Salon 2021
RELATIONSHIPS STOCK SCENERY UTOPIA
Salon of Czech Scenography is a unique showcase of a discipline that has a lot to say about the current events and has been organized in the Czech Republic with various titles since 1977. Besides the Prague Quadrennial international festival, the Salon is the only event reflecting current scenography as a discipline. It aims to explore what scenography includes – how it originates, what are the current forms and how to perceive scenography as an active factor in any performative art.
The exhibition RELATIONSHIPS STOCK SCENERY UTOPIA returns to the tradition of scenographic showcases. It presents seven contemporary authors and remembered Petr Matásek’s work.
Who is the best stage designer buddy? Is scenography a spatial or temporal matter? Is it possible to extract scenography from theatre and place it in a gallery? The questions are answered at the exhibition RELATIONSHIPS STOCK SCENERY UTOPIA that takes place in OC Dornych in Brno on 10-25 June and presents Czech contemporary scenographic works. Seven theatre figures and collectives — Pavla Beranová, Michal Cáb, Handa Gote, Matěj Sýkora, Zuzana Sceranková, Martina Zwyrtek and the Sedlčany Amateur Theatre Company – presents their work. The exhibition RELATIONSHIPS STOCK SCENERY UTOPIA follows the tradition of the Salon of Czech Scenography national showcase, which has been organized since 1977. The format when the artworks were presented according to the individuals has transformed into a curated exhibition with a unifying topic this year. It presents scenographic figures and scenography as a multimedia discipline, including static objects, light, and sound design.
Thus, one venue can see the gathering of seven figures – visual artists and stage designers working in professional institutional theatre and independent stages. “We wanted to have a varied offer, so the authors could discuss the methods of their work, their visions, and wishes. Then they want to find out whether it is possible to find an ideal system for scenographic work, or whether it is just a utopian idea,” says curator Anna Chrtková.
The exhibition on the topmost floor of the Dornych shopping center in Brno is opened for two weeks. “We approached the space as a journey across three main parts of a theatre – visitors can go through the backstage, stage, and auditorium. The backstage is associated with stock scenery, archiving all the objects and costumes from theatre performances that are, however, ready to be used again. And this is how we see scenography – it works with used materials and provides the objects with more meanings and purposes,” says curator Jan Matýsek.
Remembering Petr Matásek
A special place is dedicated to the principal figure of Czech scenography Petr Matásek (1944-2017), whose work was (not exclusively) associated with the DRAK Theatre in Hradec Králové. As a popular designer, Petr Matásek worked with dozens of directors and made more than 160 sets for puppet, drama, and opera productions. His work is remembered through models, photographs, and interviews with formal associates and friends. The Arts and Theatre Institute and National Theatre participated in the installation.
How to communicate scenography?
The exhibition also features the Half-Life 5.1 professional symposium that takes place on Thursday 24 June in OC Dornych. The moderated discussion will focus on the topic of communication of scenography with the contributions by ApolenaVanišová, Viktor Takáč, Barbora Příhodová, Lukáš Brychta and Kateřina Svatoňová.