Josef Sudek: Topografie sutin / The Topography of Ruins
In 1945, photographer Josef Sudek (1896–1976) set out into the streets of Prague to document the damage wreaked by the Second World War. The result was a set of nearly 400 images capturing the injured urban landscape – damaged buildings, a scrapyard containing dismantled sculptures, and firefighting or anti-air raid measures. The exhibition at Prague City Gallery’s House of Photography (22 May – 19 August 2018) and the accompanying traveling exhibition shown the same year in various cities throughout Europe thanks to cooperation with the Czech Centers are the first comprehensive presentation of this nearly unknown part of Sudek’s work.
The exhibition is accompanied by an extensive catalogue featuring five critical essays and a rich set of images. The texts – the first expert analyses of these photographs – place these works within the context of the historical events at the end of the war in Prague, and offer a comparison with images of Prague in 1945 shot by other photographers. In most photographs of historical events, the content tends to overshadow the quality of the images, but the exhibition and catalogue show that this common view does not apply to Josef Sudek – the depth and quality of his images reflect their authors’ sensitive, personal captivation by this difficult subject.
Exhibition Catalogue
Editor: Katarína Mašterová
Authors: Adam Havlík, Amy Hughes, Mariana Kubištová, Vojtěch Lahoda, Katarína Mašterová
Praha: Artefactum, 2018
224 Pages, 127 Illustrations
Languages: Czech & English
ISBN: 978-80-88283-10-2
Cooperation: Prague City Gallery
Translation to English: Hana Logan, Keith Jones, Stephan von Pohl, Barbora Štefanová
Translation to Czech: Martin Micka
Proofreading and Language Editing: Kristýna Bartoš, Jana Jebavá (studio Datle)
English Language Editing: Jana Hlávková
Design: Martin Groch & Tim+Tim
Lithography: Radek Typovský (Marvil)
Printing and Binding: Helbich a.s., Brno
Catalogue was published on the occasion of the exhibition:
Josef Sudek: Topografie sutin / The Topography of Ruins
House of Photography
Prague City Gallery
Revoluční 5, Prague 1 – Czech Republic
22 May – 19 August 2018
Content
Úvodem / Introduction
(Katarína Mašterová)
Obrazový katalog / Illustrations
Texty / Essays
– Praha krvácející, Praha osvobozená. Historické pozadí vzniku souboru Josefa Sudka
/ Prague – Blood and Liberation. The Historical Background of Sudek’s 1945 Series of Photographs
(Adam Havlík)
– Reportáž o zničeném městě. Sudkova „Zbořená Praha“ 1945
/ A Reportage about a City Ravaged by War. Sudek’s “Ruined Prague,” 1945
(Mariana Kubištová)
– Sudek v troskách. Ruiny, chaos a fragment
/ Sudek Amidst the Rubble. Ruins, Chaos and Fragment
(Vojtěch Lahoda)
– Uvnitř „šoku zkušenosti“. Sudkovy afektivní krajiny války
/ Inhabiting the “Shock of Experience.” Josef Sudek’s Affective Landscapes of War
(Amy Hughes)
– Paradoxně krásná. Praha v archivech fotografií války
/ Paradoxically Beautiful. Prague in the Archives of War Photography
(Katarína Mašterová)
Josef Sudek (1896 – 1976)
Seznam reprodukcí / List of Illustrations
Autoři / Authors
Poděkování / Acknowledgements
How to purchase:
Please send your order, which must include the amount of requested publications and both the delivery and invoicing addresses, to the email address artefactum@udu.cas.cz. You will receive an invoice for payment. When paying in Euro, the final price, including bank transaction fees, is 32 EUR (shipping is not included). Postage costs vary according to destination and weight of package. If ordering one copy of the book to Europe or U.S.A, the costs should not exceed 8 EUR.