Tomáš Klička

Understanding Modern and Contemporary Art on Interwar Radio

This study examines the hitherto little-researched role played by radio in interwar Czechoslovakia in educating the public about modern and contemporary art. It traces how the programming of the semi-state monopoly broadcaster Radiojournal introduced a broad audience to issues surrounding the understanding of current artistic production.

As a new mass medium, radio reached a substantial audience, particularly during the 1930s. Its programming included lectures that frequently featured leading figures in the artistic life of Czechoslovakia. Especially between 1933 and 1938, radio served as an important vehicle for fostering the public’s relationship with modern art.

The study traces the more traditionally oriented position through the radio lectures given by the painter Otakar Nejedlý. These are considered alongside comic sketches broadcast on the radio that satirised modern art, performed by Vlasta Burian and by the puppet characters Spejbl and Hurvínek, with scripts by Vlastimil Rada. The avant-garde perspective, by contrast, was articulated in a radio dialogue co-authored by the aesthetician Jan Mukařovský. One of the high points of radio’s efforts to educate the public about contemporary art was the series Why Don’t You Understand Modern Art?, in which Vojtěch Volavka sought to explain the principles of contemporary artistic practice.

These and other examples vividly illustrate the uncertain social position of modern art, together with the perceived need to explain it continually and to define positions both for and against it. Despite their differing ideological premises, most of the broadcasts shared the assumption of disconnect between modern art and the public, while emphasising the necessity of active viewer engagement. The lectures publicly negotiated what did and did not constitute a legitimate part of modern and contemporary art, thereby shaping its publicly acceptable image. Particular attention is devoted to the specific characteristics of the radio lecture as a medium, as well as to its didactic possibilities and limitations.

Author's email:

to.klicka@gmail.com

DOI: https://doi.org/10.54759/ART-2026-0203



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