Milan Knížák
Encyclopedia
Milan Knížák (ˈmɪlan ˈkɲiːʒaːk; born 19 April 1940, in Pilsen, Czechoslovakia
) is a Czech performance artist, sculptor, musician
, installation artist, dissident
, graphic artist
, art theorist and pedagogue of art.
, musician
and teacher
of mathematics
Karel Knížák from Doubravka u Plzně, nowadays part of the town Plzeň, and Julia Knížáková. The parents taught in Jarov /1932 - 1934/ and later in Blovice
close to Pilsen
. Milan Knížák was born in Plzeň on 19 April 1940. In 1945, after the expulsion of Germans from Czechoslovakia
the family moved to the Mariánské Lázně
, a spa town
town in the former
Sudetenland
, close to the German
border
. There, his father played violin in a spa orchestra
and Milan attended primary school, where he was interested in music
and literature
. He also took piano
, trumpet
and guitar
lessons.
) and graduated in 1957. One of his schoolmate was gallery gangster MUDr. Pavel Náprava (*1938) known in sixties like a "thief with the academic title" On several occasions young Milan visited the studio of the unofficial painter
and war veteran
Vladimír Modrý (1907–1976). Later he wrote /in his diaries from USA/ about movie Fantastic voyage
that its scenes reminded him the paintings by Vladimir Modrý. In one interview
Milan Knížák said about this period:
From his childhood in Mariánské Lázně
is known a story from one empty house. One day he appeared a secret garret warehouse of the quirts. His first exhibition was in 1958 in Mariánské Lázně
.
In the period of 1957-1958 He attended the Pedagogical University in Prague, majoring in art education - Russian language. He said it was a compromise between the wishes of his parents and his desire to be a painter
, later he dropped out. Then he became assistant worker in Prague exhibition grounds. He later passed the exams at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, where he also later abandoned. Then he studied the mathematical analysis of the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics in Prague. This studies after the first year was interrupted.
s, ceremonies, installations and various environments
on the busy or calm streets or in courtyards of Prague
.
Together with his friends he founded a group of contemporary art
(Actual Art). Sometime around 1966 the word "art
" was dropped from the name and group was called poor "AKTUAL". Already known and also documented are their actions in the part of old Prague
called New World, such as: "Demonstration of One" (1964). Some of AKTUAL´s songs were remastered by unofficial musical group The Plastic People of the Universe
, which members became, somewhat against their will, dissidents during political process in the autumn of the year 1976.
He was a member of Fluxus
, an international
(anti-)art
istic community of music
, actions, poetry
, objects
and events. Milan Knížák was director of Fluxus
East from the year 1965. He is known for organising and performing the first happening
s and concert
s in Czechoslovakia
: e.g. A Walk around Novy Svět
(The part of old Prague is called "New World") and the Demonstration for Oneself (both 1964). Later he had contacts with Fluxus
since 1965, the first contact
mediated Czech philosopher Jindřich Chalupecký. Knížák was promoted to “Director Fluxus East” by director George Maciunas
about 1965. In the countries of former Eastern bloc
there were managed these activities: Fluxus festival
s in Vilnius
(1966), Prague
(1966), Budapest
(1969), and Poznan
(1977).
poet
Allen Ginsberg
or minimal
artist Joseph Kosuth
. In October 1966, Milan Knížák organised the first Fluxus
concert
in Czechoslovakia
in Prague
. in which he appeared together with Ben Vautier
, Jeff Berner, Alison Knowles
, Serge Oldenbourg and Dick Higgins
. George Maciunas
invited Knížák to the USA in 1965. He had a visa
in 1968. He participated in the Fluxus
events there.
He realised his Lying Ceremony
in New Brunswick
and the "Difficult Ceremony" in New York
. George Maciunas
prepared the publication
of Knížák’s collected works as a Fluxus
Edition. He returned to Czechoslovakia
in 1970. His works was exhibited in the galleries in the East bloc, f.e. Kraków
in Poland
, Budapest
in Hungary
but also in capitalistic
Austria. In 1979 he received a fellowship
from the DAAD
to West Berlin
, where he meet with artists Wolf Vostell
and Czech poet
in emigration
Jiří Kolář
. In West Berlin
he cooperated like a designer
on one avantgard film
and created the automobile cycle of collage
s for the trust
of Volkswagen
.
and called "Enemy of the State
". He was also arrest
ed during process with the music band The Plastic People of the Universe
. In 1998 he unsuccessfully ran for the Senate
/independent, support by ODS/. Milan Knížák is director of the Czech National Gallery in Prague since 1999.
