President 1965

Jirí Balcar created this intaglio print, ‘President’, in 1965. The composition is divided into six distinct squares, each containing symbolic imagery rendered in stark black and white. This creates a high-contrast visual field that immediately captures the eye. Balcar employs bold graphic forms and textual elements— fragments of words and abstract shapes—to destabilize conventional notions of portraiture and political authority. The repeated images of a man’s face, fragmented and obscured by shadow, evoke a sense of anonymity and perhaps, the dehumanization inherent in political power. Look at how the deliberate obscuring of features suggests a critique of the cult of personality, a theme prevalent in Cold War era art. The semiotic interplay between image and text invites viewers to decode the underlying structures of power and representation. It challenges fixed meanings, engaging with new ways of thinking about space, perception and power. Through its formal structure and symbolic language, this artwork functions as a powerful cultural and philosophical statement.