Diary of the Artist

Deník 1952 (Vladimír Fuka, 2010)/ Diary 1952 (Vladimír Fuka, 2010)

Questions

  • What scene does the drawing capture? What can you imagine that the people drawn might be thinking about?
  • What are your impressions of the drawing? What kind of atmosphere does it depict?
  • What does it say about the general social atmosphere?

Commentary

This drawing is a diary entry by artist Vladimír Fuka from 21 July 1952, with a simple caption: “Show Trials”.

Fuka was an intellectual and an artist, one upon whom the communist regime looked critically. While he could only exhibit works celebrating the communist regime, his diary became a place where he could openly express his feelings. Fuka did not know the conditions of custody, the details of the investigations, or the extent of manipulation of public opinion in show trials; however, the simple drawings express the gloom that he felt about political affairs and that he believed dominated all of society.