In 2010 he was became a recipient of the Medal of Merit.
of the National Gallery in Prague
Milan Knizak has held for over ten years. In this time period he was criticised by artist
s David Černý
, Jiří David, group Guma guar
and Rafani or the organizers of the first Prague Biennale in 2005, Giancarlo Politi
and magazine Flash Art. Criticism of them in particular contains Knizak's disregard of current artistic trends and Milan Knizak's opponents:
at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague since 1990.
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
) is a Czech performance artist, sculptor, musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, installation artist, dissident
Dissident
A dissident, broadly defined, is a person who actively challenges an established doctrine, policy, or institution. When dissidents unite for a common cause they often effect a dissident movement....
, graphic artist
Drawing
Drawing is a form of visual art that makes use of any number of drawing instruments to mark a two-dimensional medium. Common instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, inked brushes, wax color pencils, crayons, charcoal, chalk, pastels, markers, styluses, and various metals .An artist who...
, art theorist and pedagogue of art.
Childhood and early life in the Protectorate and in the former Sudetenland (1940-1960)
Milan Knizak is the son of the painterPainting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
, musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
and teacher
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
of mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
Karel Knížák from Doubravka u Plzně, nowadays part of the town Plzeň, and Julia Knížáková. The parents taught in Jarov /1932 - 1934/ and later in Blovice
Blovice
Blovice is a town in the Pilsen Region of the Czech Republic. It lies on the River Úslava, some to the South-East from the regional capital of Pilsen....
close to Pilsen
Plzen Region
Plzeň Region is an administrative unit in the western part of Bohemia in the Czech Republic. It is named after its capital Plzeň .- Communes :...
. Milan Knížák was born in Plzeň on 19 April 1940. In 1945, after the expulsion of Germans from Czechoslovakia
Expulsion of Germans from Czechoslovakia
The expulsion of Germans from Czechoslovakia after World War II was part of a series of evacuations and expulsions of Germans from Central and Eastern Europe during and after World War II....
the family moved to the Mariánské Lázně
Mariánské Lázne
Mariánské Lázně is a spa town in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. The town, surrounded by green mountains, is a mosaic of parks and noble houses...
, a spa town
Spa town
A spa town is a town situated around a mineral spa . Patrons resorted to spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. The word comes from the Belgian town Spa. In continental Europe a spa was known as a ville d'eau...
town in the former
Expulsion of Germans after World War II
The later stages of World War II, and the period after the end of that war, saw the forced migration of millions of German nationals and ethnic Germans from various European states and territories, mostly into the areas which would become post-war Germany and post-war Austria...
Sudetenland
Sudetenland
Sudetenland is the German name used in English in the first half of the 20th century for the northern, southwest and western regions of Czechoslovakia inhabited mostly by ethnic Germans, specifically the border areas of Bohemia, Moravia, and those parts of Silesia being within Czechoslovakia.The...
, close to the German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
border
Border
Borders define geographic boundaries of political entities or legal jurisdictions, such as governments, sovereign states, federated states and other subnational entities. Some borders—such as a state's internal administrative borders, or inter-state borders within the Schengen Area—are open and...
. There, his father played violin in a spa orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
and Milan attended primary school, where he was interested in music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
and literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
. He also took piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
and guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
lessons.
Studies and beginnings (1955-1965)
He started painting at fourteen. He attended secondary/high- school (Gymnasium in Planá u Mariánských LázníPlaná u Mariánských Lázní
Planá, or Planá u Mariánských Lázní is a town in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It lies some to the west from the region capital of Pilsen....
) and graduated in 1957. One of his schoolmate was gallery gangster MUDr. Pavel Náprava (*1938) known in sixties like a "thief with the academic title" On several occasions young Milan visited the studio of the unofficial painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
and war veteran
War Veteran
War Veteran is a science fiction short story by Philip K. Dick. It was first published in If magazine in March 1955.-Plot summary:The plot concerns an old man who claims to have travelled back in time from a future in which Earth has lost a devastating war to its own Martian and Venusian colonies...
Vladimír Modrý (1907–1976). Later he wrote /in his diaries from USA/ about movie Fantastic voyage
Fantastic Voyage
Fantastic Voyage is a 1966 science fiction film written by Harry Kleiner, based on a story by Otto Klement and Jerome Bixby.Bantam Books obtained the rights for a paperback novelization based on the screenplay and approached Isaac Asimov to write it....
that its scenes reminded him the paintings by Vladimir Modrý. In one interview
Interview
An interview is a conversation between two people where questions are asked by the interviewer to obtain information from the interviewee.- Interview as a Method for Qualitative Research:"Definition" -...
