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Kruta's vision of arts community
By MARY SANDERSON, Staff Writer Saturday, October 6, 2001 -- Vitek J.P. Kruta arrived in the Valley just a month ago, but don't expect to find boxes left unopened in his studio or home. Kruta's unpacked everything that came out of the moving van that carried his family's belongings up from Warren, Conn. He has also taught a two-week apprenticeship program in decorative painting, organized an open house at his studio, prepared for a display of paintings at this weekend's Paradise City Arts Festival in Northampton and joined the Guild Art School's board of directors. While this might sound ambitious to most people, Kruta says he has been enjoying life in the slow lane this past month. "Very soon, I will be ready to take on more stuff," he promises. "I'm not the kind of person who wants to hide in a cave." Kruta, 39, is far too social for that. His contagious enthusiasm,
coupled with his diverse interests, are sure to fill up his calendar. He
is a painter, sculptor, architect, renovator, general contractor and
teacher. But Kruta simply calls himself an artist.
His journey to the area has been a long one, starting in communist Czechoslovakia, where he grew up and studied mural painting, architecture, sculpture and decorative design. Twenty years ago, he fled to Germany "with one little bag with basic things like a toothbrush and underwear," he says. There, he learned the restoration trade, working on castles and medieval churches. In 1991, with the help of "Amadeus" director Milos Forman, a friend of his father, Kruta and his wife, Lucie, came to the United States and settled in Warren - a small town near Lake Waramaug - where they opened a gallery and created an association of artisans. Concerned that the artist community in Warren was dwindling, and worried about their three children's safety in public schools there after a student threat, they decided it was time to leave. They chose this area based on Northampton's ranking, in one survey, as the country's best small arts community and on the region's reputation for strong public schools. And once they arrived, it did not take long for Kruta to get his bearings. On a stroll through Northampton last spring, Kruta walked into the art school after being drawn by the word "guild" in its title. By the time he left, he and Guild director Julie Johnson had made plans for a mural class. "Every time I walk into a space with white walls, I get dizzy," Kruta says. And the Guild's front hall was throbbing with whiteness. During the two-week apprenticeship program at the Guild in September, Vitek taught 14 students about marbleizing, stencil design and trompe l'oeil - or optical illusion - effects. The students practiced the techniques in the school's front hall, converting its white walls into a calm, Mediterranean scene of majestic marble archways, blue skies, elaborate tile patterns and decorative wood. Johnson says she had long been looking for something to do with the school's walls, and the mural is a welcome change that "gives the space meaning." Kruta has been on the lookout for barren walls in the area whose owners would appreciate a new look. So far, the Northampton Center for the Arts has contributed wall space for a weekend workshop he will conduct in November. "It's the most poetic class I can think of," Johnson says. It gives back to the community by transforming public space into works of art, provides practical training to students and supports a specialized trade, she explains. Teaching more classes and getting involved in community service projects are among Kruta's priorities. He has been thinking up course topics for the Guild's winter session. More apprenticeship programs in decorative painting, a fine arts class on perspective and courses working with tile and furniture are in the works. But classes are just the start. Kruta hopes that as a member of the Guild's board of directors, he can have a hand in building it into something more akin to a true guild - an association of artisans working together, contributing their talents to projects and passing on their talents through apprenticeships. Building bridges Back in Connecticut, Kruta once assembled a group of artisans for a three-year project to convert a barn into a house on one of Forman's properties. Cabinetmakers, glassblowers, sculptors, blacksmiths and stained-glass craftsmen all worked alongside a more conventional team of electricians and plumbers. While he describes the experience as "exhausting," Kruta's smile cannot hide a certain satisfaction with a job well done by peers skilled in traditional crafts. Kruta says he hopes to recreate this experience of working with fellow artisans - only the next time around, he intends to attract apprentices. His plans for establishing a guild may start with projects in which students from various classrooms contribute to an event, but Kruta's long-range goals include a more permanent association of artisans and apprentices collaborating on lengthier projects. Part of his passion for teaching stems from a desire to pass on the Old World skills he learned in Prague and Germany. While he describes his years of training as "classical," he concedes that by most standards, the curriculum would be considered rigid or conservative. During four solid years of repeating techniques until mastery and
absorbing information about paint chemistry and art history, Kruta
learned that becoming a decorative artist is a slow, step-by-step
process. There are no shortcuts, he says.
He says he teaches his decorative arts classes with the same thoroughness his professors accorded them. "I feel if you want to really learn something from me, I want you to learn it properly," Kruta says. Kruta also devotes much of his time to developing his own art. His studio at Eastworks in Easthampton is covered from the floor to the ceiling with "escapes" - paintings of dream-like landscapes framed with three-dimensional architectural elements - and "ancient modern" square paintings, whose swirls of cityscapes at their centers represent civilization and whose gilded edges are inspired by ancient icons painted by monks. One of these squares, "Terra," was commissioned for an exhibit at the Silvermine Guild Arts Center in New Canaan, Conn., to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the United Nations. Seeking collaboration Kruta's vision involves more collaboration among classes and with community organizations. For example, if culinary students at the Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School in Northampton were to plan a dinner, a ceramics class could design dinnerware, painting students could display their works in the dining hall, musicians and poets could provide entertainment, and graphic design students could promote the event. The Krutas have 10 years of experience in organizing events that unite artists from various disciplines. Each year at their gallery, they hosted half a dozen art gatherings. Painters, sculptors, poets, musicians, thespians and filmmakers all came together on these occasions to celebrate art. The Krutas also organized several community art projects in conjunction with local schools, volunteer organizations and churches. They helped volunteers paint murals, design festival booths and restore buildings. The couple tried to impart a message that art is supposed to be fun, he said. Kruta says he enjoys these community projects because they "bring art back to the people." Community art projects show people that anyone can be an artist, and they inspire creativity, he explains, adding that "creativity is the driving force of the evolution of a healthy society."
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© 2001 Daily Hampshire Gazette
