Ladislav R. Hanka, print maker
Ladislav Hanka, born 1952, lives in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He has been a long time supporter of the "good fight" and has graciously made available his artwork seen on the ACWA home page and brochure. Lad has lectured on art and ornithology, done environmental impact monitoring of a nuclear power plant, illustrated and published books and fought city hall over seeding his lawn to wildflowers instead of mowing. Today he is a printmaker and draftsman with over 50 solo exhibitions to his credit in his dozen years as full-time artist. His works are in private and public collections on all continents.
Lad works directly from nature. Observation in the field and evolving a living relation with his subject matter is very important. To this end he has spent several summers as artist in residence on Isle Royale located off the north coast of Michigan's upper peninsula. He spends large portions of every year in the field developing familiarity with creatures and spirit of the places he inhabits.
Educated as both scientist and artist, with masters degrees in print-making and zoology his training is academically rigorous, spanning the engraving of stamps and currency, the Vienna Academy of Applied Arts and American universities. Today the studies and practices that most inform his work are spiritual disciplines. Distraught over the general diminution of vitality he sees in the biota, landscape and cultural life of society, he regards his work as artist to be an active engagement of will in opposition. He sees both art and a connectedness to the land as key elements in a psychologically and spiritually healthy society. Art that comes from the deepest wellsprings of spirituality has the capacity to act as moral agent. To Hanka the salvation of society is that man does ultimately respond more to aesthetics than to reason, and though aesthetics too are manipulable by advertisers and propagandists, people still generally have healthy instincts. Though they may be hard pressed to express them, these romantic suppressed desires will eventually guide them to make appropriate choices based in taste. Beauty may be vulnerable, but is also powerful.