The unfulfilled ninetieth of Josef Svoboda is commemorated by two exhibitions

Josef Svoboda, Polyecran, 1967

Prague - The works of scenographer and architect Josef Svoboda are presented through his contributions to the stages of the National Theatre (ND) and in Laterna Magika exhibitions, which opened this evening in commemoration of his uncelebrated ninetieth birthday at the New Stage in Prague and in the historical building of the ND. They were prepared by the Institute of Art - Theatre Institute in Prague in collaboration with the National Theatre.
Even in the last two years of the war, Josef Svoboda (1920-2002) was part of a group of theatre practitioners who created several productions despite the challenging conditions in the occupied country. In early 1946, Svoboda became the visual artist and head of the set design for the Grand Opera 5. května (from 1948 Smetana Theatre, from 1992 State Opera), and during a single season, he garnered well-deserved attention. His work was influenced by collaboration with directors Alfréd Radok, Václav Kašlík, and Bohumil Hrdlička, as well as Jindřich Honzl at the National Theatre. He was engaged there as the head of set design and scenographer from 1948.
A significant milestone for his further development was the arrival of Otomar Krejča as the head of drama at the Czech first scene in 1956. He also had equal and inspiring partners in directors Jaromír Pleskot and Miroslav Macháček, and in opera, Karel Jernek.
The first exhibition provides a look at the development of the so-called Svoboda style, which he characterized at the stages of the National Theatre. The photographs capture only a tiny fraction of Svoboda's work. The installation focuses on famous productions from the second half of the 1950s, through masterpieces of the 1960s and 1970s, up to the final scenography for Goethe's Faust from 1997.
The second exhibition is focused on Svoboda's work in Laterna Magika, which enchanted visitors at the 1958 World Exhibition in Brussels. The principle of connecting a live actor on stage with projections and slide projections, where the actor was on stage and in the projection simultaneously, was developed by Svoboda until the end of his life in his theatre named Laterna Magika, after this famous program. He employed and combined these methods in his theatrical scenographies. Similarly, he developed the concept of polyekran, which is a set of projection surfaces of various formats, later including spatial and mobile objects.
In his last works in Laterna Magika, he experimented with large semi-transparent mirrors. He was obsessed with the idea of creating a virtual wall that a person could walk through, which he achieved in the performance Grafitti, whose premiere he did not live to see.