Milan Knížák said about this period:
- “I share with Modrý the fear from the spirit of mob”
From his childhood in Mariánské Lázně
Mariánské Lázne
Mariánské Lázně is a spa town in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. The town, surrounded by green mountains, is a mosaic of parks and noble houses...
is known a story from one empty house. One day he appeared a secret garret warehouse of the quirts. His first exhibition was in 1958 in Mariánské Lázně
Mariánské Lázne
Mariánské Lázně is a spa town in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. The town, surrounded by green mountains, is a mosaic of parks and noble houses...
.
In the period of 1957-1958 He attended the Pedagogical University in Prague, majoring in art education - Russian language. He said it was a compromise between the wishes of his parents and his desire to be a painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
, later he dropped out. Then he became assistant worker in Prague exhibition grounds. He later passed the exams at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, where he also later abandoned. Then he studied the mathematical analysis of the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics in Prague. This studies after the first year was interrupted.
Actual and public art (1960 - 1975)
At the beginning of the sixties He created his first activity - happeningHappening
A happening is a performance, event or situation meant to be considered art, usually as performance art. Happenings take place anywhere , are often multi-disciplinary, with a nonlinear narrative and the active participation of the audience...
s, ceremonies, installations and various environments
Environmental art
The term environmental art is used in two different contexts: it can be used generally to refer to art dealing with ecological issues and/or the natural, such as the formal, the political, the historical, or the social context....
on the busy or calm streets or in courtyards of Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
.
Together with his friends he founded a group of contemporary art
Contemporary art
Contemporary art can be defined variously as art produced at this present point in time or art produced since World War II. The definition of the word contemporary would support the first view, but museums of contemporary art commonly define their collections as consisting of art produced...
(Actual Art). Sometime around 1966 the word "art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
" was dropped from the name and group was called poor "AKTUAL". Already known and also documented are their actions in the part of old Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
called New World, such as: "Demonstration of One" (1964). Some of AKTUAL´s songs were remastered by unofficial musical group The Plastic People of the Universe
The Plastic People of the Universe
The Plastic People of the Universe is a rock band from Prague, Czech Republic. It was the foremost representative of Prague's underground culture . This avant-garde group went against the grain of the Communist regime and due to its non-conformism often suffered serious problems such as arrests...
, which members became, somewhat against their will, dissidents during political process in the autumn of the year 1976.
He was a member of Fluxus
Fluxus
Fluxus—a name taken from a Latin word meaning "to flow"—is an international network of artists, composers and designers noted for blending different artistic media and disciplines in the 1960s. They have been active in Neo-Dada noise music and visual art as well as literature, urban planning,...
, an international
International
----International mostly means something that involves more than one country. The term international as a word means involvement of, interaction between or encompassing more than one nation, or generally beyond national boundaries...
(anti-)art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
istic community of music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, actions, poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
, objects
Object (philosophy)
An object in philosophy is a technical term often used in contrast to the term subject. Consciousness is a state of cognition that includes the subject, which can never be doubted as only it can be the one who doubts, and some object or objects that may or may not have real existence without...
and events. Milan Knížák was director of Fluxus
Fluxus
Fluxus—a name taken from a Latin word meaning "to flow"—is an international network of artists, composers and designers noted for blending different artistic media and disciplines in the 1960s. They have been active in Neo-Dada noise music and visual art as well as literature, urban planning,...
East from the year 1965. He is known for organising and performing the first happening
Happening
A happening is a performance, event or situation meant to be considered art, usually as performance art. Happenings take place anywhere , are often multi-disciplinary, with a nonlinear narrative and the active participation of the audience...
s and concert
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
s in Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
: e.g. A Walk around Novy Svět
Hradcany
Hradčany , the Castle District, is the district of the city of Prague, Czech Republic, surrounding the Prague Castle.The castle is said to be the biggest castle in the world at about 570 meters in length and an average of about 130 meters wide. Its history stretches back to the 9th century...
