Fotografie Forum Frankfurt
Braubachstraße 30-32, 60311 Frankfurt am Main
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Lecture
VLADIMÍR BIRGUS“JAROMÍR FUNKE AND CZECH AVANT-GARDE PHOTOGRAPHY”
“JAROMÍR FUNKE AND CZECH AVANT-GARDE PHOTOGRAPHY”
Saturday, January 27, 2018, 6pm
Location: Fotografie Forum Frankfurt
Admission
5 EUR, reduced 3 EUR, for members of the FFF and students with valid ID card admission is free
Vladimír Birgus, © Viktor Chlad
Jaromír Funke, From ‘The Time persists’ series, 1932,
© Miloslava Rupešová-Funková / Jaromír Funke
Germany, France and Russia are with good reason generally considered to be the centres of avant-garde photography between the two world wars. Nevertheless, many outstanding works of photography were created in Czechoslovakia during the same period. Not merely imitative of foreign models, they are strikingly original contributions to the development of art photography.
Jaromír Funke (1896–1945) was one of the most important figures of avant-garde photography amongst the Czechs and also internationally. His works are part of many collections, including the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Centre Pompidou in Paris and the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum. In recent years, he has finally entered the canon of photographic history. But it has taken a long time to acknowledge Funke’s importance.
The lecture “Jaromír Funke and Czech Avant-Garde Photography” focuses on his avant-garde photographs, which in a distinctive and progressive way, elaborate the impetuses of Cubism, abstract art, New Objectivity, Constructivism, and Surrealism.
On occasion of the FFF exhibition “JAROMÍR FUNKE. AVANT-GARDE PHOTOGRAPHER” the Czech photographer, curator and photo-historian Vladimir Birgus talks in his lecture about Czech photographer Jaromír Funke with focus on his avant-garde photographs.
Vladimír Birgus is a photographer, curator, photo-historian, and currently professor and head of the Institute of Creative Photography at the Silesian University in Opava. His photographs have been exhibited in 65 one-person exhibitions and are included in many collections. He is the author and co-author of 45 books, including Tschechoslowakische Fotografie der Gegenwart (Cologne and Heidelberg 1990), Czech Photographic Avant-Garde 1918–1948 (Prague and Stuttgart 1999, Cambridge and London 2002), Photographer František Drtikol (Prague 2000), Jaroslav Rössler – Czech Avant-Garde Photographer (Prague, Cambridge and London 2003), Tschechische Fotografie des 20. Jahrhunderts / Czech Photography of the 20th Century (Bonn 2009, Prague 2010). He has curated and co-curated numerous exhibitions throughout Europe and America for instance Modern Beauty: Czech Photographic Avant-Garde 1918–1948 (Barcelona, Paris, Lausanne, Prague, Munich 1998–1999), Czech Photography of the 20th Century (Prague 2005, Bonn 2009), The Intimate World of Josef Sudek (Paris and Ottawa, 2016–2017) and Avant-Garde Photographer Jaromír Funke (Prague and Paris, 2017).
FOTOGRAFIE FORUM FRANKFURT
The Fotografie Forum Frankfurt (FFF) is one of the leading centres of photography in Europe. As an exhibition space, institution and event forum the FFF deals with all aspects of photography. Since its founding in 1984 it has presented more than 290 exhibitions with historic and contemporary artists. Additionally, the programme of the FFF comprises of regular workshops, talks and discussions with internationally renowned photographers, artists and experts.
