Jan Švankmajer (; born 4 September 1934) is a
Czech
Czech may refer to:
* Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe
** Czech language
** Czechs, the people of the area
** Czech culture
** Czech cuisine
* One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus'
Places
* Czech, ...
filmmaker and artist whose work spans several media. He is a self-labeled
surrealist
Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...
known for his
stop-motion animation
Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames i ...
s and features, which have greatly influenced other artists such as
Terry Gilliam
Terrence Vance Gilliam (; born 22 November 1940) is an American-born British filmmaker, comedian, animator, actor and former member of the Monty Python comedy troupe.
Gilliam has directed 13 feature films, including ''Time Bandits'' (1981), ''B ...
, the
Brothers Quay
Stephen and Timothy Quay ( ; born June 17, 1947) are American identical twin brothers and stop-motion animators who are better known as the Brothers Quay or Quay Brothers. They were also the recipients of the 1998 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding ...
, and many others.
Life and career
Early life
Švankmajer was born in
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
. An early influence on his later artistic development was a
puppet theatre
Puppetry is a form of theatre or performance that involves the manipulation of puppets – inanimate objects, often resembling some type of human or animal figure, that are animated or manipulated by a human called a puppeteer. Such a performa ...
he was given for Christmas as a child. He studied at the College of Applied Arts in Prague and later in the Department of Puppetry at the
Prague Academy of Performing Arts, where he befriended
Juraj Herz
Juraj Herz (4 September 1934 – 8 April 2018) was a Czechoslovak film director, actor, and scene designer, associated with the Czechoslovak New Wave movement of the 1960s. He is best known for his 1969 horror/black comedy '' The Cremator'', of ...
. He contributed to
Emil Radok's film ''Johanes doctor Faust'' in 1958 and then began working for Prague's
Semafor Theatre
Semafor is a theatre in Prague, Czech Republic, established by Jiří Suchý and Ferdinand Havlík in 1959. Suchý has performed there for many years and is the current owner.
The theatre was a starting point for many famous Czech musicians, i ...
where he founded the Theatre of Masks. He then moved on to the
Laterna Magika Laterna magika ( cs, Laterna magika), largely considered the world's first multimedia theatre, was founded as a cultural program at the 1958 Brussels Expo. It launched its official activity on 9 May 1959, as an independent company of the National ...
multimedia theatre, where he renewed his association with Radok.
As a filmmaker
This theatrical experience is reflected in Švankmajer's first film ''
The Last Trick'', which was released in 1964. Under the influence of theoretician
Vratislav Effenberger, Švankmajer moved from the
mannerism
Mannerism, which may also be known as Late Renaissance, is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Italy, ...
of his early work to classic surrealism, first manifested in his film ''The Garden'' (1968), and joined the Czechoslovak Surrealist Group.
Švankmajer has gained a reputation over several decades for his distinctive use of
stop-motion
Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames i ...
technique, and his ability to make surreal, nightmarish, and yet somehow funny pictures. Švankmajer's trademarks include very exaggerated sounds, often creating a very strange effect in all eating scenes. He often uses
fast-motion sequences when people walk or interact. His movies often involve inanimate objects being brought to "life" through stop motion. Many of his films also include clay objects in stop motion, otherwise known as
claymation
Clay animation or claymation, sometimes plasticine animation, is one of many forms of stop-motion animation. Each animated piece, either character or background, is "deformable"—made of a malleable substance, usually plasticine clay.
Tra ...
. Food is a common subject and medium. Švankmajer also uses
pixilation
Pixilation is a stop motion technique in which live actors are used as a frame-by-frame subject in an animated film, by repeatedly posing while one or more frame is taken and changing pose slightly before the next frame or frames. The actor beco ...
in many of his films, including
Food
Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is inge ...
(1992) and
Conspirators of Pleasure (1996).
Stop-motion features in most of his work, though his feature films have included much more live-action sequences than animation.
Many of his movies, like the short film ''Down to the Cellar'', are made from a child's perspective, while at the same time often having a truly disturbing and even aggressive nature. In 1972 the communist authorities banned him from making films, and many of his later films were suppressed. He was almost unknown in the West until the early 1980s. Writing in
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
,
Andrew Johnston praised Švankmajer's artistry, stating "while his films are rife with cultural and scientific allusions, his unusual imagery possesses an accessibility that feels anchored in the shared language of the subconscious, making his films equally rewarding to the culturally hyperliterate and to those who simply enjoy visual stimulation."
Among his best known works are the feature films ''
Alice'' (1988), ''
Faust
Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540).
The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroads ...