(The part of old Prague is called "New World") and the Demonstration for Oneself (both 1964). Later he had contacts with Fluxus
Fluxus
Fluxus—a name taken from a Latin word meaning "to flow"—is an international network of artists, composers and designers noted for blending different artistic media and disciplines in the 1960s. They have been active in Neo-Dada noise music and visual art as well as literature, urban planning,...
since 1965, the first contact
Social network
A social network is a social structure made up of individuals called "nodes", which are tied by one or more specific types of interdependency, such as friendship, kinship, common interest, financial exchange, dislike, sexual relationships, or relationships of beliefs, knowledge or prestige.Social...
mediated Czech philosopher Jindřich Chalupecký. Knížák was promoted to “Director Fluxus East” by director George Maciunas
George Maciunas
George Maciunas was a Lithuanian-born American artist. He was a founding member of Fluxus, an international community of artists, architects, composers, and designers...
about 1965. In the countries of former Eastern bloc
Eastern bloc
The term Eastern Bloc or Communist Bloc refers to the former communist states of Eastern and Central Europe, generally the Soviet Union and the countries of the Warsaw Pact...
there were managed these activities: Fluxus festival
Festival
A festival or gala is an event, usually and ordinarily staged by a local community, which centers on and celebrates some unique aspect of that community and the Festival....
s in Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
(1966), Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
(1966), Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
(1969), and Poznan
Poznan
Poznań is a city on the Warta river in west-central Poland, with a population of 556,022 in June 2009. It is among the oldest cities in Poland, and was one of the most important centres in the early Polish state, whose first rulers were buried at Poznań's cathedral. It is sometimes claimed to be...
(1977).
Fluxus festival in Prague 1966
In the 60 years Milan Knížák lived in the street directly in the New World. There was also visited by an American beatnikBeatnik
Beatnik was a media stereotype of the 1950s and early 1960s that displayed the more superficial aspects of the Beat Generation literary movement of the 1950s and violent film images, along with a cartoonish depiction of the real-life people and the spiritual quest in Jack Kerouac's autobiographical...
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
Allen Ginsberg
Allen Ginsberg
Irwin Allen Ginsberg was an American poet and one of the leading figures of the Beat Generation in the 1950s. He vigorously opposed militarism, materialism and sexual repression...
or minimal
Minimalism
Minimalism describes movements in various forms of art and design, especially visual art and music, where the work is set out to expose the essence, essentials or identity of a subject through eliminating all non-essential forms, features or concepts...
artist Joseph Kosuth
Joseph Kosuth
Joseph Kosuth , is an American conceptual artist. Kosuth lives in New York and Rome.-Early life and career:Kosuth was born in Toledo, Ohio. He attended the Toledo Museum School of Design from 1955 to 1962 and studied privately under the Belgian painter Line Bloom Draper. In 1963, Kosuth enrolled at...
. In October 1966, Milan Knížák organised the first Fluxus
Fluxus
Fluxus—a name taken from a Latin word meaning "to flow"—is an international network of artists, composers and designers noted for blending different artistic media and disciplines in the 1960s. They have been active in Neo-Dada noise music and visual art as well as literature, urban planning,...
concert
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
in Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
. in which he appeared together with Ben Vautier
Ben Vautier
Ben Vautier , also known simply as Ben, is a French artist.Vautier lives and works in Nice, where he ran a record shop called Magazin between 1958 and 1973...
, Jeff Berner, Alison Knowles
Alison Knowles
Alison Knowles in New York City is an American visual artist known for her soundworks, installations, performances, and publications. Knowles was very active in the Fluxus movement, and continues to create work inspired by her Fluxus experience....
, Serge Oldenbourg and Dick Higgins
Dick Higgins
Dick Higgins was a composer, poet, printer, and early Fluxus artist. Higgins was born in Cambridge, England, but raised in the United States in various parts of New England, including Worcester, Massachusetts, Putney, Vermont, and Concord, New Hampshire.Like other Fluxus artists, Higgins studied...
. George Maciunas
George Maciunas
George Maciunas was a Lithuanian-born American artist. He was a founding member of Fluxus, an international community of artists, architects, composers, and designers...
invited Knížák to the USA in 1965. He had a visa
Visa (document)
A visa is a document showing that a person is authorized to enter the territory for which it was issued, subject to permission of an immigration official at the time of actual entry. The authorization may be a document, but more commonly it is a stamp endorsed in the applicant's passport...
in 1968. He participated in the Fluxus
Fluxus
Fluxus—a name taken from a Latin word meaning "to flow"—is an international network of artists, composers and designers noted for blending different artistic media and disciplines in the 1960s. They have been active in Neo-Dada noise music and visual art as well as literature, urban planning,...
events there.
