Alžběta Slámová

(26. 8. 1988)

The artist Alžběta Slámová belongs among the remarkable talents of the rising generation of young Czech medal designers. Her first coinage was a plaque which she designed in 2011 as a part of her thesis. One year later she joined artists engaged in the Event Calendar programme of the Prague Mint with medallions dedicated to the foundation of the Sport Association of Prague (“Tělocvičná jednota pražská”) and to the memory of Antonín Langweil. She sees medal designing as a never-ending process which gives her the opportunity to constantly improve herself. A native of Jablonec nad Nisou, she does not project her artistic talent only in the bas-relief; she devotes herself also to the graphic art and she loves classical music which has become her lifelong hobby and a means for relaxation. As a violinist Alžběta played in the Jablonec chamber orchestra. One of the professors who influenced her artistic development was the important Czech artist Jiří Dostál. Alžběta Slámová studied the Secondary School of Applied Arts and the Higher Technical School in Jablonec nad Nisou. She also studied the Secondary School of Crafts and Services in the same town.

INTERVIEW

Where did you find inspiration for the creation of the design of the medal commemorating Antonín Langweil? 
It is an advantage that Langweil’s model of Prague has been digitalized so I was able to examine it virtually. Prague itself, the openings between its beautiful buildings, its towers and gates offe 

Could you please describe your design?
The portrait of Antonín Langweil and the motive of Prague take place in a rectangular band passing across the centre of the medal. The clean surfaces which form the boundaries of both motives symbolize the smooth surface of paper which Antonín Langweil used day by day both as a draughtsman and a graphic artist, but mainly as a patient architect of a paper model of Prague. While modelling I was inspired by his own preserved self-portraits.

Medal making is usually closely associated with history. What is your relationship to history?
I like history very much. I like to look back at what people used to do, how they used to do it, at the historical and social conditions in which they lived, and I can see that in principle things just keep repeating themselves. I am, of course, also interested in the history of numismatics, especially in its technical aspect. For example, in the past when the relief was engraved in the negative, the forms acquired a certain strange tension. Today, modelling prevails, the positive is made first and we, the artists, would like the medal to show every trace, every hatching, but this is not how things were in the past. That is why I admire the works of Mr Harcuba because he created models in a slightly similar way. 

Apart from medal design you also actively play several musical instruments. How important is music for you?
It has become one of the priorities, maybe because it has accompanied me since I was a child. My dad, siblings and mum are musically minded so I grew up in a musical environment and now I cannot do without music. Playing the violin or the piano allows me to take my mind off things and to express myself. In addition, it is also an inspiration for my work because I realize how different art movements and nature itself mutually blend and it is interesting for me to look there for parallels.