Czech Photographic Avant-Garde, 1918-1948

by Birgus, Vladimir

• ISBN13: 9780262025164
• ISBN10: 0262025167
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-06-21
• Publisher: The MIT Press

Summary

Not until the fall of the communist regime in 1989 and the end of Czechoslovakia's cultural isolation did the world begin to appreciate the Czech avant-garde photographers of the first half of the twentieth century. This first survey of Czech avant-garde photography introduces the important work of Frantiscaron;ek Drtikol, Jaromir Funke, Jaroslav Rouml;ssler, Jindoslash;ich Scaron;tyrskyacute;, Josef Sudek, and numerous others whose work made Czech photography synonymous with visions of modernity. The essays introduce the period and explore the background and connections among the photographers. Biographical profiles are also included. But the book's main attraction is its outstanding collection of duotone and color images, many published here for the first time. The Czech edition of this book received the "Best Photographic Publication of 1999-2000" award from Primavera Fotograacute;fica in Barcelona and from Month of Photography in Bratislava and was one of six finalists for the 2001 Kraszna-Krausz Photography Book Award. Not for sale in the Czech Republic

Author Biography

Vladimír Birgus is Professor at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague and Head of the Institute of Creative Photography at Silesian University in Opava. He is the author of numerous books on Czech and European photography, including Photographer František Drtikol, Czech Photography of the 1990s, and The Nude in Czech Photography.

Table of Contents

Preface and Acknowledgments	p. 9
Czech Avant-Garde Art and the World	p. 13
From Pictorialism to the Avant-Garde	p. 35
Optical Words (Picture Poems and Poetism)	p. 56
Abstract and Nofigurative Tendencies	p. 73
New Photography	p. 101
Avant-Garde Photography and Advertising	p. 159
Socio-Critical Photography of the 1930s	p. 175
Hidden Sources (Photographs, Collages, and Surrealism)	p. 191
Surrealist Photography	p. 217
Avant-Garde Photography and the Book	p. 263
Photography in the Czech Avant-Garde Theater	p. 273
Chronology of Czech Art 1918-1948	p. 281
Chronology of Czech Photography 1918-1948	p. 285
Biographies	p. 293
Bibliography	p. 307
Index	p. 311
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