Cultural Connections Project 1: Global Collaborative Project (Video Synopsis)
Cultural Connections Project 2: Scripted Duologue Based on Meetup Group or AirBnb City Experience (GoAnimate)
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Cultural Connections Project 3: Experience-Based Travel Writing Based on Meetup Group or AirBnb City Experience (Post on Travel Blog)
Cultural Collections Project 1: Mapping Culture (Google Maps)
Cultural Collections Project 2: Timelining Culture (MyHistro)
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Cultural Collections Project 3: Curating Cultural Objects (Voicethread)
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Cultural Reflections Project 1: The Last Word, Czech education articles
The most intriguing article in education readings was “Development of the Czech Education,” by Katerina Vlckova. The conversation hinged on the following sentences from page 3: “After the war {World War II}, the school system as well as the infrastructure were all in ruins. There was a lack of teachers, for many died to concentration camps.”
My discussion group was struck by the paucity of information contained in those stark words. It is one thing to consider the catastrophe of World War II and the Holocaust as historical events that happened to other people due to their religious or ethnic identity, but few of us had considered that members of our own profession, colleagues had we been born in another time and place, were also targets of the Nazi oppressors. We spent quite some time discussing not only what was said, but what was unsaid; why teachers were targets and what the impacts of that persecution might be upon Czech schools, its educational system, and the regard with which Czech society views teachers today. I cannot really say that we reached any definitive conclusions or insights; as with so many aspects of my personal study of Czech history and culture, it seems that there are more questions than answers.
Weeks went by, and this assignment lingered undone, and truthfully, mostly forgotten. Then, as I was reading Laurent Binet’s excellent novel HHhH about the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, this passage leapt off the page and reignited our discussion in my mind. According to Binet, Heydrich made the following remarks in a speech dated February 4, 1942:
It is essential to sort out the Czech teachers because the teaching profession is a breeding ground for opposition. It must be destroyed, and all Czech secondary schools must be shut. The Czech youth must be torn away from this subversive atmosphere and educated elsewhere… (pages 202-203)
I may never know the names of those Czech teachers who went to their deaths under the Nazi regime, but I will not forget that they were the “breeding ground for opposition,” and created a “subversive atmosphere” for the children in the charge in the face of the hatred of their Nazi occupiers. These words that secured their deaths also speak volumes to me about their willingness to teach truth and resist evil no matter the cost. These teachers are heroes and should be honored as such.
The most intriguing article in education readings was “Development of the Czech Education,” by Katerina Vlckova. The conversation hinged on the following sentences from page 3: “After the war {World War II}, the school system as well as the infrastructure were all in ruins. There was a lack of teachers, for many died to concentration camps.”
My discussion group was struck by the paucity of information contained in those stark words. It is one thing to consider the catastrophe of World War II and the Holocaust as historical events that happened to other people due to their religious or ethnic identity, but few of us had considered that members of our own profession, colleagues had we been born in another time and place, were also targets of the Nazi oppressors. We spent quite some time discussing not only what was said, but what was unsaid; why teachers were targets and what the impacts of that persecution might be upon Czech schools, its educational system, and the regard with which Czech society views teachers today. I cannot really say that we reached any definitive conclusions or insights; as with so many aspects of my personal study of Czech history and culture, it seems that there are more questions than answers.
Weeks went by, and this assignment lingered undone, and truthfully, mostly forgotten. Then, as I was reading Laurent Binet’s excellent novel HHhH about the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, this passage leapt off the page and reignited our discussion in my mind. According to Binet, Heydrich made the following remarks in a speech dated February 4, 1942:
It is essential to sort out the Czech teachers because the teaching profession is a breeding ground for opposition. It must be destroyed, and all Czech secondary schools must be shut. The Czech youth must be torn away from this subversive atmosphere and educated elsewhere… (pages 202-203)
I may never know the names of those Czech teachers who went to their deaths under the Nazi regime, but I will not forget that they were the “breeding ground for opposition,” and created a “subversive atmosphere” for the children in the charge in the face of the hatred of their Nazi occupiers. These words that secured their deaths also speak volumes to me about their willingness to teach truth and resist evil no matter the cost. These teachers are heroes and should be honored as such.
