Kája Saudek
Encyclopedia
Kája Saudek (13 May 1935) is a Czech comics
illustrator
. He is one of the most important exponents of the Czech comics
since the late 1960s. He is the twin brother of the photographer and painter Jan Saudek
.
. Kája and his younger brother Jan were imprisoned in the Nazi concentration camp Luža in Poland
. Many of his family members died in the Theresienstadt concentration camp
, but both brothers and their father survived the imprisonment and came back to Prague.
Saudek became familiar with the American comics
in his early years. He was inspired mainly by the works of Walt Disney
and later he was influenced also by Robert Crumb
and Richard Corben
. He became a technical writer
and in 1950s worked as a scene-shifter at the Barrandov Film Studios
. In 1966, the film director Miloš Macourek
used some of his drawings in the film Kdo chce zabít Jessii? (Who Wants to Kill Jessie?) and Saudek's works gradually became more popular in the Czechoslovakia
. In 1960s he created comics drawings for the magazine Popmusic Express (Underground Com-comix), as well as illustrations to the scripts by Jaroslav Foglar
, Ondřej Neff
and others. In 1969 he published a part of the comic series Muriel a andělé
(Muriel and Angels). The album depicts the story of a young physician Muriel, who meets an angel Ro, coming from a distant future. Ro attempts to introduce her to a world without hate, evil people and death. The communist censorship considered the story potentially dangerous and banned its publishing. Saudek's style was considered as too "American", some of his critics labelled his work as an example of bourgeois kitsch
. The complete cycle was published later, in 1991. The actress Olga Schoberová
served as a model for Muriel and Saudek's brother Jan was depicted as the main negative character, general Xeron. In 1971 he contributed to the film Čtyři vraždy stačí, drahoušku (Four Murders is enough, Honey) with his drawings.
At the beginning of the 1970s Saudek made his living as an illustrator for the Czechoslovak magazine Mladý svět
. His series Lips Tullian
, inspired by adventurous stories from 19th century, was banned by censorship. Saudek's collaboration with the popular magazine became more troublesome for the official communist critique; it was gradually restricted and in the middle of the 1970s it was completely banned. From 1976 to 1978 he has created a comics series to the theme of Thirty Cases of Major Zeman
, a popular Czechoslovak action-drama television series. The original TV series was intended as a political propaganda to support the official attitude of communists. Saudek's work didn't correspond with the original intention of the series and was refused by the Ministry of Interior. The album was published in 1999 under the title Major Zeman and Six of His Cases.
In 1979 Saudek began his collaboration with the Czech Speleological Society, the Society enabled him to publish several comics series in the following decade. In 1980s he also co-created a popular TV series Okna vesmíru dokořán, together with Vladimír Železný
and Jiří Grygar
. The series was produced by the Slovak Television.
Many of his works were republished at the beginning of 1990s, following the fall of communist regime
in Czechoslovakia. He cooperated with the comics journal Kometa (The Comet) and also with the erotic magazine NEI Report.
Saudek continued his work, however in April 2006 he suffered an accident which resulted in the coma
. He is (as of June 2009) hospitalised in the Prague hospital Motol.
In September 2009, three of his works appeared in the top five of the Czech comics in the poll organized by the newspaper Mladá fronta DNES
.
).
Comics
Comics denotes a hybrid medium having verbal side of its vocabulary tightly tied to its visual side in order to convey narrative or information only, the latter in case of non-fiction comics, seeking synergy by using both visual and verbal side in...
illustrator
Illustrator
An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
. He is one of the most important exponents of the Czech comics
Czech comics
- History :The beginnings of the comics genre in the Czechoslovakia are connected with the popular magazine Mladý hlasatel , published in the 1930s. In 1938, the magazine began publishing a popular comic series Rychlé šípy, written by Jaroslav Foglar and drawn by Jan Fischer...
since the late 1960s. He is the twin brother of the photographer and painter Jan Saudek
Jan Saudek
Jan Saudek is a Czech art photographer.- Life :Saudek's father was a Jew and the family was therefore persecuted by Germans. Many of his family members died in the Theresienstadt concentration camp during World War II. Jan and his brother Karel were held in a children's concentration camp located...
.
Biography
His father Gustav Saudek was a Jew, and the family was persecuted by Germans during the World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Kája and his younger brother Jan were imprisoned in the Nazi concentration camp Luža in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. Many of his family members died in the Theresienstadt concentration camp
Theresienstadt concentration camp
Theresienstadt concentration camp was a Nazi German ghetto during World War II. It was established by the Gestapo in the fortress and garrison city of Terezín , located in what is now the Czech Republic.-History:The fortress of Terezín was constructed between the years 1780 and 1790 by the orders...
