ABOUT THE GALLERY–DRUGSTORE OFF-PRICE PRODUCTS

• Hello.00:00:02.443
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• Sixteen crowns.00:00:08.363
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• -Twenty. Thank you. -Thanks. Good-bye.00:00:23.369
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• So, gentlemen... Let's put on our masks.00:00:28.813
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• I'll keep the ladder for a bit longer, I'm going to paint.00:00:34.144
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• -Keep it for as long as you need. -Ok, good.00:00:42.956
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• He takes it all. You also need sound, guys.00:00:47.063
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• -Sound! -Oh, yeah! -Bye, guys! -Bye.00:00:50.589
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• Should I put on two pairs?00:00:54.069
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• We should explain how it started.00:01:00.668
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• Do you mean the painting?00:01:04.985
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• For years, this beautiful oil painting was hanging in the store.00:01:07.361
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• Rosťa loved or hated it so much that he wanted to buy it00:01:14.548
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• and exchange it for one of his works.00:01:18.327
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• In the winter, we had endless talks in the shop00:01:22.859
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• and concluded that we could regularly hang pictures on the walls here.00:01:27.773
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• For years, these were mine.00:01:33.216
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• -At the beginning, it was just one. -We had this megalomanic idea...00:01:36.416
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• Rosťa wanted to invade this drugstore with his drawings.00:01:41.441
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• The first exhibition, or decoration, took place in November 1986.00:01:45.185
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• It was Rosťa.00:01:55.874
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• Back then, we figured out the concept.00:01:57.665
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• Our Drugstore is a traditional, traditionalist one.00:02:02.599
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• We created a tradition, and we've stuck to it.00:02:12.554
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• Exhibition openings have an unchanging theme.00:02:16.829
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• The exhibitions open here. An hour prior to closing time.00:02:21.514
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• We always have live music.00:02:27.497
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• Pictures can be seen for the first time.00:02:31.487
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• The musician changes every time.00:02:35.442
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• The musician should correspond to the works displayed.00:02:37.877
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• But the truth is, we always look for him at the last minute.00:02:41.804
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• It's the biggest issue.00:02:45.841
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• Musicians like to play, but they usually forget about it.00:02:47.351
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• Next, we go to a nearby place, the restaurant Prague.00:02:51.394
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• There, in a private room, where the Devětsil group was founded,00:02:58.556
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• the second part of the opening occurs.00:03:07.529
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• An opening word is said, that's my task.00:03:12.562
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• Then we screen a 30-minute video of our visit in the studio of the artist.00:03:20.678
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• Perhaps you want to say something.00:03:26.118
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• These visits are prepared, or unprepared, it depends on the artist.00:03:29.327
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• From the very beginning, we decided to be independent of either side.00:03:36.866
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• So far, we've been successful.00:03:49.227
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• We are in touch with a Polish gallery, similar to ours.00:03:53.645
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• We showed a selection of our work there. It was a huge success.00:04:02.995
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• I hope we might exchange some exhibitions.00:04:07.561
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• We shoot most of the videos with the camera man00:04:13.345
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• who's now shooting this interview.00:04:23.063
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• Therefore, you can't see him.00:04:34.434
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• And... Aleš.00:04:37.526
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• As Rosťa mentioned, some inspiration is obvious...00:04:44.415
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• Parisian shops selling art... A kind of small gallery...00:04:50.970
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• First, we don't have this in Brno.00:04:56.649
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• So, this is an effort to revive a special kind of life.00:05:01.638
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• Art life.00:05:07.419
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• And second, our main motivation is the independence.00:05:09.239
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• The only dependence is on our decision and the two of us.00:05:15.953
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• We are artist friends of the Drugstore and he is its managing director.00:05:20.434
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• -In one person. -Yes, in one person.00:05:29.766
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• One more thing: the artist always helps with sales during that one hour.00:05:32.397
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• He wears a white cloak and he helps Drahoš to sell.00:05:46.676
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• It has financial results.00:05:53.738
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• What was the highest turnover per hour?00:05:57.694