Cultural Reflections Project 2: Czech Book Club
Summer Meditations, by Vaclav Havel, offers a refreshing contrast to the barrage of negative stories that dominate our current political landscape. The Czech president, rather than being embittered by the repression and persecution that he endured during the Soviet domination of Czechoslovakia, offers a view of political leadership that inspires and exhorts. Havel defines government as a means to create a moral and cultured society where working for the collective good supersedes partisanship and incivility. Havel's vision is in marked contrast to the current situation in the United States and other nations whose leadership seem determined to divide rather than unite and to appeal to the lowest common denominator in the name of political gain. How rare a message it is when Havel proclaims that "it makes sense to behave decently or to help others, to place common interests above their own, to respect the elementary rules of human coexistence."
The common interests to which Havel refers are rooted in education, culture, and a strong market economy. He envisions an increasingly integrated European community where a united Czechoslovakia finds a role to play as its people reclaim a tradition of democratic governance and reliance on the rule of law rather than the whim of communist dictators. While a united Czechoslovakia did not survive the transition from Cold War to post-modern Europe, Havel's larger message is not diminished. He defines home as a series of concentric circles where a person (and nation) can reside simultaneously and compatibly in a number of different realms, recognizing the value of a complex national identity and history. As a long-time victim of an ideology that subverted individual rights, he proclaims the worth of ideas and action based on moral standards even when those decisions come at the expense of one's personal comfort or popularity. Ultimately, his message is one of hope, a belief that leaders determined to act can effect lasting change, and that a good and humane state can, in fact, yield a society of the same character.
Since the book is entirely in Havel's voice, one wonders how time and hindsight have altered the Czech people's view of someone who, from an outside perspective, seems to offer a positive vision for the modern world. Despite this caveat, the book is a quick read and revealing glimpse into the way that one man used his position of leadership to challenge people making a difficult and historic transition.
Summer Meditations, by Vaclav Havel, offers a refreshing contrast to the barrage of negative stories that dominate our current political landscape. The Czech president, rather than being embittered by the repression and persecution that he endured during the Soviet domination of Czechoslovakia, offers a view of political leadership that inspires and exhorts. Havel defines government as a means to create a moral and cultured society where working for the collective good supersedes partisanship and incivility. Havel's vision is in marked contrast to the current situation in the United States and other nations whose leadership seem determined to divide rather than unite and to appeal to the lowest common denominator in the name of political gain. How rare a message it is when Havel proclaims that "it makes sense to behave decently or to help others, to place common interests above their own, to respect the elementary rules of human coexistence."
The common interests to which Havel refers are rooted in education, culture, and a strong market economy. He envisions an increasingly integrated European community where a united Czechoslovakia finds a role to play as its people reclaim a tradition of democratic governance and reliance on the rule of law rather than the whim of communist dictators. While a united Czechoslovakia did not survive the transition from Cold War to post-modern Europe, Havel's larger message is not diminished. He defines home as a series of concentric circles where a person (and nation) can reside simultaneously and compatibly in a number of different realms, recognizing the value of a complex national identity and history. As a long-time victim of an ideology that subverted individual rights, he proclaims the worth of ideas and action based on moral standards even when those decisions come at the expense of one's personal comfort or popularity. Ultimately, his message is one of hope, a belief that leaders determined to act can effect lasting change, and that a good and humane state can, in fact, yield a society of the same character.
Since the book is entirely in Havel's voice, one wonders how time and hindsight have altered the Czech people's view of someone who, from an outside perspective, seems to offer a positive vision for the modern world. Despite this caveat, the book is a quick read and revealing glimpse into the way that one man used his position of leadership to challenge people making a difficult and historic transition.