, but both brothers and their father survived the imprisonment and came back to Prague.
Saudek became familiar with the American comics
American comic book
An American comic book is a small magazine originating in the United States and containing a narrative in the form of comics. Since 1975 the dimensions have standardized at 6 5/8" x 10 ¼" , down from 6 ¾" x 10 ¼" in the Silver Age, although larger formats appeared in the past...
in his early years. He was inspired mainly by the works of Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
and later he was influenced also by Robert Crumb
Robert Crumb
Robert Dennis Crumb —known as Robert Crumb and R. Crumb—is an American artist, illustrator, and musician recognized for the distinctive style of his drawings and his critical, satirical, subversive view of the American mainstream.Crumb was a founder of the underground comix movement and is regarded...
and Richard Corben
Richard Corben
Richard Corben is an American illustrator and comic book artist best known for his comics featured in Heavy Metal magazine...
. He became a technical writer
Technical writer
A technical writer is a professional writer who designs, creates, and maintains technical documentation...
and in 1950s worked as a scene-shifter at the Barrandov Film Studios
Barrandov Studios
Barrandov Studios is a famous set of film studios in Prague, Czech Republic. It is the largest film studio in the country and one of the largest in Europe.Several of the movies filmed there won Academy Awards...
. In 1966, the film director Miloš Macourek
Miloš Macourek
Miloš Macourek was a Czech poet, playwright, author and screenwriter.- Biography :During his career, Macourek worked in various professions. From 1953 to 1960, he was a teacher of the art history; later he worked as a dramaturgist at the Barrandov Film Studios...
used some of his drawings in the film Kdo chce zabít Jessii? (Who Wants to Kill Jessie?) and Saudek's works gradually became more popular in the Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
. In 1960s he created comics drawings for the magazine Popmusic Express (Underground Com-comix), as well as illustrations to the scripts by Jaroslav Foglar
Jaroslav Foglar
Jaroslav Foglar was a famous Czech author who wrote many novels about youths and their adventures in nature and dark city streets.-Early life:...
, Ondřej Neff
Ondrej Neff
Ondřej Neff is a Czech science fiction writer and journalist. He is the founder of , one of the earliest and most popular Czech daily news/comments websites, and , a website about digital photography for amateurs.His father Vladimír Neff was a popular writer, author of many historical...
and others. In 1969 he published a part of the comic series Muriel a andělé
Muriel a andělé
Muriel a andělé is a comic album written by Miloš Macourek and drawn by Kája Saudek, originally created in the late 1960s and published in 1991. The album is considered one of the masterworks of Czech comics; it was voted the best Czech comic in a poll held by the newspaper Mladá fronta DNES in 2009...
(Muriel and Angels). The album depicts the story of a young physician Muriel, who meets an angel Ro, coming from a distant future. Ro attempts to introduce her to a world without hate, evil people and death. The communist censorship considered the story potentially dangerous and banned its publishing. Saudek's style was considered as too "American", some of his critics labelled his work as an example of bourgeois kitsch
Kitsch
Kitsch is a form of art that is considered an inferior, tasteless copy of an extant style of art or a worthless imitation of art of recognized value. The concept is associated with the deliberate use of elements that may be thought of as cultural icons while making cheap mass-produced objects that...
. The complete cycle was published later, in 1991. The actress Olga Schoberová
Olga Schoberová
Olga Schoberová or Olinka Bérová born March 15, 1943 in Prague, Czech Republic , Czech-American actress, was often compared with Brigitte Bardot and Ursula Andress. She acted in 22 Czech, German, Italian and American movies. Olga was married to Brad Harris on 16 November 1967 and divorced in 1969...
served as a model for Muriel and Saudek's brother Jan was depicted as the main negative character, general Xeron. In 1971 he contributed to the film Čtyři vraždy stačí, drahoušku (Four Murders is enough, Honey) with his drawings.
At the beginning of the 1970s Saudek made his living as an illustrator for the Czechoslovak magazine Mladý svět
Mladý Svet
Mladý Svět was a magazine published in Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic. It contained editorials, comics and other works...
. His series Lips Tullian
Lips Tullian
Lips Tullian is a comic series written by Jaroslav Weigel and drawn by Kája Saudek in 1972. The series was published by the popular Czechoslovak weekly magazine Mladý svět...
