Dates of event :
from: 15. 10. 2021
to: 28. 2. 2022
Venue :
Bratislavský hrad, 2. poschodie
The Bratislava Biennial of Illustrations traditionally includes an exhibition of works by an important Slovak illustrator. This year, a selection of illustrations by Božena Plocháňová is prepared for the visitors of the biennial.
BOŽENA PLOCHÁŇOVÁ
Božena Plocháňová, born Bauerová (* January 2, 1929, Prague - † August 11, 2020, Bratislava) was a Slovak illustrator and cartoonist of Czech origin. She is best known to the general artistic public as the author of cartoon humor from the well-known humorous-satirical weekly Roháč.
She was born in Prague, where she grew up in Vinohrady. She graduated from the renowned Prague State Graphic School (1946-1950). In 1952, as one of the first women academically educated artists, she began working in Slovakia as a professional cartoonist in the Roháč magazine, when she was acclaimed for the magazine and cartoon humor by the well-known artist and cartoonist Štefan Bednár, first editor-in-chief of Roháč. In the end, for four long decades, she was his tribal worker, drawing icon and art pillar. In her smilingly light drawings, artistically pure and perfect, she tried to relieve the reader of the mundane and difficult carousel of life. She perceived him without embellishments. And so, she drew it. Kindly, encouraging, and positive. She sincerely laughed at the shortcomings of the time of us all, including herself. She understood that with a smile on her face, mind and soul, one could really experience everything that everyday stereotypical life in what was then Czechoslovakia brought to his people.
Her unforgettable comic book characters Bill and Mary, from the life of ordinary "happy" people, still survive in the memory of several of our generations, from the most famous cartoon comic - of the same name - in the then Czechoslovakia (after Roháč's demise in Slovakia after 1990) for the crossword magazine Veľký Šibal, but like Bill and Mary after years ...). With her pleasing drawings, she could easily win the hearts of small children - schoolchildren. Therefore, with great pleasure and success, she illustrated all the children's magazines at the time with humorously tuned pictures.
She illustrated many children's books and textbooks and became one of the most popular illustrators for children. She collaborated with authors such as Mária Ďuríčková, Krista Bendová, Elena Čepčeková, e.g. There Was Once a Class, Danka and Janka, Monkeys from Our Shelf. As she admitted herself, while cartoon magazine humor was work and livelihood for her, as well as relaxation at the same time, drawing for children and illustration of children's books was considered a great holiday, and therefore humbly approached this work.