Cultural Reflections Project 3: Czech Film Club
Anthropoid, the 2016 film by Sean Ellis, raises more questions than it answers. Portraying the searing events surrounding the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich during World War II, the historical drama forces the viewer to face a number of troubling issues. From the Czech perspective, what is the ongoing price of the countless sacrifices made and lives lost during the Nazi occupation? How do people who were abandoned via the Munich Pact to Hitler’s insatiable aggression find the courage to fight and resist at such great cost to themselves and their society? Had the western democracies after whom Czechoslovakia patterned itself in 1918 come to its defense before the war, would the story of Czechoslovakia after the war be one of Soviet and communist domination?
But the questions do not cease with a recounting of the horrors that unfolded in Czechoslovakia, for the film also forces one to revisit numerous horrors of the Nazi regime. How did so much evil in the form of men like Adolf Hitler, Heinrich Himmler, and the target of the movie’s assassins, Reinhard Heydrich, converge in a single time and place? How many ordinary, and thereby nameless people, were complicit in the deeds depicted in the film and thousands of others through the course of the war? How does a society rebuild itself after such crimes and what lessons exist for leaders and nations that grapple with unspeakable violence and terror, past and present?
Beyond the questions of national and historical reckoning, the film also poses personal questions. What is one life worth? How does one decide to sacrifice a life, his own or someone else’s, to save another? What is any one person willing to die for? While Anthropoid certainly answered some questions about this horrific episode history, it leaves one grappling with far more issues than it resolved.
Anthropoid, the 2016 film by Sean Ellis, raises more questions than it answers. Portraying the searing events surrounding the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich during World War II, the historical drama forces the viewer to face a number of troubling issues. From the Czech perspective, what is the ongoing price of the countless sacrifices made and lives lost during the Nazi occupation? How do people who were abandoned via the Munich Pact to Hitler’s insatiable aggression find the courage to fight and resist at such great cost to themselves and their society? Had the western democracies after whom Czechoslovakia patterned itself in 1918 come to its defense before the war, would the story of Czechoslovakia after the war be one of Soviet and communist domination?
But the questions do not cease with a recounting of the horrors that unfolded in Czechoslovakia, for the film also forces one to revisit numerous horrors of the Nazi regime. How did so much evil in the form of men like Adolf Hitler, Heinrich Himmler, and the target of the movie’s assassins, Reinhard Heydrich, converge in a single time and place? How many ordinary, and thereby nameless people, were complicit in the deeds depicted in the film and thousands of others through the course of the war? How does a society rebuild itself after such crimes and what lessons exist for leaders and nations that grapple with unspeakable violence and terror, past and present?
Beyond the questions of national and historical reckoning, the film also poses personal questions. What is one life worth? How does one decide to sacrifice a life, his own or someone else’s, to save another? What is any one person willing to die for? While Anthropoid certainly answered some questions about this horrific episode history, it leaves one grappling with far more issues than it resolved.
Cultural Reflections Project 5: Urban Neighborhood Analysis (from Field Research)
Trebesin
This neighborhood is part of Prague 3. It is a mixed use area that includes apartments, businesses, and three cemeteries. It borders Zizko where the television tower is located.
This neighborhood has more businesses in the area that I visited than it does residential buildings. My initial assumption when I took pictures is that I was looking at communist bloc era apartment buildings, but further research revealed that these structures are office buildings and storefronts. The area was busy, with an equal amount of car and foot traffic. I observed a mix of people in terms of age. Most people seemed to be in a hurry to reach a destination rather than casually strolling along the sidewalk. The tall glass/mirrored building is an insurance building. The storefronts had a mix of businesses, including a furniture store, car wash, and different types of restaurants.
Many of the buildings appeared to be relics of communist construction. They do not have the same ornate style as many of the buildings in central Prague. None of them looked new, and the warehouse that housed a number of businesses had extensive graffiti along the wall facing the street. Businesses appeared to be small and individually owned. There were two flower shops on opposite corners, likely because there are three cemeteries located here. Public transit is available here (metro and buses), but there were also many cars and busy intersections. There was a donation bin for used clothing and household items which was not apparent in other areas of the city. There is also a construction project in this area to extend the tram line to this location so that people can use the tram to visit the cemeteries.