He realised his Lying Ceremony
Ceremony
A ceremony is an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion. The word may be of Etruscan origin.-Ceremonial occasions:A ceremony may mark a rite of passage in a human life, marking the significance of, for example:* birth...
in New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
and the "Difficult Ceremony" in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. George Maciunas
George Maciunas
George Maciunas was a Lithuanian-born American artist. He was a founding member of Fluxus, an international community of artists, architects, composers, and designers...
prepared the publication
Publication
To publish is to make content available to the public. While specific use of the term may vary among countries, it is usually applied to text, images, or other audio-visual content on any medium, including paper or electronic publishing forms such as websites, e-books, Compact Discs and MP3s...
of Knížák’s collected works as a Fluxus
Fluxus
Fluxus—a name taken from a Latin word meaning "to flow"—is an international network of artists, composers and designers noted for blending different artistic media and disciplines in the 1960s. They have been active in Neo-Dada noise music and visual art as well as literature, urban planning,...
Edition. He returned to Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
in 1970. His works was exhibited in the galleries in the East bloc, f.e. Kraków
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
in Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
but also in capitalistic
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
Austria. In 1979 he received a fellowship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
from the DAAD
German Academic Exchange Service
The German Academic Exchange Service or DAAD is the largest German support organisation in the field of international academic co-operation....
to West Berlin
West Berlin
West Berlin was a political exclave that existed between 1949 and 1990. It comprised the western regions of Berlin, which were bordered by East Berlin and parts of East Germany. West Berlin consisted of the American, British, and French occupation sectors, which had been established in 1945...
, where he meet with artists Wolf Vostell
Wolf Vostell
Wolf Vostell was a German painter, sculptor, noise music maker and Happening artist of the second half of the 20th century. Wolf Vostell is considered one of the pioneers of video art, environment-sculptures, Happenings and the Fluxus Movement...
and Czech poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
in emigration
Emigration
Emigration is the act of leaving one's country or region to settle in another. It is the same as immigration but from the perspective of the country of origin. Human movement before the establishment of political boundaries or within one state is termed migration. There are many reasons why people...
Jiří Kolář
Jirí Kolár
Jiří Kolář was a Czech poet, writer, painter and translator. His work was divided between literary and visual art.- Life :Kolář came from a poor family of a baker and a seamstress...
. In West Berlin
West Berlin
West Berlin was a political exclave that existed between 1949 and 1990. It comprised the western regions of Berlin, which were bordered by East Berlin and parts of East Germany. West Berlin consisted of the American, British, and French occupation sectors, which had been established in 1945...
he cooperated like a designer
Designer
A designer is a person who designs. More formally, a designer is an agent that "specifies the structural properties of a design object". In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, such as consumer products, processes, laws, games and graphics, is referred to as a...
on one avantgard film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
and created the automobile cycle of collage
Collage
A collage is a work of formal art, primarily in the visual arts, made from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole....
s for the trust
Trust
Trust may refer to:* Trust , reliance on another person or entity-Business and legal:* Trust law, an arrangement in which property is managed by one person or entity for the benefit of another...
of Volkswagen
Volkswagen
Volkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer and is the original and biggest-selling marque of the Volkswagen Group, which now also owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, and Škoda marques and the truck manufacturer Scania.Volkswagen means "people's car" in German, where it is...
.
Political activities
During communist era he was under police surveillanceSurveillance
Surveillance is the monitoring of the behavior, activities, or other changing information, usually of people. It is sometimes done in a surreptitious manner...
and called "Enemy of the State
Enemy of the State
Enemy of the State is a 1998 spy-thriller film about a group of rogue NSA agents who kill a US Congressman and try to cover up the murder. It was written by David Marconi, directed by Tony Scott, and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, and it stars Will Smith, Gene Hackman, Jon Voight, Lisa Bonet and...
". He was also arrest
Arrest
An arrest is the act of depriving a person of his or her liberty usually in relation to the purported investigation and prevention of crime and presenting into the criminal justice system or harm to oneself or others...
ed during process with the music band The Plastic People of the Universe
The Plastic People of the Universe
The Plastic People of the Universe is a rock band from Prague, Czech Republic. It was the foremost representative of Prague's underground culture . This avant-garde group went against the grain of the Communist regime and due to its non-conformism often suffered serious problems such as arrests...
. In 1998 he unsuccessfully ran for the Senate
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a legislature or parliament. There have been many such bodies in history, since senate means the assembly of the eldest and wiser members of the society and ruling class...
/independent, support by ODS/. Milan Knížák is director of the Czech National Gallery in Prague since 1999.
