Lovelies from the Files. Sudek and Sculpture
23 June – 27 September 2020
Prague City Gallery
House of Photography
Revoluční 5, Prague 1
Josef Sudek (1896–1976) devoted a significant part of his professional career to photographing artworks – paintings, sculptures, prints, architecture, applied arts, but also exhibitions and artists' studios. The rediscovery of this extensive and yet almost unknown part of his oeuvre is a result of a five-year research project of the Institute of Art History of the Czech Academy of Sciences initiated by Prof. Vojtěch Lahoda (1955–2019). The exhibition focuses particularly on sculptures – Sudek's favourite subject which he photographed all throughout his career from the 1920s to 1970s. Sudek would call Gothic Madonnas and saints “lovelies” and he generally liked to photograph sculptures not only as part of commissions but also “for himself.” In addition to iconic photographs from the Cathedral of St. Vitus and the “Garden of the Lady Sculptor” (the sculptor Hana Wichterlová), the exhibition presents photographs Sudek made for sculptors, art associations and publishers. Artifacts on display include not only original photographs but also negatives and reproductions in books and magazines of the period. The exhibition thus materializes the tension between the photograph as an original artifact and its reproduction, between the medium's potential to bring art to the masses and the photograph as a unique artwork.
Sudek's contemporaries-photographers also appear at the exhibition – Drahomír J. Růžička, Jaromír Funke, Jan Štenc, Alexandr Paul, Josef Ehm and Tibor Honty are represented with one photograph each. In order to initiate a dialogue between Sudek's works and contemporary art, the curators invited Alexandra Vajd, Jiří Thýn and Hynek Alt to participate in the project.
The exhibition is accompanied by an extensive, generously illustrated scholarly publication entitled Sudek and Sculpture, edited by Hana Buddeus, containing more than 400 reproductions.
Exhibition is organized by the Prague City Gallery and the Institute of Art History of the Czech Academy of Sciences in cooperation with the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague.
Press Release PDF
Poster 1 JPG, Poster 2 JPG
Flyer PDF
Invitation PDF
ACCOMPANYING PROGRAMME:
Thursday July 23, 2020, 6 pm
Photographic Archive, guided tour with curator Katarína Mašterová
Thursday August 27, 2020, 6 pm
Originals and Reproductions, guided tour with curator Hana Buddeus
Thursday September 3, 2020, 5 pm
Workshop: Photographing Sculptures
How we perceive a sculpture does not depend only on its shape or material but also on where it stands, how it is lit and whether we can move around it. How does photography work with these perspectives? During the workshop, we will introduce different approaches to photographing sculpture, from catalogue reproductions to contemporary art. The exhibition’s curators will lead the discussion with invited photographers based on concrete examples of their work.
Thursday September 10, 2020, 4 pm
Restoration and Conservation, a short guided tour followed by a visit to the conservation studio at the Institute of Art History and a viewing of damaged negatives, with curator Hana Buddeus and conservators Kateřina Doležalová and Tereza Cíglerová
Monday September 14, 2020, 6 pm
Kino Ponrepo, Bartolomějská 11, Prague 1
Paralelní kino [Parallel Cinema]: Media Dialogues
in cooperation with the National Film Archive, introduction by Hana Buddeus and Sylva Poláková
Media Dialogues are the exhibition’s extension in different media and different time. They follow the intersection of performance, sculpture and moving image in works by contemporary artists. Barbora Dayef, Eva Koťátková and Pavla Sceranková will present records of these events in which video shifts away from its role as a document and enters into an active dialogue with the objects recorded.
Thursday September 24, 2020, 6 pm
Publishing Houses, Art Associations and Exhibitions, guided tour with curator Hana Buddeus and art historian Mariana Kubištová
EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES:
Saturday Art Workshops
Saturday July 25, 2020, 1–6 pm
House of Photography
Story of a Sculpture
Saturday August 15, 2020, 1–6 pm
House of Photography
Veiled Living Sculpture
Art Workshops for Adults and Seniors
Friday September 25, 2020, 3–6 pm
Education Center
Photographic Negative and Positive I
Sunday September 27, 2020, 3–6 pm
Education Center
Photographic Negative and Positive II
Contact: edukace@ghmp.cz
Education Center, Colloredo-Mansfeld Palace, Karlova 2, Praha 1
IMPRINT:
Exhibition Curators: Hana Buddeus, Katarína Mašterová
Exhibited Artists: Josef Sudek, Hynek Alt, Břetislav Benda, Josef Ehm, Emanuel Famíra, Jaromír Funke, Tibor Honty, Illek & Paul (Press Photo Service), Jiří Jaška, Bohumil Kafka, Karel Kotrba, Jan Lauda, Karel Lidický, Vincenc Makovský, Josef Mařatka, Mistr Oplakávání ze Zvíkova (?), Alexandr Paul, Ladislav Pichl, Karel Pokorný, Drahomír J. Růžička, Jan Štenc, Jiří Thýn, Alexandra Vajd, Josef Wagner, Marie Wagnerová-Kulhánková, Hana Wichterlová, Jan Znoj
New prints from the original negatives by Josef Sudek: Vlado Bohdan
Architectural Design: Zbyněk Baladrán
Graphic Design: Martin Groch, Tim+Tim
Translation: Barbora Štefanová, Hana Logan
Copy Editing: Jana Jebavá – Studio Datle, Ondřej Krochmalný
Coordination: Jitka Hlaváčková
Head of Installation and Production: Diana Brabcová
Head of Public Relations and Marketing: Michaela Vrchotová
Head of Educational Programs: Lucie Haškovcová
Co-organizers Acknowledgments: Ústav dějin umění AV ČR, v. v. i. – Sudek Project, Ministerstvo kultury České republiky, Galerie hlavního města Prahy, Uměleckoprůmyslové museum v Praze
Lenders Acknowledgments: Institute of Art History of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague, Prague City Gallery, Aleš South Bohemian Gallery, Faculty of Social Sciences – Charles University in Prague, The Fine Art Archive, Gallery of Modern Art in Roudnice nad Labem, Moravian Gallery in Brno, Moravian Library, Museum of Czech Literature, National Gallery Prague, National Library of the Czech Republic, Olomouc Museum of Art, Prokop Paul – Paul Studio Archive, Kolín Regional Museum, private lenders
Special Acknowledgement: Vojtěch Lahoda in memoriam, lead researcher and initiator of the Sudek Project
Acknowledgements: Johana Bártová, Vlado Bohdan, Josef Buddeus, Ondřej Buddeus, Tereza Cíglerová, Kateřina Černá, Kateřina Doležalová, Jan Douša, Antonín Dufek, Adam Havlík, František Hlaváč, Petra Hollerová, Petr Hron, Amy Hughes, Martina Chadimová, Markéta Janotová, Eva Jůzová, David Klouček, Markéta Kočí, Tereza Koucká, Adéla Kremplová, Zuzana Krišková, Mariana Kubištová, Kristýna Kučerová, Klára Kudláčková, Barbora Kundračíková, Eva Lahodová, Kateřina Lahodová, Irena Lehkoživová, Lenka Lesenská, Barbara Líznerová, Jan Maštera, Jan Mlčoch, Jiří Pátek, Martin Pavlis, Prokop Paul, Adéla Petruželková, Ondřej Přibyl, Tereza Říhová, Jan Salava, Borek Smažinka, Viktor Stoilov, Jan Strimpl, Petra Šemíková, Viktorie Šmídová, Jitka Štětková, Veronika Telnarová, Šárka Těšíková, Stanislav Tryputen, Jakub Wagner, Tomáš Winter