Designer and architect. In 1990 he and Michal Froněk founded the Olgoj Chorchoj studio, followed in 1993 by the Artěl company, which manufactures twentieth-century Czech design. Since 1999 he and Michal Froněk have headed the Product Design III Studio at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague. He works on industrial design, furniture design, architecture and interior design.
SPRINGTIME EUPHORIA
AN INTERVIEW WITH JAN NĚMEČEK, CONSULTANT FOR THIS PERIOD
WHAT APPEALS TO YOU ABOUT THAT
PERIOD?
It’s my childhood, it’s when I was growing
up. Both my parents were artists, and
although we didn’t have much money,
our flat was very stylish. That time
influenced me very powerfully in terms
of emotions, but I don’t think I use the
vocabulary of the time in my work. If
I do, it’s unconscious.
WHAT DID THAT PERIOD
CONTRIBUTE TO CZECH DESIGN?
The sixties were in no way revolutionary.
It was a time when earlier dramatic
formal changes were put into practice.
The echoes of this country’s success at
Brussels had a great influence on the
public’s tastes, state-owned companies
and cooperatives adopted modern
materials, and maybe they were more
concerned with design than nowadays.
WHAT EVENTS DO YOU THINK HAD
THE GREATEST INFLUENCE ON
CZECH DESIGN?
I think there aren’t many specific events
or influences that fundamentally affected
Czech design. If we’re not talking about
political changes, which are always crucial
for the arts, then it’s only the famous
exhibition at Expo 58 in Brussels.
WHAT WERE YOUR CRITERIA FOR
SELECTING INDIVIDUAL EXHIBITS?
I tried to find objects that influenced
the general perception of aesthetics, and
which were readily available. I looked
for icons that stood out from the average,
ones that everyone has had somewhere
in their inner galleries all their lives. But
another point is that the range of products
was severely limited at that time.
IS THERE ANYTHING FROM THOSE
YEARS THAT YOU WOULD CALL
TYPICALLY CZECH?
For me, Libuše Niklová’s polythene cat,
with its harmonious body, is a typical
Czech product. It’s funny, striking, and
yet a little ungainly in its details. I think
that’s typical of Czech design..
IF YOU WERE ON A DESERT ISLAND
AND COULD TAKE THREE OBJECTS
FROM THAT PERIOD WITH YOU,
WHICH ONES WOULD THEY BE?
Three cats.