There is a strong contrast between the neighborhood and the natural environment within the cemeteries. Inside the New Jewish Cemetery, there are many trees. The walls of the cemetery block much of the street noise and the setting is peaceful and serene. There are benches placed throughout the cemetery where people may sit and reflect or meditate. The walls of the cemetery are lined with markers dedicated to victims of the Holocaust. A number of these plaques have rock arrangements that people have constructed on the border that runs along the bottom of the wall.
This neighborhood represents a very different view of Prague than visiting the city center and surrounding neighborhoods. I initially thought that the area was more working class, but it may be that my view of the neighborhood was restricted to businesses. Upon further research using Google maps, I discovered that there were several schools and apartment complexes just off the main street where I took my pictures. I also was confused by the hotel. It did not seem to be an area that would have a strong demand for hotel accommodations, yet the hotel is highly rated (4 stars) though reviews are mixed. I think this neighborhood is likely more prosperous than my initial observations revealed. I should have gone further off the main street to explore the side streets and surrounding areas. Lack of time and uncertainty about the safety of the area were the factors that most limited my exploration. It was informative to see such a different side of Prague.
Trebesin
This neighborhood is part of Prague 3. It is a mixed use area that includes apartments, businesses, and three cemeteries. It borders Zizko where the television tower is located.
This neighborhood has more businesses in the area that I visited than it does residential buildings. My initial assumption when I took pictures is that I was looking at communist bloc era apartment buildings, but further research revealed that these structures are office buildings and storefronts. The area was busy, with an equal amount of car and foot traffic. I observed a mix of people in terms of age. Most people seemed to be in a hurry to reach a destination rather than casually strolling along the sidewalk. The tall glass/mirrored building is an insurance building. The storefronts had a mix of businesses, including a furniture store, car wash, and different types of restaurants.
Many of the buildings appeared to be relics of communist construction. They do not have the same ornate style as many of the buildings in central Prague. None of them looked new, and the warehouse that housed a number of businesses had extensive graffiti along the wall facing the street. Businesses appeared to be small and individually owned. There were two flower shops on opposite corners, likely because there are three cemeteries located here. Public transit is available here (metro and buses), but there were also many cars and busy intersections. There was a donation bin for used clothing and household items which was not apparent in other areas of the city. There is also a construction project in this area to extend the tram line to this location so that people can use the tram to visit the cemeteries.
There is a strong contrast between the neighborhood and the natural environment within the cemeteries. Inside the New Jewish Cemetery, there are many trees. The walls of the cemetery block much of the street noise and the setting is peaceful and serene. There are benches placed throughout the cemetery where people may sit and reflect or meditate. The walls of the cemetery are lined with markers dedicated to victims of the Holocaust. A number of these plaques have rock arrangements that people have constructed on the border that runs along the bottom of the wall.
This neighborhood represents a very different view of Prague than visiting the city center and surrounding neighborhoods. I initially thought that the area was more working class, but it may be that my view of the neighborhood was restricted to businesses. Upon further research using Google maps, I discovered that there were several schools and apartment complexes just off the main street where I took my pictures. I also was confused by the hotel. It did not seem to be an area that would have a strong demand for hotel accommodations, yet the hotel is highly rated (4 stars) though reviews are mixed. I think this neighborhood is likely more prosperous than my initial observations revealed. I should have gone further off the main street to explore the side streets and surrounding areas. Lack of time and uncertainty about the safety of the area were the factors that most limited my exploration. It was informative to see such a different side of Prague.
