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Jiří Kolář 1914–2002

    • Jiří Kolář 1914–2002

    Charles Baudelaire: Meditation
    1972
    collage on board
    sight: 38½ h × 27 w in (98 × 69 cm)
    Signed to lower right ‘JK’. Signed, titled, dated and inscribed to verso ‘Jiří Kolář 72 CH. B. Rozjimani Charles Baudelaire - Meditation’.
    provenance: Galerie Beyeler, Basel | Galerie Lelong & Co., New York | Private Collection NY
     
    We can divide Charles Baudelaire's poem "Meditation" into seven thematic parts and associate each part with one of the seven colors represented in Jiří Kolář's collage
    Part 1: Introduction to Suffering and Existential Reflection (Black and White)
    Associated Color: Black and White
    • Theme: The stark reality of human suffering and the clarity of existential reflection.
    • Lines:
      "Calm down, my Sorrow, we must move with care.
      You called for evening; it descends, it's here.
      The town is coffined in the morning mist,
      Somewhere the scent of someone burning twists."
    • Interpretation: The black and white colors represent the duality and clarity of existential meditation, introducing the somber tone of the poem.
    Part 2: The Burden of Time (Green)
    Associated Color: Green
    • Theme: Growth and renewal contrasted with the burden of time.
    • Lines:
      "Now in the autumn air, the sundown burns,
      And sounds from shepherds' horns are mixed with mourns."
    • Interpretation: Green symbolizes growth and the passage of time, highlighting the natural cycle of life and the inevitability of decay.
    Part 3: The Desire for Escape and Transcendence (Orange)
    Associated Color: Orange
    • Theme: Passion, intensity, and the urgent desire to escape reality.
    • Lines:
      "The gardens of the world, washed of their stains,
      Lie scattered, wrecked, a shard of colored rains."
    • Interpretation: Orange symbolizes the intense emotions and the deep, often urgent, longing for transcendence beyond the mundane. It captures the vibrant, energetic pursuit of an escape from existential constraints.
    Part 4: Introspection and Inner Conflict (Purple)
    Associated Color: Purple
    • Theme: Deep introspection and the internal conflict within the soul.
    • Lines:
      "My Sorrow, give me your hand, your company.
      Far from them. Look: the sun is fainting there,
      Your memory will light the fallow's wear."
    • Interpretation: Purple symbolizes wisdom and the profound depth of introspection, reflecting the internal struggle and search for meaning.
    Part 5: Seeking Serenity and Calmness (Blue)
    Associated Color: Blue
    • Theme: The pursuit of calmness and serenity through meditation.
    • Lines:
      "The slanting sun’s rays, pointing to their bed,
      Flood earth and sea with molten gold and red."
    • Interpretation: Blue represents calmness and the serene state of mind sought through meditative practices.
    Part 6: Compassion and Gentle Reflection (Pink)
    Associated Color: Pink
    • Theme: Gentle self-reflection and compassion towards oneself.
    • Lines:
      "A great expanse of time will heal the scars
      Life carves so deep, so harsh, with years and bars."
    • Interpretation: Pink symbolizes the compassionate and nurturing aspects of meditation, encouraging gentle self-reflection and healing.
    Part 7: Balance and Harmony (Teal)
    Associated Color: Teal
    • Theme: Achieving balance and harmony through acceptance.
    • Lines:
      "The years shall quench my pain, the seasons press
      Their clocked-up sighs to my faint happiness."
    • Interpretation: Teal, a mix of green and blue, symbolizes balance and harmony, representing the final stage of meditation where one achieves a sense of equilibrium and acceptance.
    the poem can be seen as moving through different stages of meditation, each reflecting a different part of life. The visual progression of colors in Kolář's collage can mirror this poetic journey, from the stark reality of existence (black and white) to the calm acceptance of the end (teal).
    Jiří Kolář’s collage "Charles Baudelaire: Meditation" uses the repetitive cutouts of Baudelaire's image within each color strip to create a powerful tribute to the poet while simultaneously highlighting the universality of the human condition. This artistic choice emphasizes that despite the diversity of our experiences, we all share common existential themes, making Baudelaire’s meditations a reflection of the collective human journey. This interpretation enriches both the visual and thematic understanding of Kolář’s artwork, aligning it closely with the profound insights of Baudelaire’s poetry.Meditation
    Les Fleurs du Mal (Flowerrs of Evil)
    Charles Baudelaire - 1821-1867
    Take it easy, Sadness. Settle down.
    You asked for evening. Now, it’s come. It’s here.
    A choking fog has blanketed the town,
    infecting some with calm, the rest with fear.

    While the squalid throng of mortals feels the sting
    of heartless pleasure swinging its barbed knout
    and finds remorse in slavish partying,
    take my hand, Sorrow. I will lead you out,

    away from them. Look as the dead years lurch,
    in tattered clothes, from heaven’s balconies.
    From the depths, regret emerges with a grin.

    The spent sun passes out beneath an arch,
    and, shroudlike, stretched from the antipodes,
    —hear it, O hear, love!—soft night marches in.

    • Jirí Kolár (Provitín 1914 - Prag 2002)

      Jirí Kolár

      Provitín 1914 - Prag 2002


      Jirí Kolár was born in Protivín/Czechoslovakia in 1914. At the age of twenty he encountered surrealistic collages at the Mozarteum in Prague, which already at that time only consisted of reproductions. Since 1943 Jirí Kólar worked as a freelance author, published poems and translations and worked as an editor for the association Dílo in Prague between 1945 and 1948.
      He was co-founder of the "Gruppe 42", an association of Czech artists and men of letters and he was a member of the group "Kreuzung". In 1953 Jirí Kolár spent months under arrest because his texts were regarded as subversive during the time of Stalinsm. In spite of a publication ban, which was not lifted until 1964, he continued to write poems, ballets and dramas.
      Around 1959 Jirí Kolár abandonned his poetic work to attend exclusively to visual arts: he developed the "Rollage"-technique, executed chiasmages, rumples, assemblages and visual poetry. He included materials from everyday-life like hairs, razor blades, zippers, cords et al. in his works.
      Over the years Jirí Kolár experimented with text and image, combined poetry and visual arts to colour and touch poems and varied his forms in many different ways. Circle rollages and transparent poems were executed and finally he began with three dimensional works and produced miniature-objects.
      In 1968 he received the prize of the central committee in Prague, one year later the first prize at the X. Biennale of Sao Paulo. Whereas his trips until then only led him through Europe, he now visited Japan, Canada and the USA. In 1970 he suffered from a stroke, but soon he regained his creative powers and developed kinetic rollages and clay-poems.
      In 1975 his works were shown at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York. Since 1980 Jirí Kolár lived in Paris and obtained French citizenship in 1984. In 1990 he participated in the Biennale in Venice. In 1992 he once more obtained Czech citizenship.
      The versatile artist Jirí Kolár died in Prague in 2002.

    6.000,00$Precio
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