[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 21 (Wednesday, March 2, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 2, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
IN RECOGNITION OF THE OPENING OF THE MINISALON EXHIBIT IN HOLLYWOOD, FL

                                 ______


                           HON. PETER DEUTSCH

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, March 2, 1994

  Mr. DEUTSCH. Mr. Speaker, on March 3, 1994, the Minisalon art exhibit 
will make its United States debut at the Art and Culture Center of 
Hollywood, FL. The Czech Government has declared the Minisalon exhibit 
a national treasure of the Czech people. Indeed, through the kindness 
of the Czech Government, the exhibit will make its one and only tour 
outside of the Czech Republic here in the United States. Upon 
completing the tour in 1995, the Minisalon exhibit will be placed in 
the permanent collection of the Czech National Museum.
  The collection of multimedia works that comprise the Minisalon 
exhibit were the brainchild of dissident artist, Joska Skolnik. In 
1984, Skolnik secretly commissioned 244 art works by prominent, 
underground Czech artists. Using 662 foot wooden boxes to convey their 
emotions, the artists created a startling and moving multidimensional 
exhibition of life under a Communist regime. In order to avoid 
confiscation, the works were then concealed until the fall of the 
regime in 1989.
  The 1948 seizure of Czechoslovakia by Communists resulted in severe 
curbs on freedom of expression. In order to exert its control over 
artistic thought, the regime denied nonconforming artists access to 
state-sponsored galleries. As a result, only those artists willing to 
promote the Socialist realism were permitted to display their works. 
Private exhibits and sales were criminalized. Ultimately, the realm of 
art was divided into the legal proregime works and their underground 
unofficial counterparts.
  In 1971, this repressive environment gave birth to the Jazz Section, 
a group of artists who fought for the freedom of artistic expression 
even in the face of the Government's repression. Free of Government 
control, the Jazz Section quickly became Czechoslovakia's leading 
culture force. Its popularity and irreverence angered the regime, and 
it immediately ordered the organization to disband. Instead the members 
of Jazz Section ignored the demand and continued their activities. The 
Government responded by arresting and imprisoning the Jazz Section 
leaders, among them Joska Skolnik.
  The Minisalon exhibition is the triumph of the human spirit over the 
oppression of a controlled society. It is a testament to the 
survivability of a people and the creative mind which has brought us 
and safeguarded these works. I urge my colleagues to visit this exhibit 
as it makes its way around the United States. I am especially grateful 
to President Vaclav Havel and the many people who have made this 
exhibit possible. We warmly accept this gesture of gratitude for 
American support of the Czech people's struggle against oppression.

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