Jindřich Chalupecký

Jindřich Chalupecký (12 February 1910 – 19 June 1990) was a Czech art and literary theorist and critic, essayist, art historian, and translator. He was the husband of poet Jiřina Hauková.

Life

1910–1948 Jindřich Chalupecký was born on 12 February 1910 in Prague. His father was a university professor of ophthalmology, author of books such as Heinrich Heine and The Music of Colors. His father died of infectious hepatitis when Jindřich was eight years old, and his mother remarried to his father's assistant, Kamil Fiala. Fiala also worked as a translator from English and French and as a music and literary critic for the magazine Modern revue.

Chalupecký became interested in art while studying at the gymnasium on Křemencova Street in Prague. From 1928 to 1932, he studied pedagogy, psychology, literature, French and history of art at the Faculty of Arts, Charles University. He attended lectures by Jan Mukařovský, but found no connection between aesthetics as a scientific discipline and the meaning and place of art in the contemporary world. He did not complete his studies.

He made his debut in 1930 with articles in the weekly Čin (Action) and the magazines Lumír, Blok, Přítomnost, Listy pro umění a kritiku. He was a teacher and director of a business school, where the painter Zdenek Rykr also worked. In pre-war Czechoslovakia, he was one of the left-wing intellectuals and, in addition to publishing in literary magazines and newspapers, he was a theorist of Group 42, which began to form in the 1930s.

During World War II, he was a member of the illegal "Artistic Five" of the National Revolutionary Committee of Intellectuals. In 1942, he was editor of the magazine Život ('Life') published by Umělecká beseda, and after the war he was briefly secretary of the newly founded Block (Syndicate) of Visual Artists. From 1946 to 1948 he was editor-in-chief of the quarterly magazine Listy ('Pages' for art and philosophy), and from 1946 to 1949 he was a member of the committee of the literary department of the Umělecká beseda. In 1944, the UB's Fine Arts Department published his study The Meaning of Fine Arts. In 1948, he was a member of the State Publishing Commission, and from 1948 to 1949, he was a member of the Syndicate of Czech Writers and secretary of the Art Council of the Union of Czechoslovak Fine Artists. Textile art was not subject to ideological supervision by the Communist Party, and Chalupecký was able to travel to exhibitions abroad and had access to books and catalogs of modern art. He made a number of new friends among the younger generation of artists who opposed the aesthetic dogmas of socialist realism.

In 1966, he organized an exhibition of Czech modern art entitled "Tschechoslowakische Kunst der Gegenwart" in Berlin, in 1967 "17 tsjechische kunstenaars" in The Hague, and in 1968 the exhibition "Arte contemporanea in Cecoslovacchia," which took place in 1969 at the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte in Rome.

1968–1990 After the occupation of Czechoslovakia in August 1968, he was gradually removed from all his positions. After the publication of the article "All Power to the Workers' Councils", which emerged at the very end of the 1960s and called for the destruction of the "tradition of passivity" and a revolution that would pave the way for pluralism, he was again banned from publishing. He was last allowed to travel abroad in 1969 as a juror at the International Exhibition of Modern Art in Paris. Under the pretext of reconstruction, the Václav Špála Gallery was closed in 1970. In 1970, Chalupecký held two more exhibitions entitled Confrontation in the substitute space of the Galerie Nova at Voršilská Street. The second exhibition was closed the day after it opened under the pretext of heating repairs and he then retired permanently. In the early 1970s, he was able to travel to Moscow, where he followed the activities of local avant-garde artists (Kabakov, Pivovarov, Bulatov, Steinberg, and others). Since 1969, Chalupecký cooperated on exhibitions with Schwarz Gallery in Milan (František Janoušek, 1969, Jiří Kolář, 1972, Ladislav Novák, 1974) and with Baruch Gallery in Chicago (Jiří Balcar, 1979).

In 1978, he was asked to write a chapter on contemporary art in the USSR, Poland, and Czechoslovakia for an overview of art history published by the Berlin publishing house Ullstein Verlag. After 1980, he also wrote for the exile magazines Rozmluvy (London), Proměny and Cross-Currents.