, inspired by adventurous stories from 19th century, was banned by censorship. Saudek's collaboration with the popular magazine became more troublesome for the official communist critique; it was gradually restricted and in the middle of the 1970s it was completely banned. From 1976 to 1978 he has created a comics series to the theme of Thirty Cases of Major Zeman
Thirty Cases of Major Zeman
Thirty Cases of Major Zeman is a Czechoslovakian action-drama television show intended as a political propaganda to support the official attitude of the communist party. The series were filmed in the 1970s....
, a popular Czechoslovak action-drama television series. The original TV series was intended as a political propaganda to support the official attitude of communists. Saudek's work didn't correspond with the original intention of the series and was refused by the Ministry of Interior. The album was published in 1999 under the title Major Zeman and Six of His Cases.
In 1979 Saudek began his collaboration with the Czech Speleological Society, the Society enabled him to publish several comics series in the following decade. In 1980s he also co-created a popular TV series Okna vesmíru dokořán, together with Vladimír Železný
Vladimír Železný
Vladimír Železný is a media businessman, politician and convicted criminal in the Czech Republic. He was the first CEO of TV NOVA, a popular Czech television station and was a member of the European Parliament between 2004 and 2009...
and Jiří Grygar
Jirí Grygar
Jiří Grygar is a Czech astronomer and popularizer of science. Dr. Grygar is a Kalinga Prize laureate...
. The series was produced by the Slovak Television.
Many of his works were republished at the beginning of 1990s, following the fall of communist regime
Velvet Revolution
The Velvet Revolution or Gentle Revolution was a non-violent revolution in Czechoslovakia that took place from November 17 – December 29, 1989...
in Czechoslovakia. He cooperated with the comics journal Kometa (The Comet) and also with the erotic magazine NEI Report.
Saudek continued his work, however in April 2006 he suffered an accident which resulted in the coma
Coma
In medicine, a coma is a state of unconsciousness, lasting more than 6 hours in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light or sound, lacks a normal sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. A person in a state of coma is described as...
. He is (as of June 2009) hospitalised in the Prague hospital Motol.
In September 2009, three of his works appeared in the top five of the Czech comics in the poll organized by the newspaper Mladá fronta DNES
Mladá fronta DNES
Mladá fronta Dnes, also known as MF DNES or simply Dnes , is the second most sold daily newspaper in the Czech Republic. Its name could be translated into English as Youth Front Today...
.
Film
- Kdo chce zabít Jessii?Kdo chce zabít Jessii?Who Wants to Kill Jessie? is a 1966 Czechoslovak science fiction comedy film directed by Václav Vorlíček. The story focuses of a couple who use a machine which can bring objects and people from dreams to the real world...
(Who Wants to Kill Jessie?) (poster and fictional comics in the film) - Čtyři vraždy stačí, drahoušku (Four Murders is enough, Honey) (animated scenes, fictional comics)
- Okna vesmíru dokořán (illustrations)
Comics
- Honza Hrom (1968) - 7 parts, own script, published in the Pop Music Express magazine)
- Pepík-Hipík (1969) - 4 parts, script by Rudolf KřesťanRudolf KřesťanRudolf Křesťan is a Czech writer, editor and feuilletonist. He is the author of 16 books printed in more than 250,000 copies.- Biography :...
, Karel Hvížďala, Karel Šmíd, published in the Čtení pod lavicí magazine) - Muriel a anděléMuriel a anděléMuriel a andělé is a comic album written by Miloš Macourek and drawn by Kája Saudek, originally created in the late 1960s and published in 1991. The album is considered one of the masterworks of Czech comics; it was voted the best Czech comic in a poll held by the newspaper Mladá fronta DNES in 2009...
(Muriel and Angels) (1969) - published in 1991, script by Miloš Macourek - Muriel a oranžová smrtMuriel a oranžová smrtMuriel a oranžová smrt is a Czech comic album written by Miloš Macourek and drawn by Kája Saudek in 1969/1970. The story was inspired by the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968. The album is the second and the last part of the planned cycle of adventures of young physician Muriel and...
(Muriel and the Orange Death) (1970) - published in 2009 by Albatros, partially lost - Čtverylka (1971) - 22 strips, script by Rudolf Křesťan, Haiduková, Tikalová, Pacovský, published in Mladý svět
- Výprava ze Sixie (Expedition from Sixia), (1971–72) - script by Miloš Poláček, published in the Ostravský Kulturní Zpravodaj
- Lips Tullian, nejobávanější náčelník lupičůLips TullianLips Tullian is a comic series written by Jaroslav Weigel and drawn by Kája Saudek in 1972. The series was published by the popular Czechoslovak weekly magazine Mladý svět...
