Jan Švankmajer



Jan Švankmajer is a filmmaker and artist recognised for his surreal animations, he was born on the 4th of September 1934 in Prague, Czechoslovakia. He has inspired many of today’s stop-motion animators, including Tim Burton and The Brother Quay. Jan is known for his dark reimagining of well-known fairy tales and for his avant-garde usage of three-dimensional stop-motion coupled with live-action animation. Several critics hailed him for favouring visual elements over plot and narrative, other for his use of dark fantasy. 

He has achieved his reputation over the years for his creepy and surreal films, utilizing distinctive stop-motion technique, counting (Pixilation and Claymation). Jan still remains to produce stop-motion films today. Jan tends to project a moral within his stop-motion animations, the animation per say usually makes no sense, however, when watching it closely it emits a deeper meaning in it, and that is the purpose of surrealism.

Jan’s stop-motion films are very weird and disturbing to watch, yet it conveys vital information’s that has to be focused on in order to realise what they are, this keeps the viewers glued to the movie and makes Jan Švankmajer’s movie so appealing to his ever-growing audience.

Švankmajer pursued an interest in theatre and puppetry. He studied at the School of Applied Arts in Prague from 1950-1954 prior to enrolling in the puppetry department at the Academy of the Performing Arts. Jan also worked at a marionette theatre and other theatres in the city. Švankmajer discovered an appreciation for the film through his theatre work and soon began his cinematic career journey. His first short- Poslední trik pana Schwarcewalldea a pana Edgara- 1964 (The Last Trick), in which 2 magicians contribute in a heated competition of skill – provided evidence of his early interest in stop-motion. 

Švankmajer’s most recognised work, Lekce Faust (1993: Faust), provided a new spin to the familiar tale of the Faustian bargain. The film is set in a foreboding puppet theatre that pulls the main character inside. There he experiences a bizarre form of the Faust play, which comprises of giant puppets and clay figures filmed in stop-motion.

Even though Švankmajer won more than 30 awards and honours from several international film festivals, he is still relatively unfamiliar in North America throughout most of his career. His lack of reputation was in large measure a result of political events that took place in Czechoslovakia. After the invasion of the Soviet Union in that country in 1968, the powers that be constrained opportunities for Švankmajer’s films to reach a wider audience, finding his work generally inappropriate for their desired ends. Nevertheless, Švankmajer’s reputation grew substantially after the fall of the Soviet Union. 

Švankmajer picked up a respectable standing throughout the following couple of decades for his exceptional style of stop-motion animation, and his capacity to make really startling nightmarish surreal but then in some cases funny motion pictures. Utilizing a great deal of exaggerated sounds to make peculiar impacts, frequently in eating scenes, on the audience to make a surreal atmosphere. He utilizes a lot of speed changes, more often than not when individuals are talking or walking to make a strained and emotional impact. A large portion of his movies frequently involve food, this is by all accounts his most loved subject and making lifeless articles come to life through stop-motion animation. The individuals who make the most of Švankmajer's work will appreciate it due to its visual stimulation and it's really disturbing and forceful sequences. His works are extremely fascinating and inventive, however, at times they could be depicted as pushing against the limits in some respects.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

  • Yalzadeh, I. (2017). Jan Svankmajer | Czech artist, puppeteer, animator, and filmmaker. [online] Encyclopedia Britannica. Available at: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jan-vankmajer [Accessed 1 Jun. 2017].

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