Cultural Reflections Project 6: Czech Education Analysis (from Field Research)
Relevance is a term commonly bandied about in educational circles today. To be relevant is to have usefulness or authenticity for a particular people and context. For the Czech people, making the learning experiences of its children relevant has been a constant concern. Consider the mission of Charles University, founded by Charles IV in the 14th century, to be a place of “international character” that would enable Prague and its people to compete intellectually with the greatest cities in Europe. The traditional course of study focused on the arts, medicine, law, and theology. Each area of study played a vital role in the development of the city and society that Charles IV ruled and helped Prague grow as the seat of the Holy Roman Empire.
By the time of the Renaissance, relevant subjects of study had expanded to include the growth of crafts and a changing business economy that emphasized increasingly wider trade networks. The study of geography and astronomy helped students develop the knowledge required to participate in an expanding world. At almost the same time, religious conflicts erupted throughout Europe and in Bohemia specifically. Education was a vehicle to advance religious beliefs and to enable groups to build cohesiveness and commonality among their adherents. The combination of these efforts resulted in a rise of nationalism, the translation of the Bible into the Czech vernacular, and the growth of a system of schools that emphasized esthetic, social, and physical education and were open to both propertied and unpropretied students.
The Thirty Years’ War devastated central Europe and the Bohemian lands specifically. The tragedy of prolonged warfare had an unusual effect for women. Education was essential for the many widows who survived the tumult and were left to run the farms and businesses their soldier husbands had left behind. A relevant education in this period enabled people to rebuild their lives. In religious terms, education offered the victorious Catholic church to assert its dominance through the publication of prayer books, hymnals, and biographies of saints. A relevant education was one that promoted the official faith, at least from the perspective of the ruling Habsburg dynasty.
From the postwar period, the most significant Czech education reformer emerged, John Amos Comenius. He framed education in a different light. In the Great Didactic, Comenius described education as a means to eliminate the hatred and warfare that had shattered the first half of the seventeenth century. The bedrock of his beliefs included education of both genders and all races, to the highest level attainable, with an emphasis on learning as a lifelong activity. A relevant education was one that could help society to progress and lift the prospects of all its members, not just the most privileged few. In this spirit, the Czech Technical University was founded in 1707, making it the oldest non-military technical school in Europe. Relevant educational experiences began to encompass the skills needed to make one both a productive worker and thoughtful member of society.
It is interesting then, that in more recent times, education’s purpose and utility have been undermined and questioned. For example, during the Nazi occupation, schools were closed and many teachers were deported. Education was viewed as a threat rather than a necessity. During the Soviet era, 1948-1989, those who had been privileged before reign of communism were purposefully and deliberately denied access to educational opportunities. The relevant goal of education, from the perspective of the Soviet occupiers and their supporters, was indoctrination in the communist propaganda with the suppression of basic civil rights of free expression and privacy.
Even in the era since the collapse of communism, education has struggled to regain the prominent and even exalted place that held in times past. Teachers are not well-compensated, curriculum is in flux, and attempts at reform seem uneven at best. Perhaps a conversation with Markita, a lifelong Prague resident and guide at the Kafka museum, best summarizes the current dilemma of relevance for the Czech educational system. She worries that the political climate in Czech Republic is shifting toward a nostalgia for the days of communism. The schools, she says, do not focus on what life was really like for people then. They teach about prehistory and things that happened a thousand years ago, but not about what happened when the Soviets ruled just fifty years ago. The educational system, at least in this regard, seems to have lost its relevance to the most pressing issues of today. One hopes that the spirit of Comenius will be revived, not only in Czech Republic, but in any place where narrow agendas threaten learning, understanding, and freedom.
Relevance is a term commonly bandied about in educational circles today. To be relevant is to have usefulness or authenticity for a particular people and context. For the Czech people, making the learning experiences of its children relevant has been a constant concern. Consider the mission of Charles University, founded by Charles IV in the 14th century, to be a place of “international character” that would enable Prague and its people to compete intellectually with the greatest cities in Europe. The traditional course of study focused on the arts, medicine, law, and theology. Each area of study played a vital role in the development of the city and society that Charles IV ruled and helped Prague grow as the seat of the Holy Roman Empire.
