Kamil Mráz

7.19 The Education for Good Taste in the Pedagogical and Artistic Practice of Ludvika Smrčková (Paper)

Kamil Mráz – Department of Art Education, Faculty of Education, Palacký University Olomouc, Czech Republic

Abstract:

Although Ludvika Smrčková (1903–1991) is one of the most significant Czech glass artists, she remains practically unknown to the general public. This paradox is caused by the fact that there has been a lack of a comprehensive analysis of her work, her fate, and above all her views on fine art, applied arts, design, and art education. Ludvika Smrčková devoted almost her entire life to glass, which is evidenced by her representative creations (applied, metallurgical, blown, cut glass, etc.) She worked as the leading artist of the National Works Inwald, as the leading artist in the Centre of Creative Arts for Industrial Glass and Ceramics in Prague, and as a creative expert in Glassexport, a major exporter of glass objects in Czechoslovakia. Simultaneously with her artistic activity, between 1927 and 1948, she was active as a professor of drawing and mathematics at high schools in Litomyšl, Příbor, Kladno, and Prague. In connection with Smrčková’s twenty-year teaching experience, the paper will focus on the hitherto neglected aspect of her thinking about art and its mediation. Her thoughts on good taste, the cultivation of which Smrčková regarded as an integral part of art education, will be presented. This aspect was essential not only in her teaching and publishing activities, but also in furnishing interiors, because she wanted to give beautifully shaped glass to all people.