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Article ID: CBB855319900

Vom „Kristall der Armen“ zum Gestalterobjekt. Pressglas in der sozialistischen Tschechoslowakei (2016)

Verena Wasmuth (Author)

TG Technikgeschichte
Volume: 83
Issue: 3
Pages: 173-200

URI: https://doi.org/10.5771/0040-117X-2016-3-173

DOI: 10.5771/0040-117X-2016-3-173

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Communism Technology and economics Applied science Materials science Glass and glassmaking Design Technological innovation 20th century, late Czechoslovakia

Die manuelle Presstechnik gehörte mit Einführung vollautomatischer Herstellungsprozesse von Beginn der 1960er Jahre an nicht mehr zu den effizientesten und billigsten Technologien zur Herstellung dekorativer Gläser. Trotzdem hielten tschechoslowakische Glashersteller konstant an dem tradierten Fertigungsverfahren fest. Diese Innovationsblockade kann jedoch nicht einseitig als systembedingtes Scheitern aufgefasst werden. Eine genaue Analyse der von personellen Kontinuitäten geprägten exportorientierten Pressglasindustrie der ČSSR zeigt ein völlig anderes Bild auf: Hier handelte es sich um eine Branche, die auf Augenhöhe mit internationalen Designtrends agierte. Durch den Eingriff professioneller Gestalter verließ dekoratives Pressglas die Kategorie des billigsten Standards und erhielt ein technologie-adäquates Gesicht, das sich signifikant von der bis dahin üblichen vereinfachten Kopie handgeschliffenen Kristalls abhob. Bewertet mit zentralplanwirtschaftlichen Kriterien und begleitet von politisch motivierten Mechanismen der Morali- sierung von Designprozessen mit bisweilen widersprüchlichen Direktiven, entfalteten sich im Pressglas kreative Dynamiken, die das kommunistische Regime als Beitrag für den materiellen und gesellschaftlichen Fortschritt interpretierte. Aus der weltanschaulichen Vereinnahmung von künstlerisch gestaltetem Pressglas ergaben sich umgekehrt produktionstechnische und kreative Spielräume, vom Staat subventioniert. Tatsächlich wirkte sich so die international einsetzende Beschleunigung im technischen Wandel förderlich auf die diversifizierte Gestaltungstätigkeit im Pressglas aus. Abstract Hand-pressing no longer counted among the most efficient and inexpensive technologies for producing decorative glass, once fully automated manufac- turing processes were introduced at the beginning of the 1960s. Nevertheless, Czechoslovakian glass producers adhered to this traditional method persistently. This innovation blockage cannot be interpreted merely as a failure attributable to systemic weaknesses. A closer look at the export-oriented pressed glass industry in Czechoslovakia, characterized by extensive continuity in the personnel of its suppliers, reveals a very different picture: This branch-remarkably-kept pace with international design trends. The input of professional designers helped the decorative pressed glass industry in the ČSSR rise above its then predominantly down-market niche of producing simplified, affordable copies of traditional hand-cut Bohemian crystal, and begin to produce elegant design objects with a unique appearance drawing upon the special qualities of the pressed glass technology. As a creative and dynamic process transformed the pressed glass industry, the communist regime evaluated developments under the criteria of a centrally planned economy and introduced politically motivated expectations tending towards the moralisation of design processes-albeit with often conflicting objectives. Ultimately, however, it interpreted the industry’s innovations as a contribution to materialistic and social progress. In fact, the ideological exploitation of artistically designed pressed glass, owing to the concomitant state subsidisation of the industry, produced a fertile space for technological and creative experimentation. These domestic circumstances made it possible for international trends, particularly the rapid acceleration of technological innovation, to promote yet further the diversity and creativity with which Czech glass producers crafted new design solutions and applications.

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