2013
author
Petr Mazoch (CZ)
title
Region
degree
M.A. project
e-mail
school
Tomáš Baťa University in Zlín
supervisor
Profesor Karel Haloun
Works inspired by folk culture have, in recent years, made up a large group of submissions. Some of them charm the jurors with their form, others with their innovative ideas for contemporary uses of folk motifs. This year our choice went to a book promoting a region. The 120‑page book Moravian ­Wallachia is a proposition for a popular‑science publication on the folk customs of the ethnographic region situated in northern Moravia, which borders Slovakia. The information is laid out chronologically – from customs tied to the farewell to winter, through Easter and Christmas, to Shrove Tuesday. The book’s color scheme (format: 170 × 230 mm) was borrowed from Wallachian costumes. A special attribute of the book is the painted illustrations inspired by the work of Czech artists Josef Čapek and Václav Špála. These are punctuated with black‑and‑white photographs. The illustrative material goes from one two‑page spread to another, representing the passing of time. Four posters accompany the book, alluding to the seasons of the year, printed on canvas at the local Olešnica na Vysočině print shop. This work deserves our attention for the respect it shows for folk traditions and its skill in communicating them to the contemporary reader.