In 2010 he was became a recipient of the Medal of Merit.
- “I am a controversial figure, and as a controversial figure I received this award. And I received it from the controversial President KlausVáclav KlausVáclav Klaus is the second President of the Czech Republic and a former Prime Minister .An economist, he is co-founder of the Civic Democratic Party, the Czech Republic's largest center-right political party. Klaus is a eurosceptic, but he reluctantly endorsed the Lisbon treaty as president of...
. Are you satisfied with that?”
Critiques
His post of general directorGeneral Director
In CIS corporate governance, the general director is the highest executive position in a company, analogous to a US CEO or a UK managing director...
of the National Gallery in Prague
National Gallery in Prague
The National Gallery in Prague is a state-owned art gallery in Prague, Czech Republic. It is housed in different locations within the city, the largest being the Veletržní Palác....
Milan Knizak has held for over ten years. In this time period he was criticised by artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
s David Černý
David Cerný
David Černý is a Jewish - Czech sculptor whose works can be seen in many locations in Prague. His works tend to be controversial. He gained notoriety in 1991 by painting a Soviet tank pink that served as a war memorial in central Prague...
, Jiří David, group Guma guar
Guma guar
Guma guar is a politically-active artist's collective in Prague, Czech Republic. They are known for their deconstruction of mass media functions or works on the topics of the "War on Terror"...
and Rafani or the organizers of the first Prague Biennale in 2005, Giancarlo Politi
Giancarlo Politi
Giancarlo Politi is the founder of Flash Art Magazine.-Magazine:In 1967 he moved to Rome, where he started his own art magazine, called Flash, and then changed it to Flash Art...
and magazine Flash Art. Criticism of them in particular contains Knizak's disregard of current artistic trends and Milan Knizak's opponents:
- 2000 leaving of Katarína Rusnáková
- In January 2000, culminated a dispute between the National Gallery and the "Center of Franz Kafka", represented by Marta Železná.
- Some controversy gifts and Milan Knizak's shopping: fake picturesHan van MeegerenHan van Meegeren , born Henricus Antonius van Meegeren, was a Dutch painter and portraitist, and is considered to be one of the most ingenious art forgers of the 20th century....
by Alexander RodchenkoAlexander RodchenkoAleksander Mikhailovich Rodchenko was a Russian artist, sculptor, photographer and graphic designer. He was one of the founders of constructivism and Russian design; he was married to the artist Varvara Stepanova....
from collectorCollectingThe hobby of collecting includes seeking, locating, acquiring, organizing, cataloging, displaying, storing, and maintaining whatever items are of interest to the individual collector. Some collectors are generalists, accumulating merchandise, or stamps from all countries of the world...
Rainer Kreissl. Major part of the russian avant-gardeRussian avant-gardeThe Russian avant-garde is an umbrella term used to define the large, influential wave of modern art that flourished in Russia approximately 1890 to 1930 - although some place its beginning as early as 1850 and its end as late as 1960...
works by the likes of Kazimir MalevichKazimir MalevichKazimir Severinovich Malevich was a Russian painter and art theoretician, born of ethnic Polish parents. He was a pioneer of geometric abstract art and the originator of the Avant-garde Suprematist movement.-Early life:...
, Popova, Kandinsky, Natalia GoncharovaNatalia GoncharovaNatalia Sergeevna Goncharova was a Russian avant-garde artist , painter, costume designer, writer, illustrator, and set designer. Her great-aunt was Natalia Pushkina, wife of the poet Alexander Pushkin.-Life and work:...
etc. are the fakesFalsumThe up tack is a constant symbol used to represent:* Bottom element in lattice theory.* The bottom type in type theory.* A logical constant denoting contradiction in logic.It appears as the upside down tee symbol....
Thanks for their bigger and bigger prices of their works at auctionAuctionAn auction is a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bid, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder...
s – Natalia GoncharovaNatalia GoncharovaNatalia Sergeevna Goncharova was a Russian avant-garde artist , painter, costume designer, writer, illustrator, and set designer. Her great-aunt was Natalia Pushkina, wife of the poet Alexander Pushkin.-Life and work:...
became the highest-selling female artist in the year 2008 and undying popularity of these artists amongst russian oligarchsRussian oligarchsBusiness oligarch is a near-synonym of the term "business magnate", borrowed by the English speaking and western media from Russian parlance to describe the huge, fast-acquired wealth of some businessmen of the former Soviet republics during privatization in Russia and other post-Soviet states in...
and new Russian business elite. In 2008 yellow press wrote about "overpriced" shopping (Nation Gallery and its sponsor bought this item in 2003) of the conceptual artConceptual artConceptual art is art in which the concept or idea involved in the work take precedence over traditional aesthetic and material concerns. Many of the works, sometimes called installations, of the artist Sol LeWitt may be constructed by anyone simply by following a set of written instructions...
sculpture "Auto" by Joseph BeuysJoseph BeuysJoseph Beuys was a German performance artist, sculptor, installation artist, graphic artist, art theorist and pedagogue of art.His extensive work is grounded in concepts of humanism, social philosophy and anthroposophy; it culminates in his "extended definition of art" and the idea of social...
