Jiri Kolar, 87; Works by Czech Poet, Artist Were Banned by Communists
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Jiri Kolar, 87, a Czech poet and artist whose collages were prized by many collectors, died Sunday in Prague. The cause of death was not specified.
Kolar first built a reputation in the 1940s as a groundbreaking experimental poet.
He worked as an editor in Prague and published five books before his works were banned by communist authorities in 1949. He spent part of the 1950s in prison.
Kolar switched to the art of collage in the 1960s, producing works that were banned in the former Czechoslovakia after the 1968 Warsaw Pact invasion.
He became best known for collages made from secondary material, using reproduced images from art history and incorporating movable parts that could be lifted.
He emigrated to France after signing the Charter 77 human rights manifesto, which was co-authored by the current president, Vaclav Havel. He returned after the 1989 Velvet Revolution that toppled the communist regime.
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