Šumperák

In the fall of 2016 it had been exactly 50 years since the first house called type V was completed in a village close to a Moravian town of Šumperk, designed by engineer Josef Vaněk. Under a widely used name “šumperák” it soon became a phenomenon, and as the most common new house it flooded Czechoslovakia. Its success is undoubtedly based on the period demand for individual housing and the possibility to build it relatively cheaply and easily in DIY manner using commonly available materials.

The exhibition is based on the book by Tomáš Pospěch and Martina Mertová, published in 2016, and in a way it even represents its extension. It unfolds several variations of the šumperák phenomenon interpretation possibilities. It aims to uncover the variation series of the šumperák itself and at the same time to outline its complexity. Tomáš Pospěch, the photographer and author of the project, explains: “My project started with a simple fascination by the series as such. There were built more than 4,500 of these houses. There is a single idea, a plan behind all of them, though.” The exhibition thus also reflects on the question of originality and mass production in architecture.

Tomáš Pospěch (1974) is a photographer, art historian and curator. For many years he has been working for The Institute of Creative Photography at Silesian University in Opava. As a visual artist he is engaged in many typically Czech phenomena that often intertwine with reflections on architecture. This was true regarding both his projects “Hrady a zámky České republiky” (2002–2005), “Majitelé hradů” (2003–2007), “Češství” (2003–2011) and his present interpretation of the šumperák theme.

Concept: Tomáš Pospěch
Collaboration: Martina Mertová, Barbora Špičáková

Reviews: Fenomén „šumperák“, Studio 6, Česká televize, February 7, 2017 (Czech only).
Zuzana Filípková, Domeček jako televizor. Z projektu zedníka Vaňka se stal legendární „šumperák“, Dopolední Radiožurnál, ČR Radiožurnál, February 8, 2017 (Czech only).
Karel Oujezdský, Mozaika, ČR Vltava, February 10, 2017 (from 30:56) (Czech only).
Petra Jansová, Šumperák vypovídá o prazvláštní době. Stát lidi nutil k amatérismu, říká teoretik umění, aktualne.cz, February 21, 2017 (Czech only).
Magdalena Čechlovská, Fotograf zachytil 600 domů šumperáků. Staly se disciplínou pro lidovou tvořivost, ukazuje výstava, ihned.cz , March 7, 2017 (Czech only).

Exhibition photographs: Tomáš Pospěch