By the time of the Renaissance, relevant subjects of study had expanded to include the growth of crafts and a changing business economy that emphasized increasingly wider trade networks. The study of geography and astronomy helped students develop the knowledge required to participate in an expanding world. At almost the same time, religious conflicts erupted throughout Europe and in Bohemia specifically. Education was a vehicle to advance religious beliefs and to enable groups to build cohesiveness and commonality among their adherents. The combination of these efforts resulted in a rise of nationalism, the translation of the Bible into the Czech vernacular, and the growth of a system of schools that emphasized esthetic, social, and physical education and were open to both propertied and unpropretied students.
The Thirty Years’ War devastated central Europe and the Bohemian lands specifically. The tragedy of prolonged warfare had an unusual effect for women. Education was essential for the many widows who survived the tumult and were left to run the farms and businesses their soldier husbands had left behind. A relevant education in this period enabled people to rebuild their lives. In religious terms, education offered the victorious Catholic church to assert its dominance through the publication of prayer books, hymnals, and biographies of saints. A relevant education was one that promoted the official faith, at least from the perspective of the ruling Habsburg dynasty.
From the postwar period, the most significant Czech education reformer emerged, John Amos Comenius. He framed education in a different light. In the Great Didactic, Comenius described education as a means to eliminate the hatred and warfare that had shattered the first half of the seventeenth century. The bedrock of his beliefs included education of both genders and all races, to the highest level attainable, with an emphasis on learning as a lifelong activity. A relevant education was one that could help society to progress and lift the prospects of all its members, not just the most privileged few. In this spirit, the Czech Technical University was founded in 1707, making it the oldest non-military technical school in Europe. Relevant educational experiences began to encompass the skills needed to make one both a productive worker and thoughtful member of society.
It is interesting then, that in more recent times, education’s purpose and utility have been undermined and questioned. For example, during the Nazi occupation, schools were closed and many teachers were deported. Education was viewed as a threat rather than a necessity. During the Soviet era, 1948-1989, those who had been privileged before reign of communism were purposefully and deliberately denied access to educational opportunities. The relevant goal of education, from the perspective of the Soviet occupiers and their supporters, was indoctrination in the communist propaganda with the suppression of basic civil rights of free expression and privacy.
Even in the era since the collapse of communism, education has struggled to regain the prominent and even exalted place that held in times past. Teachers are not well-compensated, curriculum is in flux, and attempts at reform seem uneven at best. Perhaps a conversation with Markita, a lifelong Prague resident and guide at the Kafka museum, best summarizes the current dilemma of relevance for the Czech educational system. She worries that the political climate in Czech Republic is shifting toward a nostalgia for the days of communism. The schools, she says, do not focus on what life was really like for people then. They teach about prehistory and things that happened a thousand years ago, but not about what happened when the Soviets ruled just fifty years ago. The educational system, at least in this regard, seems to have lost its relevance to the most pressing issues of today. One hopes that the spirit of Comenius will be revived, not only in Czech Republic, but in any place where narrow agendas threaten learning, understanding, and freedom.
Cultural Reflections Project 7: Czech Literature Analysis (from Field Research)
The perfect setting for my Kafka inspired work of art is on the sidewalk in the Stare Mesto neighborhood in Prague. It should be on the route that Kafka traveled with his cook to school each day. I chose to represent his route to school with an infinity loop because he felt that the journey to school was endless. Inside the infinity loop, the phrase, "On the way to school" is repeated throughout the loop. Kafka is represented by a person sketched in the style that was displayed in Kafka's own artwork at the museum. His limbs help to form the letters of the word "ravachol," which is a reference to a comment made to Kafka by his father. A ravachol is an anarchist or murderer. Kafka feared that he might become such a person.
