ReporTvář Julia Fučíka / Notes and Faces of Julius Fučík

Catalogue ReporTvář Julia Fučíka / Notes and Faces of Julius Fučík bears the same title as the exposition organised by the National Museum archive in cooperation with the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes withing the scope of a wider project (Museum of the Working Class Movement. Presentation of the work with the museum collection from the period of the state socialism...) in the National Memorial on the Vítkov Hill. The exposition – as the wordplay in its title indicates – was on the one side devoted to the narrative of Notes from the Gallows, the last and the most important of Fučík´s literary works, on the other side also to his “face” – to his visual image and developments of reflections and interpretations in the public space and cultural memory of the society. Larger part of the book is dedicated to independent studies: a text mapping the so called Fučík’s archaelogy, it is to the contexts of creation and disappearing of Fučík’s sites of memory in the years 1945–1989, until the present time; a history of reading and monumentalisation of his personality by the monopoly power of the Communist Party; visual appearance of Julius Fučík playing an important role in the building of his cult; and its tracing through sculptural realisations in the public space. Final part consists of shorter texts with photo-illustrations documenting selected artefacts, plus a set of literature and English resumés of abovementioned studies. In addition to the illustaration photography, there is the graphice design similar to that used in the exhibition and accompanying materials, playing with the motives of Fučík’s face in a form of Švabinsky portrait – and a few other known images of the Communist hero – composed of letters/text – the name of Julius Fučík and words of his Notes.