manager
Martina Hončíková
Mob.: +420 733 536 592 (Prague)
+86 13 91 87 93 145 (Shanghai)
e-mail: honcikova@czexpo.com
PR Manager
Jiří František Potužník
Mob.: +420 733 538 661
e-mail: potuznik@czexpo.com
