On the Threshold of Tomorrow - Invitation to the Publication Baptism

On Friday, June 5, 2015, at 7:00 PM in the cultural space Prague in the courtyard of the Pražák Palace (Husova Street 18a) in Brno, a book launch will take place for a publication by a group of authors filling a gap in current thinking about cultural events, architecture, art, and interior design during the socialism period in the city of Brno, which has not yet received adequate attention in scholarly literature. It is the first attempt to evaluate individual chapters of post-war Brno art, architecture, urbanism, and other expressions of visual culture. Each case study examines selected issues such as design practices, experimental construction, the building of civic amenities and infrastructure, socialist propaganda, or the application of visual art in public space and architecture, throughout the entire period of state socialism with overlaps into the transformation period. In its liberal atmosphere, following the processes of deregulation and privatization, there is often very early damage or outright destruction of the unwanted heritage of socialism.

As part of the launch of this book, there will be short lectures by all authors relating to the themes of the individual chapters:
Rostislav Koryčánek: Brno, the city of exhibitions
Jan Kristek: Fragmented Sorela. The Brno dynamics of the construction process in the 1950s
Jana Kořínková: Between architectural decor and autonomous artistic work. Visual art as a part of residential construction during the period of socialist realism in Brno
Markéta Žáčková: From "non-architecture" to experiment
Jan Zálešák: The Furniture House in Brno. The role of the sector enterprise Nábytek in the promotion and, consequently, in the creation of the socialist lifestyle
Šárka Svobodová and Jarumyl Sedlák: Brno's sports dream. The urban and architectural development of the sports facility at Lužánky

Graphic design: DIP
Maps: Martin Pulicar
The book was published as part of the scientific-research collaboration between the Faculty of Fine Arts and the Faculty of Architecture at VUT in Brno.
During the launch, the publication will be available for purchase on-site for 350 CZK.

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