. The information was published in magazine AHA! in January 2008.
- 2000, The Jindřich Chalupecký AwardJindřich Chalupecký AwardThe Jindřich Chalupecký Award is a prize awarded annually to young visual artists. Candidates must be Czech citizens aged less than 35 years.-History:The prize was established in 1990 by Václav Havel, Jiří Kolář and Theodor Pištěk...
. After a dispute between Milan Knížák and David ČernýDavid CernýDavid Černý is a Jewish - Czech sculptor whose works can be seen in many locations in Prague. His works tend to be controversial. He gained notoriety in 1991 by painting a Soviet tank pink that served as a war memorial in central Prague...
of Černý's statues placement in the Veletržní Palác LaureateLaureateIn English, the word laureate has come to signify eminence or association with literary or military glory. It is also used for winners of the Nobel Prize.-History:...
David ČernýDavid CernýDavid Černý is a Jewish - Czech sculptor whose works can be seen in many locations in Prague. His works tend to be controversial. He gained notoriety in 1991 by painting a Soviet tank pink that served as a war memorial in central Prague...
was leading out by guardSecurity guardA security guard is a person who is paid to protect property, assets, or people. Security guards are usually privately and formally employed personnel...
s on the street Dukelských hrdinůBattle of the Dukla PassBattle of the Dukla Pass, also known as the Dukla / Carpatho-Dukla / Rzeszów-Dukla / Dukla-Prešov Offensive was the scene of bitterly contested battle for the Dukla Pass on the Eastern Front of World War II between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union in September-October 1944. German resistance was...
. Václav HavelVáclav HavelVáclav Havel is a Czech playwright, essayist, poet, dissident and politician. He was the tenth and last President of Czechoslovakia and the first President of the Czech Republic . He has written over twenty plays and numerous non-fiction works, translated internationally...
was forced to pass the price on the sidewalkSidewalkA sidewalk, or pavement, footpath, footway, and sometimes platform, is a path along the side of a road. A sidewalk may accommodate moderate changes in grade and is normally separated from the vehicular section by a curb...
in front of the palace (now there is open air mammothMammothA mammoth is any species of the extinct genus Mammuthus. These proboscideans are members of Elephantidae, the family of elephants and mammoths, and close relatives of modern elephants. They were often equipped with long curved tusks and, in northern species, a covering of long hair...
sculpture gallery) as David Černý refused to enter to the National Gallery as long as it is led by Milan Knížák. Václav HavelVáclav HavelVáclav Havel is a Czech playwright, essayist, poet, dissident and politician. He was the tenth and last President of Czechoslovakia and the first President of the Czech Republic . He has written over twenty plays and numerous non-fiction works, translated internationally...
said the likeness about A MuhammadEverybody Draw Mohammed DayEverybody Draw Mohammed Day was an event held on 20 May 2010 in support of free speech and freedom of artistic expression of those threatened by violence for drawing representations of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad...
and the Mount. Later The Jindřich Chalupecký Award was removed from PraguePraguePrague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
to BrnoBrnoBrno by population and area is the second largest city in the Czech Republic, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the administrative centre of the South Moravian Region where it forms a separate district Brno-City District...
.
- 2002, a dispute between Josef LadaJosef LadaJosef Lada was a Czech painter and writer.He is best known as the illustrator of Jaroslav Hašek's World War One novel The Good Soldier Švejk...
´s copyright holders and artist Tomáš Vaněk. Milan Knížák decided Vaněk's pictures cover by white textiles /pictures were sprayed on the walls/ until the dispute will be resolved.
- 2004 the group Rafani visiting the Veletržní palác and publicly shit on the floor of the exhibition of Czech and Slovak art of the sixties like a protest against the leadership of the National Gallery in PragueNational Gallery in PragueThe National Gallery in Prague is a state-owned art gallery in Prague, Czech Republic. It is housed in different locations within the city, the largest being the Veletržní Palác....
