Last week I posted Building the Town with Ladislav Sutnar and later I discovered that his home town of Plzen, Czech Republic actually recreated the toys in larger size and arranged them for a street fair to re-introduce Czechs to this amazing designer.
Pretty cool idea, right?
The popular set of building blocks entitled “Build a Town” was manufactured in 1920s Czechoslovakia.
The eye-catching outdoor installation, consisting of large orange and blue blocks and a chimney serve not only as a tribute to Ladislav Sutnar’s genius, but also as a seating and resting place for passers-by.
Ladislav Sutnar was one of the most important graphic designers in the Czechoslovak avant-garde movement. He was a master of exhibition design, typography, poster and book design, instantly recognisable for his use of simple shapes and vivid colours.
While Sutnar’s toys, porcelain and glass sets were produced massively in Czechoslovakia, his American work was only presented to the Czech public at a retrospective exhibition in 2003, because the Communist regime tried to erase his name from the country’s cultural history:
“Officially the name of Ladislav Sutnar had to be forgotten because he collaborated with Czech exiles, he was a graphic designer for the magazine Svěděcetví and he was in close contact with Pavel Tigrid, so this was the reason why he was persona non grata in Communist Czechoslovakia, but his work was never forgotten.”
Sadly, the town decided to order the installment to be moved off the street and to the campus instead. It was to allow people walking by to admire and even sit and rest, but the town ruled that it was blocking pedestrian traffic.
Obviously the faculty was saddened by their decision, but they have hopes that next year they will be able to secure the proper permits and so forth.
We think the city should have been honored to be able to play homage and tribute to Sutner and that the installations were not causing any “traffic” on the sidewalks.
Plus we believe Rieger street was brightened by colorful geometric species – especially from all of these photos before it was ordered moved.
What do you think?
We’re just happy he’s been recognized once again by the Czech people – now if only people would recognize how his designs processes influenced web design!
Sources: Radio Prague, Region pod Lupou, Print Mag
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