Drunk 1927

Mikuláš Galanda made this print, Drunk, sometime in the early to mid 20th century. It depicts a figure with a blue bottle, seemingly lost in thought. Galanda was a key figure in the development of modern Slovak art. Looking at this image, we might consider the cultural importance of pubs, bars, and drinking in the social life of interwar Czechoslovakia. How did they function as spaces of community and connection? How did the rise of modernism affect cultural and artistic traditions? To deepen our understanding, we might examine the history of Slovak modernism and the avant-garde movements that Galanda was associated with, as well as exploring the social conditions that shaped his artistic production. Perhaps this figure is a comment on the alienation of modern life, or maybe it’s an attempt to find beauty in the everyday. The meaning is contingent on its social and institutional context.