Janovic receives Tatarka Award
photo: SME - Pavol Funtál
THIS YEAR'S Dominik Tatarka Literature Award went to Tomáš Janovic on March 21 for his book of aphorisms and epigrams entitled Maj ma rád (Love Me or Ask My Arse).
Previously known for his satirical tone, Janovic filled this book with more skepticism and melancholy, proving, as was stated during the ceremony, that his work is a long-term observation of paradoxes in our modern mentality.
The MR Štefánik Conservative Institute, in cooperation with the Dominik Tatarka Award jury, has given out the prize, named after Dominik Tatarka (1913-1989), an important dissident of the 20th century, for the last 12 years.
SOGA spring auction fetches Sk10.4 million
ART lovers attended a regular spring auction held by the SOGA auction house in Bratislava on March 28.
Sitting Wanderer by Ladislav (László) Mednyánszky drew over Sk1 million after bidding raised its price from Sk950 to Sk1.05 million. Gander Party, a 19th-century oil painting by Czech artist Josef Matěj Navrátil, was the biggest surprise of the night, beginning at Sk95,000 and ending at Sk1.35 million. But it was the oil painting Greenroom (Susan and Old Men) by early-twentieth-century artist Anton Jasuch that fetched the event's highest sum, Sk1.450 million.
In total, the auction raised Sk10.4 million (€275,000).
First online artwork auction site launched
SLOVAKIA'S first online auction site, eAntik, was launched in February to satisfy the nation's thriving art trade. Run by the Dajana antique shop in Nižný Hrušov, it hopes to revive art sales in the east.
Those interested can go to www.eantik.sk, register and join the auction, which currently offers 24 paintings and some antique furniture. Each auction lasts two weeks.
Jamrich heads SND Council
Dušan Jamrich on stage.
photo: ČTK
DUŠAN Jamrich, the former director of the Slovak National Theatre (SND), was picked as the chairman of the SND Council at its first meeting on March 28. Current SND Director Marián Chudovský established the council in line with a Culture Ministry decision from December 2005.
The list of council members includes Culture Minister František Tóth, Deputy Finance Minister Vladimír Tvaroška, Bratislava Mayor Andrej Ďurkovský, Theatre Institute historian Ján Jaborník, SND Opera stage director Martin Bendík, and SND Drama stage director Martin Porubjak. Jiří Srstka, the former director of the Prague National Theatre, and actor Milan Lasica are also on the list, as are philosopher and writer Miroslav Marcelli, surgeon Juraj Pechan and SND labour unions representative Richard Stanke.
The council handles the administration of the SND. At its March 28 meeting, the new members discussed the management of the new SND building.
Ďurovčík returns as a dancer
LEADING Slovak choreographer and director Ján Ďurovčík will return to the theatre stage with his ...na Vaše hroby (...On Your Graves) drama after seven years.
The Nová Scéna theatre will restage the performance, which has also been successful in New York, on April 26. Following that show it will tour 24 Slovak towns. Prague viewers will see it in September or October at the Kalich theatre, the SITA news wire reported.
The drama ...na Vaše hroby is based on the scandalous book by Boris Vian, I'll Spit on Your Graves, which was banned in the US. It tells the story of an African American named Lee Anderson, who avenges the lynching of his younger, darker brother by raping and killing white girls.
Nová Scéna premiered the show in 2000. In the renewed presentation of the dance-drama, viewers will see Ján Ďurovčík, Dušan Cinkota, Jan Révai, Igor Holováč, Zuzana Moravcová, Milka Minichová, Marianna Paulíková and Ivan Martiš.
