Gortazar, P. 2019. Toward an Emancipation of Photographic Vision: “Visualism” Under Czechoslovakian “Normalization” (1968–89). Photography and Culture. 12 (2), pp. 151-170. https://doi.org/10.1080/17514517.2019.1596598
| Title | Toward an Emancipation of Photographic Vision: “Visualism” Under Czechoslovakian “Normalization” (1968–89) |
|---|---|
| Type | Journal article |
| Authors | Gortazar, P. |
| Abstract | This article discusses photographic approaches that emerged in the Eastern Bloc and in Western Europe during the 1980s, with reference to the theories of Andreas Müller-Pohle from West Germany, Bořek Sousedík from Czechoslovakia, and Jerzy Olek from Poland. In their search for emancipation from externally imposed ideologies and ways of understanding their surrounding world, these photographers articulated a series of similar ideas that called upon photographers to see their medium as a means to express their inner views of reality rather than as a mere representational instrument of ‘the real’. This article demonstrates how their discussions of photography contributed to promoting social and political emancipation specifically in Czechoslovakia, at a time in which the communist regime strove to normalize its rule, after an internal attempt to reform the political system in the country had been oppressed. The text begins with a discussion of the period of ‘normalization’ (1968–89) and how it redefined the scene of art photography in Czechoslovakia. It then analyses the theoretical and practical work of Müller-Pohle, Sousedík, and Olek. It argues that, although the theories of these three photographers were known by some practitioners in Czechoslovakia, it was Olek’s theory ‘Elementary Photography’ and pedagogical program that was most influential in their practice. The article explains how the involvement of Czechoslovakian photographers in the activities of Olek’s gallery in Warsaw contributed to the development of a so-called ‘visualist’ style in Czechoslovakian photography that embraced an entirely subjective approach in the depiction of reality, and that signalled the decline of the communist power in Czechoslovakia during the 1980s. |
| Keywords | Photographic theory |
| Czech photography | |
| Andreas Müller-Pohle | |
| Jerzy Olek | |
| Bořek Sousedík | |
| Journal | Photography and Culture |
| Journal citation | 12 (2), pp. 151-170 |
| ISSN | 1751-4517 |
| 1751-4525 | |
| Year | 2019 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis |
| Accepted author manuscript | |
| Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1080/17514517.2019.1596598 |
| Web address (URL) | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17514517.2019.1596598 |
| Publication dates | |
| Published | 07 Aug 2019 |