Albums of resistance and hope

In the mid-1970s, an idea emerged in the Ostrava region to compile albums showcasing the work of selected artists. Albums 75, 76 and 77 were the first publishing projects by Ivo Janoušek, Kamil Drabina, Jan Štefan, and later also Milan Weber and Jiří Lukeš. The first of these projects, Album 75 (published in 1975), featured photographs of works by 24 artists – bringing together the most important figures on the Czech art scene in an extraordinary generational statement. All the albums asserted the need for creative freedom and opportunities for artists to present their work. Album 77 contained only drawings. The selection of artists was narrower and thus more rigorous, and contributions were required to be in A2 size. It contained works by Karel Adamus, Václav Boštík, Rudolf Fila, Dalibor Chatrný, Josef Istler, Jozef Jankovič, Vladimír Janoušek, Věra Janoušková, Čestmír Kafka, Eva Kmentová, Stanislav Kolíbal, Milan Laluha, Aleš Lamr, Igor Minárik, Ladislav Novák, Vladimír Novák, Eduard Ovčáček, Milan Paštéka, Jiří Sopko, Miroslav Šnajdr and Jan Wojnar.

Jiří Jůza