After the fall of the communist regime, Chalupecký was already seriously ill and dependent on hemodialysis. On the initiative of Jiří Kolář, a public collection of works of art was organized at the end of 1989, the auction of which was to raise funds for the purchase of a hemodialysis machine. The machine was eventually purchased by the Charter 77 Foundation. The donations were used to organize an exhibition entitled "Tribute to Jindřich Chalupecký" (16–28 January 1990), and the paintings became part of the collection of the Jan and Meda Mládek Foundation in Museum Kampa. Chalupecký died on 19 June 1990.

A selection of essays by Chalupecký, Cestou necestou / By hook or by crook (1934–1989), was prepared for samizdat publication in the late 1980s, but was revised several times until February 1990, when it was first taken on by the Odeon publishing house, which, however, ceased to exist shortly thereafter. This delayed the publication, and Chalupecký's selected works were not finally published until 1999 by H&H Publishing.

Awards 1967 Antonín Matějček Award The Jindřich Chalupecký Award, presented by the Jindřich Chalupecký Society, is the most prestigious award that a Czech artist under the age of 35 can receive. He engaged in long discussions with artists, poets, and writers. Visits to their studios and workrooms allowed him to observe their work from an immediate proximity. He was probably the most influential figure in Czech art theory in the second half of the 20th century, a man of strong character, with knowledge spanning a number of fields, who wrote about art in a way that is difficult to imitate and has yet to be surpassed.

Chalupecký was primarily concerned with contemporary visual art. He was troubled by the question of modern society's relationship to visual art and the question of the definition and boundaries of contemporary art, such as the legitimacy of performance art as a visual art form. He summarized these reflections in his book Na hranicích umění (On the Frontiers of Art). For the younger generation, Chalupecký represented a silenced spokesperson for free artistic thought, who in his reflections questioned the apparent certainties of artistic tradition while also passing on information about current events in the world. His courage to seek out untried methods and forms of expression through which art can respond to external circumstances and the inner life of contemporary man was inspiring. He was intimately familiar with the work of artists, whom he visited in their studios, and he also paid attention to solitary figures outside the art scene, such as Vladimír Boudník.

His book dedicated to Marcel Duchamp and entitled The Fate of the Artist – Duchampian Meditations, was published posthumously in 1998. In it, he reflects on the historical milestone represented by Duchamp's radical shift from traditional painting to his "ready-mades" and the transition from the decorative function of a work of art to a work that has become a sign. According to Chalupecký, "art is a bridge that connects what is here and now with what is nowhere and never." In his reflection on human awareness of the world, he wrote: "Realizing, preserving, and communicating this awareness is the purpose of art. The intoxication and dazzlement we call beauty, the special strength that art gives us, even the happiness we experience through it, is most likely the feeling that we have momentarily attained that totality of being in our consciousness."

