Publication details

Josef Čapek a estetika "okraje"

Title in English Josef Čapek and Aesthetics of “Margin”.
Authors

ŘEHULKOVÁ Hana

Year of publication 2020
Type Article in Proceedings
Conference Estetika centra a periférie - Centrum a periféria estetiky
MU Faculty or unit

Faculty of Arts

Citation
Keywords Josef Čapek; humble art; truth; simplicity; aesthetic value
Description Josef Čapek’s artistic work in the field of fine arts is more familiar than his theoretical texts about art, feuilleton or essays (Umění přírodních národů, Nejskromnější umění, Málo o mnohém). This paper focuses on Čapek’s interest in “humblest art”, nomen omen denomination which points to fundamental considerations about value of art in general. Humblest art is such kind of art which can be found at “derivative” spheres of life: suburban peripherals, new genres, applied art or folk art. According to Čapek, such artefacts have a specific aesthetic value which in its simplicity, truthfulness and ordinariness offers a counterbalance to traditionally discriminated high art and new trends in modern art. Based on some Čapek’s aperçus, we here try to formulate couple of critical arguments against strict modernism which builds a “new” aesthetic value using distinction between high and low in Art. The aim is to introduce Čapek as an art theoritician or aesthetician who was interested in marginal genres and/or works and in them he used to recognize high – which means central – value.
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