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.