Libuše Niklová between East and West? The use of plastics in sculpture and toy design in 1960s Central and Eastern Europe

From the late 1950s, the Czech designer Libuše Niklová created many iconic toys. Her series were initially based on local traditions but increasingly moved away from their predecessors and contemporaries. What started as naturalist figurines would become inventive designs that incorporated articulation and abstraction. Her designs also broadened the scope of toys as educational tools, encouraging more experimentation and imagination. Produced in the 1960s, her inflatable toys series had many things in common with Pop Art. With their bright colours and simple formal language, these objects can be situated in the context of Western contemporary art. In their function, they also allowed for the possibility of modelling and movement in space – sculptural qualities that art historical research rarely attributes to toy design. In this way Niklová’s toys reconfigure the hierarchy between art and design, and draw attention to the exchange of ideas between East and West. This article explores these entanglements and situates Niklová within this overlapping history. In so doing, it draws attention to the contribution of female designers to narratives of design.