Joseph L. Kagle, Jr. Peace Essays

“In 1994, I took an exhibition of Texas artists to the Czech Republic, exchanging art, freedom and other new ideas with their artists.  Democracies are built upon the concept of a marketplace of ideas. In this new democracy, it was interesting and enlightening to discover a yearning  for freedom of thought, action  and services, all leading  to a peaceful transition  from Communism  to a free enterprise nation. This new nation wanted one voice counted as loudly as the commissars booming voices in the past.”

Central Texas artists exhibit work in Prague in cultural exchange

      My journey was to the Czech Republic to unveil a special cargo — a Central Texas artists exhibition in a new democracy. It occurred at Divadlo Archa (Noah's ark) the premier contemporary exhibition and theater center in Prague.

In April of last year, the Cultural Ministry or the Czech Republic brought seven artists to exhibit at The Art Center of Waco. In return, the ministry's Vera Jirousova wanted works of Waco-area artists to be presented in her country under the theme of "The City."

As she said, "Czech art in the past, under ideological pressures and expulsion from the public, shifted its focus to the inner world." As co-curator on the American exhibition, I wished to show the depth and breadth of Central Texas artists and their images, the outer and inner world of American art.

Six of the nine whose work went (Karl Umlauf, John Chatmas, Dottie Allen, Barney Fitzpatrick, Wynona Alexander and I) are working artists who teach art in Central Texas colleges. Harriet Haward is artist-in-residence at The Art Center. Charles Evans lives and works in Waco. Robert Wilson visits Waco but is a citizen of the world.

Each of the artists takes a reflection of Waco as a 'microcosm of the world.

Flow of creative ideas

The Czech Republic saw the need for creative ideas to flow to this new democracy through Prague. In keeping with its name, the theater started inviting artists, two by two, into the ark. In April it had Philip Glass and Allen Ginsberg. Glass is the leading contemporary composer of new music and Ginsberg is a revived symbol of poetic freedom from America's "beat generation."

The importance of new, creative ideas and images to a democratic society was never more ap­parent to me. Democracies are built upon the con­cept of a marketplace of ideas. Unless the society has new thoughts and new visions, or old thoughts and old visions wrapped in new clothing, the society begins to decay from within.

At a time when our federal government is cutting: support for the arts, all the other democratic governments, old and new, are placing more impor­tance upon creative ideas, creative images.

 McLennan Community College is a visionary in­stitution which sees real and symbolic rewards of cooperation between cultures and sharing of differ­ences across borders. MCC and The Art Center of Waco financed this exchange of exhibitions.

  At the grand opening in Prague, we spoke three languages: Czech, English and art. Wynona Alexan­der and I (she, along with my wife, also made the trip) signed autographs like comets from another universe.

The food was wonderful. The music was Ameri­can and Czech, played by Czech musicians.

  Leslie High, cultural attache' of the U.S. Embas­sy, spoke of his pleasure in welcoming ideas and images from Central Texas to the Czech Republic. He told the audience of leading Prague artists, "This is a grand beginning of a more lasting exchange."

  Right there, I took off my American flag tie and exchanged it with a Czech curator for a Moravian wide, purple, Baroque tie. Peace between people starts with the simplest of exchanges.