ROLF LAVEN

Franz Cizek und die Wiener Jugendkunst

Publications of the University of Fine Arts Vienna, Vol. 2

Germ., 336 p., numerous color and b&w images, 22,5 x 16,5 cm, hardcover, 2006

ISBN 978-3-85160-077-3
€ 24,70 [A]
€ 24,00 [D]

Cizek (1865-1946) is regarded as a prominent reformer of art pedagogy. His Vienna art classes for children, established in 1897, became the centre of an international, long-term reform movement. His educational principles based on the freedom of development of children's creativity and his international exhibition activity, which made his classes particularly well-known in G.B. and the USA, changed art teaching in state schools and met with a multifaceted response – such as from Maria Montessori, Johannes Itten, the English Child Art movement, the Group of Seven in Canada and, not least, in the teaching and writings of Mark Rothko from the late 1930s. The educationalist Rolf Laven charts an overall picture of Cizek's work and impact against the background of contemporary pedagogical positions. He was also able to drawn on the largely unpublished material in the Cizek Archive in Vienna. With extracts from conversations with students of the Cizek classes and separate chapters dedicated to those of them who became famous such as Hans Hollein and Rudi Gernreich.