Pleskot will prepare a commemoration of the painter Sýkora for Louny

Louny - Architect Josef Pleskot will prepare a project in Louny to commemorate the painter and native of Louny, Zdeněk Sýkora. The small square in front of the Vrchlického Theater will take the form of a curtain designed by Sýkora. The councilors approved an exception to the rules for public procurement and a licensing agreement with Lenka Sýkorová, the heir of the copyright.

Following this, the project documentation will be processed. "We were waiting for the councilors' decision because granting an exception is not entirely common," Jiří Jiroutek from the Sýkora 2020 association, which aims to commemorate the native by 2020 when he would celebrate his hundredth birthday, told ČTK today. "The implementation of Sýkora's motif on the piazzetta is tied to the project of architect Pleskot; we wanted him to handle it specifically. If there were to be a tender, someone else could win the contract, then the implementation would lose its meaning," Jiroutek explained.

Some criticized the granting of the exception. It ultimately passed with seventeen votes, two councilors were against, and six abstained. The total costs are estimated at 9.47 million crowns, of which the project documentation will cost 1.21 million crowns, and the fee for granting the license is one million crowns. "The piazzetta is basically a sidewalk, and the price that someone would project it for a million crowns seems really exaggerated to me," said councilor Stanislav Rybák (KSČM), who also disapproved of granting an exception to the public procurement rules.

According to Michal Kučera (TOP 09), the implementation is financially sustainable for Louny. The association has also offered to share in co-financing and to seek funds from various sources. "Louny has one enormous advantage; they have something to build upon, on specific works of art. If something is to remain here for future generations, this is it," said Kučera.

The proposal to commemorate the world pioneer in the use of computers in preparing artworks was presented to the councilors before the vote by Pleskot. Sýkora created a unique fireproof curtain for the Louny theater in 1962, which disappeared during the renovation of the building in 2002. It is recalled by a large-format photograph in the theater's entrance hall. "When I saw the curtain design, it immediately struck me that it is the proportion of a work that could be imprinted onto the piazzetta almost without corrections," Pleskot stated. According to him, the black and white mosaic, which will replace the existing concrete tiles, could be made from contemporary recycled materials. "Which would be an interesting experiment," added Pleskot, who emphasized that it would be an honor for him to create a work for Louny and for Sýkora.

The Sýkora 2020 association hopes that the realization of the project will, among other things, increase the city's visitor numbers. "People from the wider area are interested in the project, not just artists," Jiroutek said. "It will definitely be something that elevates Louny," he added.