profesor Daniel Fischer

* 1950

  • “We were assigned to make an exhibition at ObKaSs, where every people’s art school had a duty to exhibit and show, what we visual artists are doing, as teachers. Skrak called me a day after that, and he reminded me of his article. It was just published, he wrote it already during that Aktiv, of course, he humiliated us, but it would not be the biggest problem. The article ended with the sentence “How can such people teach our children?” At that time, in the 1980s, it was a loop on the neck. So the regime was searching for such active, efficient people, who did everything”

  • “Well after the first, second, third exhibition we found out, it became a ritual in a negative sense. The day after the exhibition, they called us to the Union of visual artists and collegially threatened us. The other day what are you doing, if you stopped, you’d be alright. The other day, I went to the ministry of culture, there I can confirm it, the director of the department, he was a decent translator Jozef Kot, Zeljenka told us:” That man with an unfinished name”. So I was at his place. He was a director of the department of arts, that was his function. Over him was Kyos and Valek, so he was second after Valek. Second, was, unfortunately, February street, it was the most unpleasant. And it kept repeating.”

  • “I was told by an assistant, it was Ivan Vychlopen, Matejka's assistant, of course, he was older from us, but we were on a first-name basis with him. He asked me in a friendly manner, but I politely declined, and then after a day or two, he came asking me in a more serious tone, to speak to the bursar. He was on a first-name basis with everyone, of course. He also had a special room at the rectorate at Hviezdoslav square, with leather seats, his own chair, not even rector had it. He came, as usual, leaned over the back-rest:”What did you say there?” The assistant told him that I was not very interested. He told me something, it was late in the week, he told me to change my mind and come on Monday. I was 21 years old. Of course, I consulted with the people I thought that ... My parents or my uncle, they did not tell me unequivocally that I should refuse, since they were afraid of me. There was no one to tell me- refuse. In 1971… It was after your parents were expelled? I had told him- that Orlik, everything, and he answered, the party would help you, they would sort everything out. So it was after father lost his job, and mother was expelled from that union… and I knew I shouldn't join the party. I would not play strong even now, I just know it’s not right...:”

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    Devínska Nová Ves, 18.07.2019

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Members of StB did not study the history of art, the idea wasn’t their own

Daniel Fischer was born on April 11, 1950, in Bratislava. In 1974, he completed studies at the Academy of Visual Arts and Design in Bratislava. In 1978-1988 he was repeatedly interrogated by StB. He was a censored artist, exhibiting mostly unofficially and abroad. He participated on the Album 76 and numerous other projects. In 1988, he exhibited and lectured in Houston (Texas, USA). On November 19, 1989, he attended the meeting with Miroslav Cipar at Umelecka beseda , where VPN was founded. Since 1990, he was prorector of AFAD, and also worked as a lecturer in the atelier of fine arts at the department of painting. In 1992, he was appointed a professor of the painting department. Currently, he resides in Devinska Nova Ves.