Tomáš Hylmar

Od Bloku ke Svazu. Cesta ke vzniku jednotné organizace československých výtvarníků v roce 1947

One phenomenon that characterised cultural politics in post-war Czechoslovakia was the process of artists coming together in organisational forms. Over the course of three years artists sought to establish umbrella institutions that could address conceptual and economic issues. The Block of Czech Fine Artists (Blok českých výtvarníků) began forming an organisation immediately after the war in May 1945. Disagreements over the appointed representatives of the organisation led in the summer of 1945 to the establishment of the rival Union of Artistic Associations (Svaz výtvarnických spolků), the Block nonetheless remained the leading organisation. The process of artists coming together to a form a united organisation continued with the announcement of the formation of the Block of Slovak Fine Artists (Blok slovenských výtvarníkov) and the confirmation of the work of the Block of Fine Artists from the Moravia-Silesia Province (Blok výtvarných umělců země Moravskoslezské). At a national conference representatives of the provincial organisations announced the creation of the Central Block of Fine Artists of Czechoslovakia (Ústřední blok výtvarníků ČSR). Another motive for uniting within one organisation was the division of unions to that time into two institutions – the Trade Union Organisation (Odborová organizace) and the Syndicate of Czechoslovak Fine Artists (Syndikát výtvarníků československých). The Central Block took the initiative and proposed creating a new organisation. First, on 6 October 1946 the Board of the Central Block approved the statutes of the Preparatory Committee of the Union of Czechoslovak Fine Artists (Svaz československých výtvarných umělců). The next step was a public meeting of artists at which, on 25 June 1947, the majority of participants voted in favour of establishing a united economic organisation of painters, sculptors, and architects called the Union of Czechoslovak Fine Artists. On 26 February 1948 the Action Task Force of Fine Artists was set up at the Ministry of Information and it recognised the Union of Czechoslovak Fine Artists as the one leading organisation of artists in Czechoslovakia. The Central Block and the provincial blocks were dissolved. The Union of Czechoslovak Fine Artists embraced the principles of Socialist Realism and organised and oversaw the world of art within the state.

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