The perfect setting for my Kafka inspired work of art is on the sidewalk in the Stare Mesto neighborhood in Prague. It should be on the route that Kafka traveled with his cook to school each day. I chose to represent his route to school with an infinity loop because he felt that the journey to school was endless. Inside the infinity loop, the phrase, "On the way to school" is repeated throughout the loop. Kafka is represented by a person sketched in the style that was displayed in Kafka's own artwork at the museum. His limbs help to form the letters of the word "ravachol," which is a reference to a comment made to Kafka by his father. A ravachol is an anarchist or murderer. Kafka feared that he might become such a person.
Cultural Reflections Project 8: Czech Art/Visual Analysis (from Field Research)
The first piece that I analyzed is entitled Woman Picking Flowers by Frantisek Kupka. It starts off with a figure standing in cool, deep blues and greens and progresses in a series of slow motion stills to a figure bending forward in warm tones of red, yellow, and orange. The first thing that I noticed in this picture is the contrast in colors. It seems to represent a transition. Upon closer review, I also saw the stages of motion, almost as if a moment in this person’s life was being shown one still shot scene at a time. I also wondered what the figure was reaching toward. I thought that maybe it was meant to show a personal awakening or a transition toward greater awareness or liveliness. Once I looked at the title placard, the figure’s motions made sense and I could see the ways that the flowers were present in the corner of the painting. The date of the work is 1909. I think this painting shows the value that Czech culture places on beauty and the quality of daily life. It might also indicate a sense of patience in the passage of time while waiting for things to change or improve. The timing of the painting comes just before the outbreak of World War I while the Czech people were still part of Austria-Hungary and Habsburg rule. Independence had not yet been achieved but I suppose that Czech nationalism was an emerging concept and desire.
The second piece that I analyzed is entitled Madonna and Child rollage by Jiri Kolar. The first thing that I noticed was the rollage technique where multiple copies of the image had been cut out and layered to create a kaleidoscope stratification effect. I also noticed that the image was rendered twice. On the left side, each trapezoid cut out had its longest side down, but on the right side, the orientation of the trapezoids was reversed. This reminded of the effect that is achieved in some quilting patterns just by changing the layout of the fabric pieces. I liked the way that the artist achieved almost a strobe light effect by the slight change in focus of each piece. I wondered how many copies of the base print he used to achieve this effect. I also liked the way that he took a classical representation of a common religious scene and altered the presentation for modern effect. I am not sure what this represents about Czech culture. I suppose that it could show the divisive and/or diminished role that religion plays in Czechia today. It might also represent a shift from traditional to modern cultural values and an acknowledgement that there are many nuances and ways of looking at a single subject. It is possible that the changing orientation of the trapezoids has some significance, but I think this is a piece best enjoyed for the overall effect that it communicates rather than trying to identify/misidentify the significance of individual components.
The first piece that I analyzed is entitled Woman Picking Flowers by Frantisek Kupka. It starts off with a figure standing in cool, deep blues and greens and progresses in a series of slow motion stills to a figure bending forward in warm tones of red, yellow, and orange. The first thing that I noticed in this picture is the contrast in colors. It seems to represent a transition. Upon closer review, I also saw the stages of motion, almost as if a moment in this person’s life was being shown one still shot scene at a time. I also wondered what the figure was reaching toward. I thought that maybe it was meant to show a personal awakening or a transition toward greater awareness or liveliness. Once I looked at the title placard, the figure’s motions made sense and I could see the ways that the flowers were present in the corner of the painting. The date of the work is 1909. I think this painting shows the value that Czech culture places on beauty and the quality of daily life. It might also indicate a sense of patience in the passage of time while waiting for things to change or improve. The timing of the painting comes just before the outbreak of World War I while the Czech people were still part of Austria-Hungary and Habsburg rule. Independence had not yet been achieved but I suppose that Czech nationalism was an emerging concept and desire.
