Friday, September 1, 2017

Sabina's Art During "Normalization"



While researching for our Czech film project and listening to the class present on the period of normalization, I couldn’t help but draw a parallel between their approach to art and Sabina. Just as with many authors and filmmakers, Sabina was taught to paint in a certain way. Her style was limited by the popular opinions of art, and sat within the confines of a government with restrictive views on expression.


Sabina, however, like the great authors and filmmakers, is able to break through this mold. Just as with “vault films” and underground literature, Sabina, through her accidental red drip, is able to create her own window into the realities of Czech life.

2 comments:

Margot Scott said...

I found these connections between Sabina and Czech filmmakers to be very fascinating. Like Sabina, many Czech filmmakers fled to the U.S. to escape Soviet oppression and were able to continue their good work. Although Sabina's art already expressed radicalism before the Soviet invasion, I wonder how she developed as an artist after living in the U.S. for a certain number of years. Especially after she reveals that she indeed, like everyone else, has kitsch inside her. Would she depict this acknowledgment of herself in her art and how? Did she maybe paint anyone from her past when she grew particularly weary?

Margot Scott said...
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