The Case of Destroyed Artworks in Bratislava During Normalization
As part of the exhibition Rudolf Uhr: Traces, we invite you to a lecture by Vladimíra Büngerová, focused on destroyed artworks in public space.
When: 4 December at 17:00
Where: M. A. Bazovský Gallery, Palackého 27, Trenčín
Admission: Free
In the mid-1970s, during an inspection, a professional-political commission passed judgment on ninety reviewed artworks—mostly sculptures located in housing estates and public spaces in Bratislava—using three simple words: “keep, move, remove.”
The lecture will shed light on the processes, motives, individual artworks, and key actors involved in this negative chapter of Slovak art history, which marked the lives of several artists and irreversibly erased important artworks from history. This massive iconoclastic campaign during the communist regime destroyed politically “inappropriate” art with the aim of cleansing the public space of Bratislava, presented as a model capital of socialist art and culture. Following directives from governing authorities, twenty-seven artworks were destroyed, including pieces by Rudolf Uhr, Jozef Jankovič, Štefan Belohradský, Pavol Tóth, Tibor Kavecký, Andrej Rudavský, and Milan Laluha.
Please note that photo and video recordings will be taken at the event and may be published later.
