Parallel to, and in connection with, the exhibition ‘Successes of the Subcommittee for the Suppression of Publicity at B.K.S.’ taking place this year from the 13th January to the 26th February at the Václav Špála Gallery (Galerie Václava Špály), B.K.S. is presenting – this time in broad daylight and as completely as possible – one of the fundamental components of its activity, B.K.S. Ikebana, in its specific form as it is practised, also defined and presented in its individual areas.
The central focus of the exhibition is the resulting stage of the latest set entitled Deposition. The script of this Deposition elaborates an extract from a text by Master Hakuin Ekaku, adored by B.K.S. members, which goes: ‘A blind old geezer in a dark cave thick with a maze of
vines and creepers. Stark naked, he returns after all and sits in the weeds.’
Viewers can, apart from this gem hidden behind protective rope, acquaint themselves with essentially all the areas of B.K.S. Ikebana. A remarkable example is the rarely exhibited illustrated section of hermetic sets called Cetinje Luggage. Only the truly borderline area ‘Central European Symmetrical Weapon Ikebanas’ is not presented here, because it is extensively featured at the above-mentioned exhibition of commission leaks at which it is radiant among the painstakingly subdued reflections of the group’s glory.
In trying to define the main areas of B.K.S. for viewers, we find that it can be done despite the fact that here we often encounter overlaps and various tangents.