Selected bibliography Smysl moderního umění / The Meaning of Modern Art, Art department of Umělecká beseda, Prague 1944 Veliká příležitost – poznámky k reorganisaci českého výtvarnictví / A Great Opportunity – Notes on the Reorganization of Czech Art, Art department of Umělecká beseda, Prague 1946 Kultura a lid / Culture and People, Družstvo Dílo přátel umění a knihy; Živé dokumenty. Malá řada; vol. 3., 1947 Richard Weiner, Štorch-Marien, Aventinum, Prague 1947 Mostra d´arte contemporanea cecoslovacca, cat. Galleria delle Scorpione, Trieste 1947 Intelektuál za socialismu / Intellectuals under Socialism, Prague 1949 Politická závěť Františka Halase / The Political Testament of František Halas, Frankfurt am Main 1952 Umění dnes / Art Today, Publishing House of Czechoslovak Visual Artists, Prague 1966 Tschechoslowakische Kunst der Gegenwart, Akademie der Künste Berlin, 1966 Arte contemporanea in Cecoslovacchia, De Luca Editori ďArte, Rome 1969 (with Palma Bucarelli) Il surrealismo eretico di Ladislav Novák, 64 p., Galleria Schwarz, Milan 1974 Marcel Duchamp a osud moderního umění / Marcel Duchamp and the Fate of Modern Art, 1975, samizdat Vladimir Yakovlev, (Gennadiy Aygi, Jindřich Chalupecký), Borgen 1976 O dada, surrealismu a českém umění / On Dada, Surrealism, and Czech Art, 67 pp. Jazzpetit No. 2; supplement to the Jazz bulletin, Jazz Section, Prague 1977 samizdat Cesta Jiřího Koláře / The Journey of Jiří Kolář, 1977, samizdat Tschechoslowakei, Die Kunst des 20. Jahrhunderts. Propyläen Kunstgeschichte, Berlin 1979 Richard Weiner a český expresionismus. Richard Weiner a skupina Le Grand Jeu / Richard Weiner and Czech Expressionism. Richard Weiner and the Le Grand Jeu Groupe, 1979, samizdat Podobizna umělce v moderním věku: Duchampsovské meditace / Portrait of an Artist in the Modern Age: Duchampian Meditations, manuscript 1982 (2 volumes) Praha 1984 / Prague 1984, Critical Anthology, 1984, samizdat Poezie a politika / Poetry and Politics, 1984, samizdat Jiří Kolář, Revue K, Alfortville 1987 Na hranicích umění / On the Frontiers of Art, Arkýř, Munich 1987, , Prostor Prague 1990, Obhajoba umění / Defense of Art 1934-1948 (samizdat 1988), Československý spisovatel Prague 1991, František Janoušek, Odeon Prague 1991, Expresionisté / Expressionists: Richard Weiner – Jakub Deml – Ladislav Klíma – Strange Hašek , Torst Prague 1992, Nové umění v Čechách / New Art in Bohemia (samizdat 1988), published by H+H Jinočany 1994, Tíha doby / The Weight of Time, (Essays on the temporal context and cultural situations of 1968–1988), Votobia Publishing House, Olomouc 1997, (paperback) Úděl umělce, (Duchampovské meditace) / The Fate of the Artist, (Duchampian Meditations), Torst, Prague 1998, , A művész sorsa: Duchamp-meditációk, Budapest: Balassi, 2002, Cestou necestou 1934–1989 / On the Road, Off the Road 1934–1989, Trochtová Z, Rous J, (eds.) published by H+H Jinočany 1994, Evropa a umění / Europe and Art (completed 1989), Torst Prague 2005,