'' (1994), ''
Conspirators of Pleasure'' (1996), ''
Little Otik
''Little Otik'' ( cs, Otesánek), also known as ''Greedy Guts'', is a 2000 Czech surreal dark comedy horror film by Jan Švankmajer and Eva Švankmajerová. Based on the folktale Otesánek by Karel Jaromír Erben, the film is a comedic live ac ...
'' (2000) and ''
Lunacy'' (2005), a surreal comic horror based on two works of
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...
and the life of
Marquis de Sade
Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade (; 2 June 1740 – 2 December 1814), was a French nobleman, revolutionary politician, philosopher and writer famous for his literary depictions of a libertine sexuality as well as numerous accusat ...
. The two stories by Poe, "
The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether
"The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether" is a dark comedy short story by the American author Edgar Allan Poe. First published in ''Graham's Magazine'' in November 1845, the story centers on a naïve and unnamed narrator's visit to a menta ...
" and "
The Premature Burial
"The Premature Burial" is a horror short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, published in 1844 in ''The Philadelphia Dollar Newspaper''. Its main character expresses concern about being buried alive. This fear was common in this period and ...
", provide ''Lunacy'' its thematic focus, whereas the life of
Marquis de Sade
Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade (; 2 June 1740 – 2 December 1814), was a French nobleman, revolutionary politician, philosopher and writer famous for his literary depictions of a libertine sexuality as well as numerous accusat ...
provides the film's blasphemy. His short film ''
Dimensions of Dialogue'' (1982) was selected by
Terry Gilliam
Terrence Vance Gilliam (; born 22 November 1940) is an American-born British filmmaker, comedian, animator, actor and former member of the Monty Python comedy troupe.
Gilliam has directed 13 feature films, including ''Time Bandits'' (1981), ''B ...
as one of the ten best animated films of all time.
His films have been called "as emotionally haunting as
Kafka
Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It typ ...
's stories." In 2010 he released ''
Surviving Life'', a live-action and cutout animation story about a married man who meets another woman in his dreams.
His most recent release is called ''
Insects
Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs of j ...
'' (''Hmyz'').
It had a projected budget of 40 million CZK, which was partially funded through an Indiegogo campaign which reached more than double its goal, and was released in January 2018.
[ The film is based on the play '']Pictures from the Insects' Life
''Pictures from the Insects' Life'' ( cs, Ze života hmyzu) – also known as ''The Insect Play'', ''The Life of the Insects'', ''The Insect Comedy'', ''The World We Live In'' and ''From Insect Life'' – is a satirical play that was written in Cz ...
'' by Josef and Karel Čapek
Karel Čapek (; 9 January 1890 – 25 December 1938) was a Czech writer, playwright and critic. He has become best known for his science fiction, including his novel ''War with the Newts'' (1936) and play ''R.U.R.'' (''Rossum's Universal Ro ...
, which Švankmajer describes as following: "''From the Life of Insects'' is a misanthropic play. My screenplay only extends this misanthropy, as man is more like an insect and this civilisation is more like an anthill. One should also remember the message in Kafka
Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It typ ...
’s ''Metamorphosis
Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops including birth or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and differentiation. Some inse ...
''."[
His life's works, inimitable style and voice have had far-reaching influences on the world of animation. Those whose work he has influenced include ]Brothers Quay
Stephen and Timothy Quay ( ; born June 17, 1947) are American identical twin brothers and stop-motion animators who are better known as the Brothers Quay or Quay Brothers. They were also the recipients of the 1998 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding ...
, Caroline Leaf
Caroline Leaf (born August 12, 1946 in Seattle, Washington) is a Canadian-American filmmaker, animator, director, tutor and artist. She has produced numerous short animated films and her work has been recognized worldwide. She is best known a ...
, Vera Neubauer
Vera Neubauer is a Czech born British experimental filmmaker, animator, feminist activist and educator. She is known for her jarring, provocative and anti establishment approach. Her life's work spans genres, from cinematic short film to televisi ...
, Terry Gilliam
Terrence Vance Gilliam (; born 22 November 1940) is an American-born British filmmaker, comedian, animator, actor and former member of the Monty Python comedy troupe.
Gilliam has directed 13 feature films, including ''Time Bandits'' (1981), ''B ...
, Tomasz Bagiński
Tomasz "Tomek" Bagiński (, born 10 January 1976 in Białystok) is a Polish illustrator, animator, producer and director. He is a self-taught artist.
Education
Bagiński studied architecture at the Warsaw University of Technology. Works
His fir ...
