Publication details
Jiří Pelcl: from Atika to the present Days. Transformations of Czech Design in Relation to the Work of Jiří Pelcl
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| Year of publication | 2012 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Description | 1. Atika: Twenty-five years ago, the Czech Atika group shocked the artistic public through its nonconformist approach to design seen in postmodernist, expressive pieces of furniture, a response to the impossibility of cooperation with the state furniture industry. Epitomizing the high-quality roots of the Czech design, its tradition and vitality, their original conception of furniture and accessories, influenced by postmodern aesthetics even evoked responses from outside the Czech Republic. 2. Transformation – the early 1990s: changes in the structure of the furniture industry, its orientation towards manufacture for western markets, the competition with foreign companies entering the Czech market, and the partiality of newly established firms toward atypical commissions and small-series production became a complex background for the arrival of the new generation of designers graduating from the Prague Academy of Art, Architecture and Design. Inspired by their teacher, Bořek Šípek, their work is based on an original idea, simplicity, preference for minimalism and new materials and is supported by massive publicity and marketing strategy. 3.Searching for new ways – the turn of the century: interest in experiments and projects, competitions and support for young artists has brought about original designs; in furniture, many young designers and students appear, new studios and manufacturing companies are founded. Present-day work marks a return to the high points of Czech design. 4. Furniture at the beginning of the third millennium: this period has brought a change in the relation between designers and manufacturers – Czech manufacturers collaborate more than before with designers. The result is a number of experiments produced in small series and high-quality serial production. From the beginning of the new millennium Czech furniture is bolder, more interesting, of better workmanship, and can boast of foreign awards; the remaining problem. |