Selected articles in magazines Svět, v němž žijeme / The World We Live In, Program D 40, 1939/40, no. 4., 8. 2. 1940, pp. 88–89, reprinted in: Obhajoba umění / Defense of Art, 1991, pp. 68–74; repr. in: České umění / Czech Art 1938–1989, 2001, pp. 35–37. Dvě kapitoly k filozofii architektury / Two Chapters on the Philosophy of Architecture, Život 18, 1942, pp. 60–64 Konec moderní doby / The End of the Modern Era, Listy pro umění a filozofii 1, no. 1 (1946), pp. 7–23; reprinted in: Obhajoba umění / Defense of Art, pp. 155–177; reprinted in: Z dějin českého myšlení o literatuře 1 / From the History of Czech Thought on Literature 1 (1945–1948), Prague 2001, pp. 364–383; repr. in: České umění 1938–1989, 2001, pp. 71–81 Kultura za okupace / Culture under Occupation, Listy pro umění a filozofii / Letters for Art and Philosophy 1, no. 1 (1946), pp. 132–134; reprinted in: Z dějin českého myšlení o literatuře 1 / From the History of Czech Thought on Literature 1 (1945–1948), Prague 2001, pp. 15–19 Básník, charakter, politika / Poet, Character, Politics, Listy pro umění a filozofii / Letters for Art and Philosophy 1, no. 2 (1946), pp. 298–302; reprinted in: Z dějin českého myšlení o literatuře 1 / From the History of Czech Thought on Literature 1 (1945–1948), Prague, 2001, pp. 19–25 Poznámka o Cézannovi / Note on Cézanne, Listy pro umění a filozofii / Letters for Art and Philosophy 1, no. 3 (1947), pp. 460–463 Kultura a politika / Culture and Politics, Listy pro umění a filozofii / Letters for Art and Philosophy 1, no. 3 (1947), pp. 468–473; reprinted in: Obhajoba umění / Defense of Art, 1991, pp. 178–186; reprinted in: Z dějin českého myšlení o literatuře / From the History of Czech Thought on Literature 1 (1945–1948), Prague, 2001, pp. 217–224; reprinted in: České umění / Czech Art 1938–1989, 2001, pp. 82–86 Současná filosofie a její čeští kritikové / Contemporary Philosophy and Its Czech Critics, Listy pro umění a filozofii / Letters for Art and Philosophy 2, no. 2 (1948), pp. 69–87 Nové úkoly / New Tasks, Listy pro umění a filozofii / Letters for Art and Philosophy 3, no. 1 (1948), pp. 16–20; reprinted in: Defense of Art / Obhajoba umění, 1991, pp. 187–197; reprinted in: Z dějin českého myšlení o literatuře / From the History of Czech Thought on Literature 1 (1945–1948), Prague, 2001, pp. 347–356 Za svět lidštější / For a More Humane World, Výtvarná práce 6, 1958, no. 13/14, pp. 60–64 Počátky Skupiny 42 / The Beginnings of Group 42, Výtvarná práce 11, 1963, no. 19/20, pp. 1, 8–9 Byt a filozofie / Apartment and Philosophy, Výtvarná práce 12, 1964, no. 22, pp. 1, 7, no. 23, p. 6 Co je to abstrakce / What is Abstraction, Výtvarná práce 14, 1964, no. 1, pp. 1, 6. Umění / Art 1967, Výtvarná práce 17, 1967, no. 10, pps. 474–483 Přítomnost člověka / The Presence of Man, Výtvarné umění 18, 1968, no. 1/2, pp. 2–12 Nezbytí svobody / The Necessity of Freedom, Literární listy I, 28. 11. 1968, no. 4, pp. 1, 3 Všechnu moc dělnickým radám / All Power to the Workers' Councils, Listy I, 20. 2. 1969, no. 7, pp. 1, 3 Happening a spol. / Happening and Co, Sešity 1969, no. 33, pp. 13–16 Tragické umění / Tragic Art, Výtvarná práce 18, 1970, no. 10, p. 7 Umění v našem věku / Art in Our Time, Výtvarné umění 20, 1970, no. 2, pp. 65–74 The Fate of a Generation, Notiazario di Arte Contemporanea 1972, no. 10, pp. 10–14 Moscow Diary, Studio International (London) 185, 1973, no. 952, pp. 81–96 Les symboles chez M. Duchamp, Opus International 1974 Tempo Zero, Data (Milano) 1975, 18. Sept–Oct., pp. 80–87 Art in a different world, Studio International 167, 1976, no. 982 (July-Aug.), pp. 79–82 L'anima dell'androgino" / "The Soul of the Androgyne, Flash Art 1977, č. 78/79 Nov.–Dec., s. 55–57 The Work and the Sacrifice, Flash Art 1978, no. 80/81 Feb.–April, p. 31 L´Europe e l´arte, Flash Art 1981 Spellbound by Prague, Cross-Currents 1982 The Leson of Prague, Studio International 196, 1983 No Longer Art, Art Monthly 79, 1984, Sept., pp. 3–5 Marcel Duchamp - A Re-Evaluation, Artibus et Historiae 6, no. 11, 1985, p. 125-136 Les ready-made de Duchamp et la Théorie du symbole, Artibus et Historiae 7, no. 13, 1986, p. 153-163

Translations Articles by Heidegger, Jaspers and Sartre for the periodical Listy pro umění a filozofii, T. S. Eliot, The Waste Land / Pustá země, translation J. Hauková and J. Chalupecký, ed. Stýblo, Prague 1946