For obvious reasons, most art produced under repressive regimes appears painstakingly inoffensive. For equally obvious reasons, the rare works that criticize the establishment tend to do so in a rather roundabout way. This was not very true the handthe most famous short work by the Czech artist and stop-motion animator. Jizzy Trnka“The Walt Disney of Eastern Europe.” In the central conflict between the humble clown who just wants to carve a flower pot and the invasive gloved giant hand that forces him to express himself, one learns that the artist and the state I sense a certain allegory related to the power relationship between people.
“Trnka’s personal experience with totalitarianism under communist regimes is reflected and re-expressed in the meaning and knowledge he conveys through his short stories.” René-Marie Pizardi writes in an essay for Fantasy Animation magazine.. “State-run studios had the power to approve or censor certain themes and control their funding accordingly. Trnka therefore relies on their funding while resisting their politics, and this ambiguity restricted his freedom of expression in his work.
In Harlequin, “Trnka creates a character who not only portrays himself as an artist, but also a free-thinking individual who is deprived of agency and forced to act according to some ideology or system. .”
Completed in 1965, the hand This film was his last before his death four years later, but the rulers in power by then had little enthusiasm for circulating his animated indictments. In 1968, “prague spring” The period of liberalization that took place under Alexander Dubček turned out to be short-lived. About a year later, Dubček was replaced, his reforms reversed, and the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic “normalized” to its good old-fashioned ways. It was banned after Trnka’s death in 1969. the hand It remained legally unseen in his home country for 20 years. But today, the work is highly regarded by animation enthusiasts around the world, and its expression of a yearning for creative freedom still resonates. Be afraid of governments that fear your puppets in the late 60’s or here in the 21st century.
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Based in Seoul, Colin Mbemust write and broadcastIt’s about cities, languages and cultures. His projects include the Substack newsletter books about cities and a book Stateless City: A Stroll Through Los Angeles in the 21st Century. Follow him on Twitter @Colinbemust or facebook.
