Group of experts criticizes the design of the monument for Mendel Square in Brno

Brno – A group of artists, academics, and theorists of visual art criticized the result of the public competition for a statue for Mendel Square in Brno in an open letter. The competition was announced on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the birth of the father of genetics, Gregor Johann Mendel, which falls this year. The artistic foundry worker and sculptor Jaromír Gargulák succeeded in the competition. However, the signatories of the open letter consider his bronze monument Hrachovina to be "literally illustrative to the point of being banal." Brno's mayor Markéta Vaňková (ODS) wrote to ČTK that key experts were on the jury and a contract has already been signed.

"The result, brought by an internationally announced, financially well-secured competition, is unfortunately disappointing," stated the position published on the Archiweb.cz portal. "It would be better if the design were not realized in this form," said Terezie Petišková, director of the House of Arts in Brno and one of the signatories, to ČTK.

"There is no person in the world who could please everyone," responded sculptor Gargulák. He emphasized that work on the monument has already begun at the foundry. He hinted that the negative reaction from part of the art community may also be due to the fact that he is not a graduate of an art school.

The open letter is addressed to representatives of the Augustinian monastery at Mendel Square, Brno's mayor Vaňková, and members of the city council. "The jury included key experts on all important assessed aspects. As a member, I can confirm that the final selection was discussed in great detail," Vaňková stated. According to her, the competition is already concluded and a contract is in place. "I have no reason to question the outcome of the competition, and such a step would also be legally very problematic," the mayor added.

The signatories of the letter recommend a review of the competition results, considering the level of the winning sculpture, its financial demands, and Mendel's reputation. "Given the scope and significance of the competition, we also recommend transparently publishing all the competition proposals and the jury's verbal assessments," they wrote in their statement.

The first to sign the open letter is architect Zdeněk Fránek. He was the chairman of the jury that ultimately decided by a narrow margin in favor of Gargulák. Another jury member, sculptor Kurt Gebauer, praised Gargulák's proposal at a recent press conference.

"The winning design consists of a total of four separate objects and embodies all the laws of inheritance defined by Mendel, where the monumental part of the work depicts the crossing of alleles under complete dominance, resulting in a phenotypic segregation ratio as determined by Mendel’s square. This is precisely depicted in the sculpture, where bronze is the dominant material," described Gebauer's concept.

The competition was organized by the organization Společně. Its director Jakub Carda told ČTK that the conditions of the competition were known for half a year and no one had any objections to them. "The work is already being produced and there is no way to change anything. We have received good reactions from people. I regret that some people do not like it. But if part of these people had applied, there could have been more proposals, and the jury could have selected someone else," Carda stated.

The twelve-ton monument will be passable, consisting of four horizontal and vertical units. It features a square with 16 stelae in the shape of keys, on top of which are peas in colors and shapes proportionally corresponding to Mendel's discoveries. The costs are 20 million crowns. Half will be provided by the city of Brno. The rest will be financed from private and public sources, with small donors able to contribute.