(Lips Tullian, the Most Redoubtable Leader of Bandits) (1972) published in Mladý světMladý SvetMladý Svět was a magazine published in Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic. It contained editorials, comics and other works... - Diamantová šifra (The Diamond Code) (1972) - unfinished, 12 parts, script by Svatopluk Novotný, published in Mladá Fronta
- Fantom opery uvádí (Phantom of the Opera Presents) (1973) - published in Mladý svět
- Černý Filip (Black Phillip) (1974) - script by Jaroslav WeigelJaroslav WeigelJaroslav Weigel is a Czech actor, writer and painter. From 1970, he is a member of the Jára Cimrman Theatre.- Biography :...
, published in Mladý svět - Major Zeman (1978–1979) - script by Jaroslav Weigel, published in Pionýrská stezka
- Tajemství zlatého koně (The Secret of the Golden Horse) (1979), own script, published by Czech Speleological Society
- Po stopách sněžného muže (1980) - script by Josef Nesvatba, published by Czech Speleological Society
- Trať se ztrácí ve tmě (1980) - published by Czech Speleological Society
- Stříbrný poklad (Silver Treasure) (1982) - script by J.Weigel, published by Czech Speleological Society
- Studňa (The Well) (1984) - published in Film a Divadlo)
- Modrá rokle (The Blue Ravine) (1984) - script by Jaroslav FoglarJaroslav FoglarJaroslav Foglar was a famous Czech author who wrote many novels about youths and their adventures in nature and dark city streets.-Early life:...
, published by Czech Speleological Society - Peruánský deník (Peruvian Diary) (1984) - published by Czech Speleological Society
- Konec Sahrbergovy bandy (The End of the Sahrberg Bunch) (1985) - published by Czech Speleological Society
- Ztracený kamarád (The Lost Friend) (1987) - script by Jaroslav Foglar, published by Czech Speleological Society
- Arnal a dva dračí zuby (Arnal and Two Dragon Teeth) (1988) - script by Ondřej NeffOndrej NeffOndřej Neff is a Czech science fiction writer and journalist. He is the founder of , one of the earliest and most popular Czech daily news/comments websites, and , a website about digital photography for amateurs.His father Vladimír Neff was a popular writer, author of many historical...
, published by Czech Speleological Society - Jeskyně Saturn (The Saturn Cave) (1990–1991) - script by J. Foglar, published by Czech Speleological Society
Selected exhibitions
Saudek exhibited his works at more than 300 single exhibitions in the Czechoslovakia and abroad. His drawings are included in the significant Czech art collections (i. e. Moravian Gallery in BrnoMoravian Gallery in Brno
The Moravian Gallery in Brno is the second largest art museum in the Czech Republic, established in 1961 by merging of two older institutions. It is situated in three main buildings: Pražák Palace, Governor's Palace and Museum of Decorative Arts...
).
- 1997 - KonstanzKonstanzKonstanz is a university city with approximately 80,000 inhabitants located at the western end of Lake Constance in the south-west corner of Germany, bordering Switzerland. The city houses the University of Konstanz.-Location:...
, Rosengarten Museum. "Czech Posters of the '60s from the Collections of the Moravian Gallery Brno" - 2002 - Prague, Czech Museum of Visual Arts. "Czech Comics (?) and Visual Arts"
- 2003 - Prague, Mánes. "Film Poster"
Further reading
- Who is Who in the Czech Republic (1994–95). Prague: Modrý jezdec, 1995.
- Březina, V.: Lexikon českého filmu. 2000 filmů (1930-1996). Prague: Filmové nakladatelství Cinema, 1996.
- Saudek, K.: Jak a proč jsem kreslil Majora Zemana. In: Lidové noviny, 1 July 1999.
- (ed.) Třeštík, M.: Who is Who in the Czech Republic. Prague: Agentura Kdo je kdo, 2002.
External links
- Complete catalogue of works by Kája Saudek
- Kája Saudek & 60's (Prague.tv - Prague's City Guide)
- Kája Saudek at the komiks.cz
- Kája Saudek at the comics.cz
- Kája Saudek at the komix.kvalitne.cz
- Interview with Kája Saudek (Source: Reflex)
- Kniha o Saudkovi se rodila v bolestech, neochotná byla rodina i sběratelé (iDnes)
- Kája Saudek byl zlatý tehdy a je i teď, potvrzuje výstava komiksů (iDnes)
- Vyšla monografie komiksového mistra Káji Saudka. Konečně (iDnes)
- Monografie Káji Saudka zmizela z pultů za pár dní, dotisk není jistý