Cicmany and Chihuly coming to National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library

Whether it is modern photographs of a historic village or fanciful sculptures of blown glass, visitors to the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library can find two very different examples of Slovakian and Slovakian-American artistry in the museum's spring exhibits.

The first, 'Cicmianske Domy: The Houses of Cicmany Village,' is on display now through May 7. The second, 'Dale Chihuly: Venetians from the George R. Stroemple Collection,' will be on display April 29 to October 1.

The Cicmianske Domy exhibit features the work of Slovakian photographer Jaroslav Horecny, who captured images of the distinctively painted homes of Cicmany Village in Slovakia. The Chihuly exhibit showcases glass sculpture by American artist Dale Chihuly, whose grandfather was born in Slovakia. Bringing such different kinds of art plays perfectly into the museum's mission of exploring the breadth of the Czech and Slovak experience, both in Europe and America, said museum curator Stefani Kohn.

'We deal in Czech and Slovak history and culture, and Czech and Slovak-American history and culture, but also in cross-cultural topics,' she said. 'We want to give people an opportunity to see something different in Cedar Rapids.'

Here is a little bit more about the two exhibits:

Cicmianske Domy: The Houses of Cicmany Village

In a small village in the Zilina region of northern Slovakia, the houses are painted with ancient symbols. The white geometric patterns on the walls represent the elements of life — sun and water are found alongside ram's horns representing fertility, a tree of life and a pre-Christian talisman against evil spirits, among others.

Those symbols are on display in the Cicmianske Domy exhibit. Rather than photographing the historic houses as a whole, photographer Horecny, one of the founders of the Slovak progressive art photo group Generation '74, zoomed in on collections of symbols.

Just outside the exhibit is a traditional Slovakian kroje, or folk costume, from the village of Cicmany. Pulled from the museum's permanent collection, the kroje's embroidery features some of the same symbols that are painted on the house walls.

'The thought in the Cicmany Village is people took the symbols that were already in their embroidery and copied them onto their houses,' Kohn said. 'Probably about 200 years ago people started painting the houses, but the embroidery goes back much farther than that.'

The photography highlights that history, while also being art in its own right.

'What's unique about it is the artist has taken pictures of these uniquely decorated houses, but then he's isolated parts of the decorations, which have these symbols with ancient meanings, and blown them up and arranged them into their own shapes and patterns,' Kohn said. 'It's an artistic interpretation.'

Dale Chihuly: Venetians from the George R. Stroemple Collection

Chihuly, who co-founded the Pilchuck Glass School in Washington state, has work in more than 200 museum collections worldwide and has received many awards over his long career, including two fellowships from the National Endowment of the Arts.

On loan from private collector George R. Stroemple, this exhibit of over 70 glass works and drawings has been traveling the country, with Cedar Rapids as the last scheduled public exhibition.

The work is very different from the exhibit of Czech glass the museum had on display last year.

'We've been wanting to have a Chihuly exhibit for several years because of his Slovak heritage, but this in not traditional Czech or Slovak art glass. This is very, very different,' Kohn said.

In 1968, Chihuly received a Fulbright Fellowship to work at the famed Venini glass factory in Venice. The techniques he learned there greatly influenced his later work, said Lisa Tesner, curator of the George R. Stroemple collection.

'He fell in love with Italian art deco glass work,' she said.

He also helped bring the style to the United States — for centuries, the Venetian glass working techniques were a closely guarded secret. But Chihuly persuaded two Italian glass artists, Checco Ongaro and Lino Tagliapietra, to come and teach at his school.

Tagliapietra in particular developed a close relationship with Chihuly. After an accident left him blind in one eye, Chihuly couldn't work in the glass hot shop, so he would create drawings of his visions for elaborate vases, chandeliers and sculptures, and then Tagliapietra would act as his gaffer, working with a team to blow the glass and make Chihuly's designs come to life.

The pieces they made together are known as the Chihuly Venetians and will be the focus of the exhibit.

'Lino brought a level of skill and expertise that was heretofore unknown in the Chihuly hot shop,' Tesner said. 'The gaffer is a very, very key position in a hot shop, because a gaffer is the one who leads the team and does the hard stuff. It is not easy blowing glass. It is shockingly hard. You need a really buff set of arms to do it, and the pieces in this collection are enormous pieces of glass to be holding at the end of a blow pipe.'

She said the technical expertise is matched by the artistic intricacy of the work. 'The first thing to notice is just to let yourself to be delighted by the colors and the shapes. They're really enchanting objects and when you see them all at the same time, it's a little bit like Disney's 'Fantasia,' just a feast for the senses,' she said. 'Chihuly's artwork is just visually sumptuous and delightful.'

l Comments: (319) 398-8434; alison.gowans@thegazette.com

Cicmianske Domy: The Houses of Cicmany Village

— When: On display through May 7

Dale Chihuly Venetians from the George R. Stroemple Collection

— When: On display April 29 to Oct. 1

— Where: National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library, 1400 Inspiration Place SW, Cedar Rapids

— More information: ncsml.org, (319) 362-8500

Related events

— First Free Saturdays for Students: Cicmany Folk Art, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 6. Free admission for students of all ages, who can practice painting folk designs in the style of the Cicmianske Domy.

— Chihuly Family Art Workshops: $5 per child, one free adult per paid child. RSVPs requested; tickets at ncsml.org/events. June 17: Art & Ice Cream, July 1: Silly Straw Sculptures, Aug. 5: Crazy Chandeliers, Sept. 2: Stained Glass-Inspired Art.

— Curator-guided tour of Chihuly exhibit, 1 to 1:45 p.m. July 7. Included with price of museum admission; RSVP requested.

— Summer Family Free Day: 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. August 19. Free admission for everyone, hands-on creative activities inspired by colorful glass art of Dale Chihuly, family-friendly entertainment, local food and more.