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• Rychlík was the top seller. 2,500 crowns.00:06:00.283
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• Normally, I am happy if I earn this much in three days.00:06:04.154
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• This is the economic rationale behind it.00:06:10.869
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• It's a very hot issue.00:06:15.673
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• Just a few words about what happens after.00:06:21.247
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• Pictures hang here for a month and people come to see them.00:06:25.718
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• This is a public space. That's what makes it specific.00:06:29.896
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• People have a month to come and see the exhibition.00:06:39.329
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• Of course, it's restricted by the opening hours.00:06:43.910
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• -What are your opening hours?00:06:46.679
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• The people who come are regulars, or they come to see the exhibition.00:06:49.941
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• Some come by chance and think it's me who did it.00:06:58.478
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• And they compliment me. Many ask about what will be next.00:07:01.857
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• Their numbers are growing.00:07:08.867
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• It's difficult to say an exact number.00:07:14.170
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• We've joined the international art life.00:07:17.368
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• In September, we exhibited Krzystof Rynkiewicz from Lodz.00:07:25.868
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• The present exhibition is by Helen Ganly from Oxford.00:07:31.566
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• I was brought up thinking that art comes along with a black suit,00:07:37.787
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• tragic expressions and hushed dialogues.00:07:46.707
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• Here we show good quality works without the unneeded pathos.00:07:49.850
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• Sometimes, we are totally serious. But yes, it has been discussed...00:08:01.064
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• Helen's exhibition is the 13th one.00:08:07.423
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• The project has been going on for over a year.00:08:11.687
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• We've discussed whether certain kinds of painting fit here.00:08:16.787
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• Eventually, we concluded that everything fits here.00:08:23.000
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• If it's good quality art, it can enter a profane space,00:08:30.067
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• such as this drugstore.00:08:36.299
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• Moreover, this one is specific as it sells reduced goods.00:08:43.933
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• The gallery's location is a mere coincidence.00:08:48.812
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• But it has its meaning, for us it's symbolic.00:08:58.360
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• In a way, we are a reduced generation.00:09:04.057
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• In a strange way, everything was reduced for us.00:09:10.001
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• Ironically, this means it was made more difficult for us.00:09:15.221
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• Back to the discussion and whether it is a serious one or not.00:09:20.632
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• At the beginning, some reproached us we were making fun.00:09:27.118
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• But now artists start asking: Why not me?00:09:36.044
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• So it has gained some importance, despite our lack of seriousness.00:09:43.948
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• Our exhibitions have succeeded in gaining recognition.00:09:50.924
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• It's been on for over a year, regularly.00:09:56.859
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• And despite being seemingly just fun, it is a serious business.00:10:01.344
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• On several occasions, we've managed to organize an exhibition of an artist,00:10:07.030
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• who hadn't exhibited in Brno for an extended period of time.00:10:18.116
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• And I am speaking of some of the most expressive artists00:10:23.013
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• belonging to our generations, such as Milivoj Husák or Karel Rychlý.00:10:31.753
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• At least here, in Brno.00:10:37.201
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• We search for artists, who can't easily exhibit in official galleries.00:10:40.332
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• Though this seems to be improving now.00:10:53.880
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• I think we said everything we wanted to say.00:11:05.028
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• This painting will hang here during the holidays.00:11:13.105
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• -Yes, we forgot to mention... -The children's exhibition.00:11:16.436
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• During the summer holidays we had the 14th exhibition here.00:11:23.988
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• It was an exhibition-action.00:11:27.236
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• Rosťa wrote a card.00:11:32.012
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• A call to the children of the regulars of our "Drogerie".00:11:37.904
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• They were asked to draw something on that card.00:11:48.077
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• -They did it. We got over 60... -No, 120 cards.00:11:55.840
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• We exhibited these over the summer holiday.00:12:01.643
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• It was a sort of postal series.00:12:05.433

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