Opening: Thursday, March 31 at 7 PM
Paviljon Cvijeta Zuzorić
From March 31st to April 23rd
By the mid-fifties of the 20th century, social realism had slowly begun to disappear from the social and cultural scene. A new, young generation of photographers appeared, formed under the influence of the famous Henry Cartier-Bresson, his agency “Magnum”, and the “Family of Man” exhibition curated by Edward Steichen, which was exhibited in the “Cvijeta Zuzorić Art Pavillion” in 1957. They focused their small-format cameras on people, everyday things and situations. Simultaneously, but each in his own way, they reshaped the identity of photojournalism. Following their emergence, photography ceased to be a simple illustration of a text, or an image of the most important personages of the political and cultural scene, and elevated itself into gallery-worthy artwork.
Among them, the foremost place belongs to Tomislav Peternek, one of the first photographers to bring artistic value to photojournalism. He is also the first photographer to turn his camera on both the important political events, and the far more important everyday life with its ups and downs, annonymous heroes, virtues and flaws. All of his photographs and reportage series are candid and depict the most important events and personages that have defined the history of the former Yugoslavia: the student protests of 1968, the earthquake in Skopje, flooding in Zagreb, the fashion creations of the legendary Aleksandar Joksimović, wars and destruction, but also children, individuals, fans at a basketball game, exhibition visitors, circus performers.
Tomislav Peternek is stil active, creating images that celebrate life, while at the same time allowing new technologies and some different themes and genres, such as nudes, to become a part of his immense body of work. The majority of the photographs shown in this exhibition constitute both historical and subjective documents. His direct approach, his specific feeling for the rhetoric of life, for fleeting moments and situations, with a dose of humor and symbolism, has given these images a timeless, iconic status in the history of photography, art and culture of this country.
Jelena Matić
Curator Jelena Matic
Translation by Tamara Markovic
