Jan Švankmajer

A Short Biography

Jan Švankmajer was born on the 4th of September 1934 in Prague, Czechoslovakia. He is an artist whose pieces have expanded over many forms of media. He is also a self-labelled surrealist known for his strange and ludicrous animations and features which have influenced other aspiring animators and visual artists. Švankmajer studied at the College of Applied Arts in Prague and then later worked in the Department of Puppetry at the Prague Academy of Performing Arts. 

Work Experience 

Švankmajer assisted in Emil Radok's film 'Doktor Faust' in 1958 and subsequently began working for Prague's Semafor theatre. His experiences and jobs in the theatre were heavily reflected in his first film he released in 1964 called 'The Last Trick'. When he first manifested his appeal towards surrealism he created his first feature on the subject in 1968 called 'The Garden' and shortly afterwards joined the Czechoslovakian Surrealist Group.

Making a Name for One's Self

Švankmajer gained a reputable standing over the next few decades for his unique style of stop-motion animation, and his ability to create truly frightening nightmarish surreal and yet sometimes funny motion pictures. Using a lot of exaggerated sounds to create strange effects, often in eating scenes, on the audience to create a surreal atmosphere. He uses a lot of speed changes, usually when people are speaking or walking to make a tense and suspenseful effect. Most of his films often involve food, this seems to be his favourite subject, and making inanimate objects come to life through stop-motion animation. Those who enjoy Švankmajer's work will enjoy t because of it's visual stimulation and its truly disturbing and aggressive sequences. I find his works very interesting and imaginative, though sometimes they could be described as pushing against the boundaries in some respects.

Currently

Švankmajer at this time is working on a new project called 'Insects', with a budget of 40m CZK this feature should be released in 2015. This film will feature insects and how they live their lives, Švankmajer says "bugs behave as a human beings, and people behave as insects." Which sounds frightfully exciting and I cannot wait to view it.