The second piece that I analyzed is entitled Madonna and Child rollage by Jiri Kolar. The first thing that I noticed was the rollage technique where multiple copies of the image had been cut out and layered to create a kaleidoscope stratification effect. I also noticed that the image was rendered twice. On the left side, each trapezoid cut out had its longest side down, but on the right side, the orientation of the trapezoids was reversed. This reminded of the effect that is achieved in some quilting patterns just by changing the layout of the fabric pieces. I liked the way that the artist achieved almost a strobe light effect by the slight change in focus of each piece. I wondered how many copies of the base print he used to achieve this effect. I also liked the way that he took a classical representation of a common religious scene and altered the presentation for modern effect. I am not sure what this represents about Czech culture. I suppose that it could show the divisive and/or diminished role that religion plays in Czechia today. It might also represent a shift from traditional to modern cultural values and an acknowledgement that there are many nuances and ways of looking at a single subject. It is possible that the changing orientation of the trapezoids has some significance, but I think this is a piece best enjoyed for the overall effect that it communicates rather than trying to identify/misidentify the significance of individual components.
Cultural Reflections Project 9: Czech Site Analysis, Site-Based Travel Writing (Post on Travel Blog)
How not to meet a local runner, and how to redeem yourself, in 10 not so easy steps
--Traci Barger (with additional photos courtesy of Genevieve Stearns)
The best thing about this experience was the satisfaction of knowing that even when all the things I was afraid might happen actually did occur, the support of my friends {thank you, Genevieve and Brandon} and a little bit of courage took me to new literal and figurative heights and helped me see it through to completion. After all, isn’t that what travel is all about? So get out there and be brave--go running (or biking or paddling or skiing with a local)!
How not to meet a local runner, and how to redeem yourself, in 10 not so easy steps
--Traci Barger (with additional photos courtesy of Genevieve Stearns)
- Book AirBnb experience: Running with Adam (the human) and Bailey (the dog). Get excited to do something you love. Get nervous about finding your way to a new place early in the morning. Worry that you will get lost or not be able to keep up, or both. Cajole {coerce} newfound friends into going along on the running experience. Remain worried that you will get lost or not be able to keep up.
- Meet said friends in the lobby at 5:15 am on Friday the 13th. What could possibly go wrong? Estimated transit time to meet-up spot--24 minutes. Meet up time--6:00 am. We are doing this!
- 5:25 am: Have doubt about correct tram stop to make connection. Friend gets off to check the route. Doors close. Tram pulls away.
- 5:28 am: Have prolonged and thoughtful discussion with other friend about what to do when group is unexpectedly separated during tram ride. Note: Development of this action plan would have been highly useful prior to 5:25 am.
- 5:45ish am: Experience waves off relief when return tram pulls back into separation station. Friend is there waiting. Friend finds WiFi to alert guide that we may be a few minutes late, but with strength in unity, we forge onward.
- 6:20ish am: Get off at the wrong tram stop in route to meet-up spot. Wander in circles in search of WiFi, statue in the square (Which square? What if the square is not a square?), running guide with dog, anyone who speaks English as time passes.
- 7:00ish am: Find not so square square with statue. See runner with dog in the distance. Call out in vain to no response. Agree as a group to abandon ship and return to hotel.
- Message guide about the morning mishaps. Receive admonition to plan ahead for greater odds of success. Consider cutting losses and moving on. Decide to reschedule for another day. At least we know the tram route now!
- Sunday morning, 7:00 am: Meet Adam (the human) and Bailey (the dog). Go for a challenging run in the hills of the Castle District and surrounding area of Prague. Enjoy spectacular views, lung-burning climbs, and quad-searing stairs. Receive joking exhortation that it is a running tour, not a walking tour. Breathe, step, repeat. Try not to die.
- Finish run with a high five (from Adam), dog kisses (from Bailey), and sweaty smiles. Learn that we are the first guests to have completed the experience. Snap photos and promise to write review. Feel good about seeing the journey to its completion.
The best thing about this experience was the satisfaction of knowing that even when all the things I was afraid might happen actually did occur, the support of my friends {thank you, Genevieve and Brandon} and a little bit of courage took me to new literal and figurative heights and helped me see it through to completion. After all, isn’t that what travel is all about? So get out there and be brave--go running (or biking or paddling or skiing with a local)!