BBLA Newsletter AUGUST 2017 | Issue No. 56
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 CHECK THIS OUT
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JAROSLAV KYNCL RECEIVES THE GRATIAS AGIT AWARD
The Czech Foreign Ministry handed out the 2017 GRATIAS AGIT awards to fifteen Czech expatriates and foreigners for promoting the good name of the Czech Republic abroad. This year's recipients include Jiri Belohlavek, the late conductor of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, or speed skater Martina Sablikova. From the US, Jaroslav Kyncl from Chicago received the award. CONGRATULATIONS!
JAROSLAV KYNCL was born in Prague. In 1959, he graduated in pharmacy from Masaryk University, Brno, before earning his natural sciences doctorate at the J. E. Purkyně University in Bratislava in 1963. Following the invasion by Soviet troops, he left Czechoslovakia with his family and continued his pharmacology research abroad. From 1968 to 1970, he worked for Heidelberg University, before relocating to the United States. Between 1970 and 1972, he continued his research at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, and then joined Abbott Laboratories in the suburbs of Chicago, where he ran a research program for this multinational pharmaceutical company for thirty years. Jaroslav Kyncl capped his extraordinarily successful scientific career with the discovery of Hytrin, the first drug that allows an enlarged prostate to function normally without the need for surgery.
With his wife, Dr Miroslava Kynclová, he created the Czech Exile Art Archive, which for decades has presented Czech ne art in the United States with loans of works and publishing activities. In Chicago, he hosted a popular series of representative non-commercial exhibitions of Czech exile artists at his own expense, showcasing artists: Jiri Kolar (Paris), Vladimír Skoda (Paris), Roman Kames (Paris), Jan Koblasa (Hamburg), Richard Rezac (Chicago), Alexander Hammid (New York), and Jan Lukas (New York). Jaroslav Kyncl's support of Czech classical music is also noteworthy. From 1996 to 1998, he sponsored a series of concerts by Czech chamber musicians and musical ensembles in Chicago and Washington, organized
in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic.
He contributed, among other things, to the long-term artistic development of the famous pianist Lukas Vondracek and his launch in the US.
Jaroslav Kyncl in an interview for the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library
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Kristyna and Marek Milde, Homescape, 2014
BBLA supports a two-month residency of Brooklyn-based interdisciplinary artists Kristyna and Marek Milde at the International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP). The artists are originally from Prague, working together as a collaborative tandem since 2011. Their work investigates diverse forms of modern lifestyles and its alienation from nature and the wider environmental context. Mildes examine themes that include domesticity, food and cultural rituals of daily reality offering the public an active role in various actions and situations allowing to reframe given cultural norms and stereotypes.
The ISCP residency program supports the creative development of artists and curators, and promotes exchange through residencies and public programs.
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F
irst
I
saw a sign
that said CROSS, so I crossed. Then I kept off the grass, didn't enter the high voltage area, and protected socialist state property-property that belongs to each and every Czechslovak citizen. Then I didn't litter, I waited for other passengers to get off before boarding, and kept my head and arms inside the tram. And then there was almost nothing left to do, so I didn't smoke for a while, did not obstruct the doors, used the rear exit, and prepared myself for about twenty minutes of not talking to the driver while the tram was in motion. I'm happy to do that, not talk to the driver while the tram is in motion: I often ex- emplarily stand behind him not talking for up to an hour, to show how cooperative I am. So I went to stand behind him when I saw this little white notice: OFFER YOUR SEAT TO OLDER PASSENGERS. The request didn't say which passenger-evidently that was left up to me. I looked around, chose a particularly pale and tired young woman, and got to work: excuse me for bothering you, miss, I said, how old are you? What? the woman said and peered at me closely. How old are you? I said. Me? said the woman and poked her finger at herself. And it was instantly clear that there was going to be trouble with her. You, I said. The woman looked me up and down, then slowly said
tsssss
, shook her head, and turned her back to me. Probably she didn't want to say her age out loud, so I tapped her on the shoulder and said to her as politely as possible: would you be so kind as to lend me your identity papers? She obeyed immediately, even though she must have known that identity papers must not be lent. Just remain calm, I said cordially, because meanwhile the contents of her handbag had spilled out. I leafed through her identity card, and read about where, when, to whom, and why she had been born, where she lived when, where she lives now, and by which numerals she was designated in this world. The woman nervously cleared her throat
and shifted her eyes all around. I was beginning to find her unpleasant. Well, never mind, I said to myself, I'll read a bit longer so as not to cause offense, then I'll offer her a seat somewhere and pack it in. The woman cleared her throat again. Are you employed? I asked, so the conversation wouldn't stall. The woman stuttered something and looked around, but no one advised her what to do. And why isn't that written here? I said. I, I, chirped the woman and shifted her eyes around again. By then she was really getting on my nerves...
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BBLA RECOMMENDS
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August 3 - October 28
ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM BEHIND THE IRON CURTAIN
This highly unusual exhibition addresses a little-known aspect of artistic expression in eastern Europe during the Cold War period, when official art in Soviet Bloc countries was strictly regulated and was required to adhere to Communist Party doctrine. The artists are
Andrej Jemec (b. 1934, Slovenia),
Tadeusz Kantor (1915-1990, Poland),
Jan Kotik (1916-2002, Czechoslovakia),
Edo Murtic (1921-2005, Croatia) and
Romul Nutiu (1932-2012, Romania).
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on view until August 12
JAN PECARKA: METAMORPHOSIS/THE SUMMIT
Inspired by Expressionism and figurative art, Jan Pecarka explores his own approach to the meaning and representation of the human body.
(5 East 89th Str, Manhattan)
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on view until August 13
MAKING SPACE: WOMEN ARTISTS AND POSTWAR ABSTRACTION
Drawn entirely from the Museum's collection, the exhibition features nearly 100 paintings, sculptures, photographs, drawings, prints, textiles, and ceramics by more than 50 artists, including Czech artist Bela Kolarova (1923-2010).
venue: The Museum of Modern Art
(11 West 53 Street, Manhattan)
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on view until September 10
TOMAS RAFA: NEW NATIONALISMS
An exhibition featuring the work of the Slovakian artist and documentary filmmaker. Since 2009, Rafa has employed the methods of cinéma vérité to document what he refers to as "new nationalisms" across Central Europe, creating vivid, stirring portraits of the resurgence of extreme right-wing, xenophobic, and neofascist groups in the region.
venue: MoMA PS1
(22-25 Jackson Avenue, Long Island City, NY 11101)
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BBLA'S MEMBER
ORGANIZATIONS
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Association of Free Czechoslovak Sportsmen
Czech and Slovak Solidarity Council
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Bohemian Benevolent & Literary Association | 321 East 73rd Street, 3rd floor | New York, NY 10021
(212) 988-1733 | www.bohemianbenevolent.org | info@bohemianbenevolent.org
BBLA is a not-for-profit organization established in 1891 in
New York City
as an umbrella organization for almost eighty Czech and Slovak immigrant organizations. The mission of BBLA is to preserve and support Czech and Slovak culture in
New York City
. BBLA
'
s member organizations include American Fund for Czech and Slovak Leadership Studies, Association of Free Czechoslovak Sportsmen, Czech and Slovak Solidarity Council, Czechoslovak Society of Arts and Sciences in
America
, Dvorak American Heritage Association and Sokol
New York
. BBLA is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization.
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