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Spectrum by Pavel Trnka
ART AT MAYO CLINIC
Spectrum by Pavel Trnka In recognition of the important part that art has had in the Mayo Clinic environment since the original Mayo Building was finished in 1914, Mayo Clinic Proceedings will feature some of the numerous works of art displayed throughout the buildings and grounds on the Mayo Clinic campuses.
B
orn in Podebrady, Czechoslovakia, on February 9, 1948, Pavel Trnka attended The High School of Applied Arts for elezný Brod, Czechoslovakia, Glassmaking in Z from 1963 to 1967 and the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Praha, Czechoslovakia, from 1967 to 1973.1 While there, he studied under another famed Czech glass artist, Stanislav Libensky.2 From 2004 to 2008, Trnka was a visiting professor at Toyama City Institute of Glass Art in Japan.3 This professorship was important as Trnka was noted to experience a great cross-cultural sensitivity in the understanding and expression of his work.1 Minimalist in nature, Trnka’s artistry seeks to harness simplicity and complexity in the same moment. He has a preference for block forms over curvature, as he feels these better express movement, growth, and freedom, rather than the closure and introspection he feels is conveyed in circular forms.1 Color becomes another medium for expansion, as one band of color abuts, blends, and shifts into another.1 These primary concepts of structure and movement are fully exposed in Spectrum, a composition consisting of 4 distinct panels created in cast glass. (Casting is the process in which molten glass is poured into a mold and left to harden so that it retains the intended shape.4) Including primary colors as part of its essential ingredients, it is put together in “skyscraper” fashion. In Spectrum, structure and line also contribute to the simple complexity of the work. Each side of Spectrum delineates to the next, and the opacity of the work ensnares its surrounding environment, which magnifies the sense of movement and grandeur desired by the artist.5 Within the confines of the structure, a rainbow is mimicked. This captures
the relationship between human design and natural grace, or perhaps bridges the harmony wished for in the assimilation of the Czechoslovakian and Japanese cultures. In addition to being a virtuoso in glass, Trnka is also famed for his painting and sculpture.1 Spectrum was created in 2001 and is located on the seventh floor of the Gonda Building on the downtown campus of Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Margaret R. Wentz, BA 1. Pavel Trnka curriculum vitae. http://www.paveltrnka.cz/en/paveltrnka. Accessed March 4, 2013. 2. Three Columns by Stanislav Libensky and Jaroslava Brychtova. Mayo Clin Proc. 2004;79(10):1276. 3. Pavel Trnka biography. http://www.hirogallery.com/trnka-bio-eg. html. Accessed March 4, 2013. 4. Glass casting. Wikipedia website. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Glass_casting. Accessed March 22, 2013. 5. Escape from the Third Dimension. http://www.gallery.cz/gallery/ en/Vystava/2000_04/Ramec_V.html. Accessed March 4, 2013.
Mayo Clin Proc. n November 2013;88(11):e141 n http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mayocp.2013.03.023 www.mayoclinicproceedings.org n ª 2013 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
e141
Spectrum by Pavel Trnka In recognition of the important part that art has had in the Mayo Clinic environment since the original Mayo Building was finished in 1914, Mayo Clinic Proceedings will feature some of the numerous works of art displayed throughout the buildings and grounds on the Mayo Clinic campuses.
B
orn in Podebrady, Czechoslovakia, on February 9, 1948, Pavel Trnka attended The High School of Applied Arts for elezný Brod, Czechoslovakia, Glassmaking in Z from 1963 to 1967 and the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Praha, Czechoslovakia, from 1967 to 1973.1 While there, he studied under another famed Czech glass artist, Stanislav Libensky.2 From 2004 to 2008, Trnka was a visiting professor at Toyama City Institute of Glass Art in Japan.3 This professorship was important as Trnka was noted to experience a great cross-cultural sensitivity in the understanding and expression of his work.1 Minimalist in nature, Trnka’s artistry seeks to harness simplicity and complexity in the same moment. He has a preference for block forms over curvature, as he feels these better express movement, growth, and freedom, rather than the closure and introspection he feels is conveyed in circular forms.1 Color becomes another medium for expansion, as one band of color abuts, blends, and shifts into another.1 These primary concepts of structure and movement are fully exposed in Spectrum, a composition consisting of 4 distinct panels created in cast glass. (Casting is the process in which molten glass is poured into a mold and left to harden so that it retains the intended shape.4) Including primary colors as part of its essential ingredients, it is put together in “skyscraper” fashion. In Spectrum, structure and line also contribute to the simple complexity of the work. Each side of Spectrum delineates to the next, and the opacity of the work ensnares its surrounding environment, which magnifies the sense of movement and grandeur desired by the artist.5 Within the confines of the structure, a rainbow is mimicked. This captures
the relationship between human design and natural grace, or perhaps bridges the harmony wished for in the assimilation of the Czechoslovakian and Japanese cultures. In addition to being a virtuoso in glass, Trnka is also famed for his painting and sculpture.1 Spectrum was created in 2001 and is located on the seventh floor of the Gonda Building on the downtown campus of Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Margaret R. Wentz, BA 1. Pavel Trnka curriculum vitae. http://www.paveltrnka.cz/en/paveltrnka. Accessed March 4, 2013. 2. Three Columns by Stanislav Libensky and Jaroslava Brychtova. Mayo Clin Proc. 2004;79(10):1276. 3. Pavel Trnka biography. http://www.hirogallery.com/trnka-bio-eg. html. Accessed March 4, 2013. 4. Glass casting. Wikipedia website. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Glass_casting. Accessed March 22, 2013. 5. Escape from the Third Dimension. http://www.gallery.cz/gallery/ en/Vystava/2000_04/Ramec_V.html. Accessed March 4, 2013.
Mayo Clin Proc. n November 2013;88(11):e141 n http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mayocp.2013.03.023 www.mayoclinicproceedings.org n ª 2013 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
e141