The central figure of Czech Surrealism: the video wizard, Jan Švankmajer.
Influenced by Expressionism, Cubism, and Dada, the Surrealists, Karel Teige, Toyen (Marie Čermínová), Vítězslav Nezval, and Jindřich Štyrský, promoted their own unique avant-garde “Poetism;” the movement then dissolved and reorganized before eventually fusing with Surrealism, 10 years after André Breton’s first Surrealist Manifesto. Under a socialist system, the Surrealists were forced underground, but through all the many generational changes, Czech Surrealism continues to exist even today.
The animation alchemist, Švankmajer; Czechoslovakia’s New Wave; the Czech animation of Zeman and Trnka; the path from Rudolf II to avant-garde....
A long-awaited collection of critical essays by enthusiastic advocates that is bound to contribute greatly to Japan’s introduction to Švankmajer.