, Nina Gantz and Phil Lord and Christopher Miller
Philip Lord (born 12 July 1975) and Christopher Miller (born 23 September 1975) are an American filmmaking duo. After a meeting at Dartmouth College, they are known for creating the adult animated sitcom ''Clone High'' (2002–2003), directing an ...
among many others.
He won the Golden Bear for Best Short Film The Short Film Golden Bear () is the most important award in the short film competition of the Berlin International Film Festival.
Awards
External links
Berlinale website
{{Berlin International Film Festival
Berlin International Film Festiv ...
at the Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...
in 1983 for '' Dimensions of Dialogue.''
In 2000, Švankmajer received Lifetime Achievement Award at the World Festival of Animated Film - Animafest Zagreb
World Festival of Animated Film Zagreb ( hr, Svjetski festival animiranog filma), also known as Animafest Zagreb, is a film festival entirely dedicated to animated film held annually in Zagreb, Croatia. Initiated by the International Animated Fil ...
.
On 27 July 2013 he received the Innovation & Creativity Prize by Circolino dei Films, an independent Italian cultural organization.
On 10 July 2014, he received the 2014 FIAF Award during a special ceremony of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival ( cs, Mezinárodní filmový festival Karlovy Vary) is a film festival held annually in July in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic. The Karlovy Vary Festival is one of the oldest in the world and has become ...
.
On 27 September 2018, he received the Raymond Roussel Society Medal in recognition of his extraordinary contribution: an inspiring, unique and universal work.
He was married to Eva Švankmajerová Eva Švankmajerová (September 25, 1940 – October 20, 2005) was a Czech surrealist artist. She was born Eva Dvořáková. A native of the Czech town of Kostelec nad Černými lesy, she moved to Prague in 1958 to study at the Prague School of ...
, an internationally known surrealist painter, ceramicist, and writer until her death in October 2005. Švankmajerová collaborated on several of her husband's movies, including '' Alice'', ''Faust
Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540).
The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroads ...
'', and '' Otesánek''. They had two children, Veronika (b. 1963) and Václav (b. 1975, an animator).
Filmography
Feature-length films
Short films
Animation and art direction
Bibliography
* Peter Hames, ''Dark Alchemy: The Films of Jan Švankmajer''. Westport: Praeger Publishers, 1995
*
*
*Bertrand Schmitt, František Dryje, Švankmajer'', Dimensions of dialogue. Between Film and Fine Art.'' Prague: Arbor Vitae'','' 2012
*
See also
* Jiří Trnka
Jiří Trnka (; 24 February 1912 – 30 December 1969) was a Czechs, Czech puppet-maker, illustrator, motion-picture animator and film director.
In addition to his extensive career as an illustrator, especially of children's books, he is ...
, Czech animator and puppeteer
* Karel Zeman
Karel Zeman (3 November 1910 – 5 April 1989) was a Czech film director, artist, production designer and animator, best known for directing fantasy films combining live-action footage with animation. Because of his creative use of special effec ...
, Czech animator and filmmaker
* Jiří Barta
Jiří Barta (born 26 November 1948) is a Czech stop-motion animation director. Many of his films use wood as a medium for animation. Among his notable films are the 1986 film ''The Pied Piper''.
In 2007 he released his first computer-animated s ...
, Czech stop motion animator
* Ladislaw Starewich
Ladislas Starevich (russian: Владисла́в Алекса́ндрович Старе́вич, pl, Władysław Starewicz; August 8, 1882 – February 26, 1965) was a Polish-Russian stop-motion animator notable as the author of the first p ...
, Polish animator and puppeteer
* '' The Torchbearer'', a film by Jan Švankmajer´s son, Václav
* List of stop motion films
This is a list of films that showcase stop motion animation, and is divided into four sections: animated features, TV series, live-action features, and animated shorts. This list includes films that are not exclusively stop motion.
Stop motion ...
References
Further reading
*
*
*
*
*
External links
*
Animation of Jan Svankmajer''
at Keyframe - the Animation Resource
Jan Švankmajer - PL
On Svankmajer's Faust
Downing the Folk-Festive: Menacing Meals in the Films of Jan Svankmajer
An article and filmography on Svankmajer
Review of Dimensions of Dialogue, The Ossuary, Food and Death of Stalinism
{{DEFAULTSORT:Svankmajer, Jan
1934 births
Living people
Film directors from Prague
Czech animators
Czechoslovak film directors
Czech animated film directors
Czech surrealist artists
Czech experimental filmmakers
Stop motion animators
Clay animators
Surrealist filmmakers
Horror film directors
Artists from Prague
Sun in a Net Awards winners