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The Developement of New Slovene Photography
Boris Gorupič

It is characteristic for Slovene photography that from its very beginnings it has sought a direct connection with events taking place in this field internationally. The first generation of photographer-technologists was already typical: they considered photography as a useful tool of the natural sciences rather than in its fine art sense. An outstanding position in this connection was occupied by Janez Puhar, who invented the technical procedure for making photographs on glass in 1851. In the following periods – be it in the 19^th century, or modernism, or recent times – prominent ambitions can be discerned, with the aim to actively and structurally include Slovene photography in progressive, concurrent European trends. Apart from this tendency, however, the field of photography has ceaselessly shown the presence of a kind of retracted nature, also discernible in the fine art domain in general. This is why we have been deprived of the specific currents produced by the historical avant-garde; however, our artists were much more engaged in the development of their own photographic styles, focused on intimacy, poetic (and urban) landscapes, and events from everyday life, which many connoisseurs claim to be particularly prominent in the whole Central European space.

Our artists did not stop with these elements, of course; we only mention those elements that are most decisively inscribed in the record of 20^th-century photography, and can still be seen in this decade. The destiny of photography is rather similar to the general social development defining a certain community; it reflects the economic, political and social situations of a certain period. Such elements are particularly evident in the field of documentary photography, with its characteristic recording of the everyday in all its diversity, but also in its dependence on concurrent conditions. As Slovene photography is represented at this exhibition primarily through the artistic documentary side of its production, we shall consider it in its narrow fine art sense as well as in wider historical contexts, evaluating its special features in view of these starting points, while also trying to assess its true value.

The oldest works included in the exhibition were created during World War II, which ravaged our country without mercy. The mass liberation movement developed and operated both in occupied settlements and, primarily, within armed partisan units. Our photographers of the time were often members of pre-war photographic associations, while some of them also had academic fine-art degrees, mainly as painters. In these adverse times they normally sought at least a hint of optimism and included this in their photographs. Therefore these photographs do not have a propagandistic character (in contrast with the aggressor's productions); rather, they constitute a humanistic documentation of conditions that did not allow for normal daily life, but also could not deprive people of their dignity. These shots were made during partisan marches and in liberated territories, and they represent the minimal conditions under which our people were forced to work at that time, without letting things incidentally slip through their hands.

In the following decades, it was primarily fine and graphic artists developing their individual versions of late modernism, who primarily defined fine art activity in Slovenia. Although photographers did not occupy such an important place in society – partly because of the lack of academic education, in contrast with the above-mentioned fine artists – several outstanding figures nevertheless emerged in the field of documentary photography. The most interesting among them were indirectly connected with prolific photographic developments in Paris between the World Wars. Artists such as Brassaï, Kertész and Cartier-Bresson should be mentioned in this context as the main figures combining documentary photography with elements of surrealism, each in his own and entirely subjective manner. In Slovenia, this style of photography won its followers primarily in Ljubljana and Maribor; it frequently revealed a pronounced urban character, although we can also discern the 'Slovene melodiousness', i.e., intimacy, as well as an objective approach to events. On the basis of several prominent representatives of documentary photography in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, we can define it as a style that shows many points in common with romantic realism as well. This does not mean that they intentionally tried to adorn reality; rather, these works – created mainly in artists' home surroundings, in the towns where they lived, or at the countryside – reveal an intimate relation to the depicted places. In a certain way, this fact could point to the reason why the photography of that time was also rather static – compared to the rapid development of style. But we have to emphasise that this framework also offered numerous possibilities for individual expression, and many artists succeeded in creating works under these conditions that are entirely comparable – in quality – to the work of more famous contemporary photographers.

The 1980s brought numerous changes in the field of photography that have contributed to the expansion of artistic creativity in this specific domain of fine art as well. That was the time when new possibilities for political activity revealed themselves, primarily in the development of civil society and in the sub-culture uniting the young and radically-minded. Documentary photography found a number of motives in this dynamic period, which previously did not occupy such prominent places in our society. From the sociological point of view, this was a period of waning socialism, when the whole of Eastern Europe was preparing for the change in the social order. This period was possibly more filled with various initiatives that any other decade of postmodernism. The main characteristic of Slovene photography at that time was that it became 'officially' equivalent to other existing fine art practices. It won the first affirmative recognition of this kind when it was included in the representative Slovene Fine Art 1945-1978 exhibition, organised in 1979. This launched a new approach to photography in our country. In the eighties we witnessed a growing interest in photography at central national institutions, which is well evidenced in a greater number of photographic exhibitions, accompanying publications, and substantial criticism on the topic.

When speaking about the 1990s, we can argue that it was a time that brought long-term changes with it. The century ended with the prevalence of consumer capitalism, while socialism as a social system in Europe became obsolete. The field of fine art has undergone substantial changes. Numerous tendencies already present in the past periods – the avant-garde, conceptualism and non-fine art practices – have sought at different levels to find a synthesis with the tradition of modernism, new digital technologies, comprehensive theoretical structures and entirely "classically" devised works of fine art, as well. Photography has become a characteristic component of this activity and one of the principal fine art disciplines to be seen in galleries. Evidently, the documentary sphere remains somewhat more reserved regarding innovation, since it is still largely meant for publication in the daily press. Nevertheless, it is true that its most prominent artists follow the principles of humanism, combined with witty fine-art execution. Some of these works, also from the current decade, are presented at this exhibition.