The Arts in Prague & the Czech Republic - Prague and Czech Republic - page 627

» Stín Katedrál (1968) by Helena Vondráčková - one of the most beautiful pop
songs to emerge from the 1960s.
» Modlitba pro Martu (Prayer for Marta; 1969) by Marta Kubišová - a sad song
that still instantly recalls the 1968 Warsaw Pact invasion.
» Bratříčku, Zavírej Vrátka (O' Brother, Shut the Door; 1969) by Karel Kryl -
the 'shut the door' part echoes the hopelessness many felt after the Warsaw
Pact invasion.
» Je jaká je (She is What She is; 1974) by Karel Gott - the Czech crooner ex-
traordinaire is still going strong today, well into his seventies.
» Černí Andele (Black Angels; 1991) by Lucie - critics' choice for the best rock
band of the 1990s.
» Láska je láska (Love is Love; 1995) by Lucie Bílá - the ballad of mid-'90s
Prague from a tough woman with a voice you won't soon forget.
» Lolita (2001) or Srdce (Heart; 2004) by Kryštof - this pop ensemble has had
a string of instantly likeable, addictive hits going back to 2000.
» Pohoda (2005) by Kabát - abrasive tune from a band that attracts mostly
hard-rocking guys holding beer bottles.
» Proměny (2006) by Čechomor - beautiful music from a band that almost
single-handedly made folk music hip again.
Photography
Czech photographers have always been at the forefront of the medium. The earliest
photographers, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, worked in the pictorialist
style, which viewed photography as an extension of painting.
It was after independence in 1918 and during the 1920s and '30s that early-modern
styles captured the Czech imagination. Local photo-graphers seized on trends such as
cubism, functionalism, Dadaism and surrealism, turning out jarring abstracts that still
look fresh today. Two of the best photographers from that time include František
Drtikol (1883-1961) and Jaroslav Rössler (1902-90). Drtikol was a society portraitist