Doc. Petr Pavlík

“Scientists, better said scientific institutes, did a good job. For example The Micromolecular Institute in Prague Petřiny or The Microbiological Institute in Prague Krč. The exhibitions took place in their corridors, yet not without conflicts. For example when we were installing the exhibition of our generation in The Microbiological Institute in Krč, there happened to be some dilligent informer who noticed Michael Rittstein´s painting Don´t Want to Be in a Cage. He telephoned to announce this to the Union. During the installation works an official Skoda 613 from the Union arrived, from the committee of the Union, and a second one with Müller, the infamous boss of the Cultural Section of the Central Committee of the Party. After they walked through the installation, they locked us in one room (we were about 15 artists exhibiting). Luckily, we managed to call Kotalík who jumped into the third Skoda 613, arrived in an hour and saved us. I believe they would have arrested us. The exhibition was closed after two or three days, but at least it materialized.“

“In autumn I somehow said to myself I could fly over to London to think over if, in fact, I should stay abroad or not. There I found out what I had known before anyway, but needed to be sure about - that I am practically unable to be transplanted. Firstly, I was already in the first year of my studies at the Academy and then I realized that I was such a Prague and Central Europe patriot that I would die abroad. Simply that I wouldn´t manage without Vinohrady, my part of Prague. Also among others. So, I came back and naturally took part in different activities in which we tried to oppose in some way the existing situation here.“