Arts news, Samuel Fritz exhibition, Jakub Spanhel

In today's edition, we'll be looking at some of the stories making headlines in the Czech world of culture and a young artist who is gaining popularity with a rather unusual concept.

Ota Sevcik, photo: CTK

We start with some sad news. The world of Czech cinematography suffered a tragic loss this week. At the age of 71, actor and theatre director Ota Sevcik died on Tuesday following a long and serious illness. Despite having directed numerous operas, musicals, and plays, his career as a director did not gain him much fame. It was his work as an actor that was most appreciated by film buffs as well as his colleagues. Ota Sevcik was born in North Moravia to a German mother and a Slovak father. Due to his German upbringing, the roles that suited him best were those of WWII Nazi officials, which he was mainly known for, for over twenty years. His most acclaimed role was in the 1963 Czech production, Death is called Engelchen. One of his latest and more comical roles was in the two-part Czech fairy tale The Princess from the Mill.

---

Days of European Film 2003

And staying with the world of film. Next week shall see the launch of another Czech film festival in Prague that aims at promoting contemporary European productions from the EU member states as well as the candidate countries for EU membership. The festival, which will run from March 6th to 16th, is organised by the embassies and cultural institutes of the states represented, the Delegation of the European Commission to the Czech Republic, the City of Prague and the Czech Ministry of Culture. It is furthermore supported by the Czech Republic's Foreign Ministry. Since 1994, about 30 of the best, most interesting, most current, and even awarded films have been on show in Prague and the Moravian capital of Brno every spring. This year, the organisers hope to fill the gap in the offer of European films in Czech cinemas with forty feature films and about ten short films in the course of ten days. All films will be screened in the original version but will have English subtitles and a simultaneous translation into Czech.

---

Let's cross the Atlantic into the deep jungles of Latin America and follow the footsteps of probably one of the most famous Czech personalities in this part of the world, the Jesuit missionary Samuel Fritz. Mr Fritz, who was born in the North Bohemian town of Trutnov spent forty years in the Amazon in the eighteenth century and is mostly noted for his exploration of the Amazon River and its basin. Today, several hundred years later, two Czechs have decided to follow Mr Fritz's tracks and exhibit the results of their expedition in Prague. Kamila Simkova is one of them:

"While Samuel Fritz is almost unknown here in the Czech Republic he enjoyed much respect in Latin America, and is considered to have been one of the biggest spiritual conquerors of the New World. Apart from him being the first to draft a detailed map of the Amazon in 1691, he also gained much respect for his active role in defending the rights of the region's natives. He even re-located thousands of them to a place that was two thousand kilometres away from their home to save them from the Portuguese slave masters."

But, as Mrs Simkova points out, Samuel Fritz was not the only Czech to have done significant work in the Amazon:

"If everything goes well, we will continue with the cycle that we have called "Following the tracks of Czechs". Its first part was telling the story of Samuel Fritz and the continuation would be going back to that part of the world to look for other significant Czech explorers who have been forgotten, here in the Czech Republic. Our plan is to focus on Czech scientists who have concentrated on the Amazon's vegetation."

---

Moving on to a contemporary Czech explorer who is building a career with a rather unusual hobby - painting churches. Jakub Spanhel is 26 years old and has recently graduated from Prague's Academy of Fine Arts. However, despite his young age, he has attracted the attention of many with his series of paintings of church interiors. I met up with him to find out what was so special about churches and why he featured them in his paintings:

"I guess it's because I am looking for a place that is quiet and peaceful. Life is so hectic and then there are the various problems that one has to face. So, when I go to different towns and places, I like to visit churches because they have a unique atmosphere, which is also thanks to all the beautiful, interesting works of art in the interiors - the paintings, furniture, all of that attracts my attention. That is why I let them inspire me to make this series of paintings."

Jakub Spanhel's series is mainly made up of large canvases depicting church interiors in grey, black, and white. But what at first sight appears to be a little too dramatic for the average viewer, soon turns into an experience that leaves a mark.

"If I could I would make even bigger paintings. I use buckets of paint and pour the paint on the big canvases and then create the images. Sometimes, I have the place flooded with water and other liquids but that is okay because I enjoy it and the outcome is positive. Even though I have been focusing on churches, what I paint is not as important to me as the procedure itself. I work in a huge studio in the centre of Prague, a former printing works, and it's great because it gives me the chance to observe what I do from a ten to twenty metre distance. That is a great help as I like it when the person looking at the painting can walk into it and feel it."

And it seems to work as the reaction so far has been rather positive:

"They say, why not. Some artists paint still life and I paint this. At the end of the day, it's all about the feeling a painting evokes in you when you look at it and that is influenced by how it was made. So far, the reaction to my work has overall been positive. I have shown this series in several other exhibitions already and have already been approached by the National Gallery, which wants to have two of my paintings in its collection."