. Their event was described by themselves like a performancePerformanceA performance, in performing arts, generally comprises an event in which a performer or group of performers behave in a particular way for another group of people, the audience. Choral music and ballet are examples. Usually the performers participate in rehearsals beforehand. Afterwards audience...
. Milan Knížák talking about them like: "Rafani are the largest conventionConventionConvention may refer to:* Treaty, an agreement in international law* Convention , a large gathering of people who share a common interest** Political convention, a formal gathering of people for political purposes...
under the sun. They are so careful ...".
- 2007 Milan Knizak´s own price for young artist /younger than 33 years/ called "cena 333" (The Award 333) is awarded by the National Gallery. CEZCEZ GroupCEZ Group is a conglomerate of 96 companies , 72 of them in the Czech Republic. It is involved in the electricity generation, distribution, and trade. CEZ Group operates also in Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Germany, Hungary, Kosovo, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and...
Foundation supports it. Prize was awarded the group of Ztohoven. Milan Knížák appreciated their risky intervention in the Czech Television, sometimes erroneously called such as hackingComputer crimeComputer crime, or cybercrime, refers to any crime that involves a computer and a network. The computer may have been used in the commission of a crime, or it may be the target. Netcrime refers to criminal exploitation of the Internet. Such crimes may threaten a nation’s security and financial health...
, in which illegally broke into the private property of Czech Radiocommunications, climbed into one of the transmitters and over installed cameras they entered into the live broadcast like a very original atomicNuclear weaponA nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
explosion.
- 2008, Group "Time for a change" wanted a new international competition for Milan Knížák's post. The main representative of this requirement was artist Jiří David. Milan Knížák described him like a mentally disturbed person with a large inner paranoiaParanoiaParanoia [] is a thought process believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of irrationality and delusion. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy concerning a perceived threat towards oneself...
.
Pedagogy
Milan Knížák is a professor of intermediaIntermedia
Intermedia was a concept employed in the mid-sixties by Fluxus artist Dick Higgins to describe the ineffable, often confusing, inter-disciplinary activities that occur between genres that became prevalent in the 1960s. Thus, the areas such as those between drawing and poetry, or between painting...
at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague since 1990.
- 1998: Ecal école cantonale d´art de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland – lectures, lecture on history of performing art
- 1997: Centre Georges Pompidou, Domaine de Boisbuchet, France – extension and pedagogy
- 1991, 1992: Vitra Museum, Weil am Rhein, BRD – lectures
- 1991: Sommerakademie Berlin, BRD – pedagogy
- 1990 -1997: Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, chancellor and professor of intermediaIntermediaIntermedia was a concept employed in the mid-sixties by Fluxus artist Dick Higgins to describe the ineffable, often confusing, inter-disciplinary activities that occur between genres that became prevalent in the 1960s. Thus, the areas such as those between drawing and poetry, or between painting...
- since 1989: professor of intermediaIntermediaIntermedia was a concept employed in the mid-sixties by Fluxus artist Dick Higgins to describe the ineffable, often confusing, inter-disciplinary activities that occur between genres that became prevalent in the 1960s. Thus, the areas such as those between drawing and poetry, or between painting...
at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague - 1987, 1990, 1993, 1996: Inter. Sommerakademie Salzburg, Rakousko – pedagogy and lectures
- 1983: HfBK Hamburg, BRD – lectures on art
- 1969: University of Kentucky, Lexington, USA + UCLA, Los Angeles, USA – lectures on performing art
Awards
- 1997 Medal of first instance of the Ministry of Education* 2010 He became the holder of the Medal of MeritMedal of Merit (Czech Republic)The Medal of Merit is an award of the Czech Republic which comes in three grades, the First Grade being the highest. It awards people for service to the Republic in a number of different public arenas, including: "the economy, science, technology, culture, arts, sports, enlightenment and...
Exhibitions
- 1965: Fashion, specification: Cut the coat along its entire length. Wear each half separately.
- 1965: Cat, specification: Get a cat.
- 1965-1970: Killing the Books, specification: by shooting, by burning, by drowning, by cutting, by gluing, by painting white, or red, or black...
- 1968: Lying Ceremony: specification: Blindfolded people lie on the ground for a long time. New York, New BrunswickNew BrunswickNew Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
. USA.
External links
- http://www.artnotart.com/fluxus/mknizak--.html
- Milan Knizak opens solo exhibition at Manes Gallery - Czech Radio