Sonia Švecová

Striptease is a small, handmade album. Its intimate scale, and the cover's floral fabric and closeup portrait of the artist, suggest a diary or keepsake book. Within the volume's pages Švecová recorded and reflected on her work, which ranges from pasted photographs and typed descriptions of Aktual group activities to a decorated comb and hand-stitched statements conveying her interest in clothing design and fashion ("Be a tailor for yourself"). The title, which was later given to the book based on what Švecová wrote on the opening page and therefore may not represent the artist's intentions—is derived from her performance at the 2nd Manifestation of Aktual Art, in May 1965, during which, for the event's closing activity, she disrobed in front of a bonfire, around which participants and onlookers sang national songs.
A photograph of the work is included in the book, opposite a page featuring a cutout red-felt silhouette of a female figure, thereby juxtaposing a generalized "type" with the artist's own form. The various texts and statements in the book are in English, rather than in Czech, suggesting that it was created for export.