Josef Sudek Euro LF pioneer?

[Christopher Nisperos]

You're right, Bob. Beken's work is often breathtaking. In fact, the first photograph I ever bought as an art piece was a b&w print of a huge single masted sailboat, similar to a Beken. However, for the purposes of my question Beken doesn't count because he wasn't on the continent (same reason I excluded Evans ..).

Ergot? Isn't that latin for therefore? "Cogito ergot I photograph". No? Sorry for the dumb joke.
All I know about the stuff is that it grows on bread (I think, rye), and that LSD can be derived from it. Did it effect Czech art? I doubt it. My good friends the Czechs usually don't need hallucinogins to come up with strange and creative works (see Kafka). Beer, Beckerovka or Burchak (phonetic spelling) will usually do ... sometimes in the same evening! Struan is right (if I understand him correctly): it comes down to a sort of mindset from the pre-romantic period more than anything else. You even see in the Czech manner of doing things.
About beer and bread, by the way, the Czechs have a nice saying: Beer is just liquid bread!

I don't know strictly nothing about Mikhailovich's work, but I do appreciate the Art Nouveau /notan style of Bilibin (and fellow Czech, Mucha). Sudek's work is too full of details to be considered in the same vein. I don't really see a strong influence of this art movement in his work, although he was "there", the right time at the right place in art history. Any input?

To answer paulr, no, I'm not Czech, but Californian. I currently live in Paris but I lived in Prague when the country was still called Czechoslovakia. I have great respect for the Czech people, as a whole. At the time I became familiar with several Czech photographers, many of whose names I've since forgotten (unless I see them). Truly, there is a plethora of fantastic work yet to be seen in the U.S. Too bad I don't have the money or motivation to gather and publish these works.

I also agree with Struan that "social realism" tends to kill a bit of creativity (necessarily, perhaps). But that's why it's so important for us to photograph those damned rocks and trees.
Mount Ushba notwithstanding!

[Christopher Nisperos]

I meant that Bilibin and Mucha were fellow slavs, not fellow Czechs. Also, one Czech photographer who remains in mind is Tono Stano. I'm jealous of his imagination. Take a Google at his work.

[Mark Sawyer]

"There's a theory that there's a specific species of hallucinogenic mold that grows on grain almost exclusively in a small region of Eastern Europe ... it's been speculated that the character of Czech art has been a product of its influence. Evidence has been the strange, surrealistic mood evident in art from the region throughout the ages..."

In western Europe, absinthe and laudanum were big influences on the art and literature worlds from the 1880's through the 1920's. Don't know how much it crept into the eastern European countries...

"the Czechs have a nice saying: Beer is just liquid bread!"

Beer has food value, but food has no beer value.

[Christopher Nisperos]

"the Czechs have a nice saying: Beer is just liquid bread!"

Beer has food value, but food has no beer value.

Mark,

Sorry to take a year to respond to your funny thought.

In a few days —September 15th— it will be the 30th anniversary of the death of Josef Sudek. I hope a few of us will celebrate his memory .. whether by going out and exposing a couple of sheets ... or, if you like, having a couple of Pilsner Urquel's (or your favorite beer ...preferably a pilsner 'cause it's a Czech "type")!

[Merg Ross]

For pure and simple vision using large format photography, I would include Albert Renger-Patzsch. Born in Germany in 1897, died in 1966.

[Michael Daily]

As for strange: remember Franz Kafka is from Prague. I think the "strangeness" is from the compacted cross-fertillizing nature of the "East meets West" cultures and the dark, dramatic landscape. Prague is a fascinating, disparate, moody city with many different faces living side by side. I loved being there a few years ago, and would learn Czech just to live and photograph there. My favorite area is the Spanish Quarter...
Michael

[Jim Jones]

. . . If you haven't seen Frederick Evans' work in the catherdrals, attics, and barn lofts of England, you're in for a treat. Beautifully printed in platinum, these are the most expressive architectural photographs I know of, (very different from what we automatically think of as "architectural photography" today.) Peter Henry Emerson also did some wonderful things; especially his work on the Norfolk Broads.

Eadweard Muybridge was born and died in England, although much of the work for which he is famous was done in America. He was both a pioneer and an artist.

[tim atherton]

Eadweard Muybridge was born and died in England, although much of the work for which he is famous was done in America. He was both a pioneer and an artist.

and an innovator who continues to influence people today (how many other photographers have had U2 produce a tribute to them...:-) )

[paulr]

(how many other photographers have had U2 produce a tribute to them...:-) )

good question. makes me wonder if REM ever wrote anything about eggleston. it made me happy last year to learn that eggleston used to party with the band ... michael stipe said he would drink them into the ground on a nightly basis, but eggleston admits to nothing so undignified.

[Jan_6568]

Actually Jan Bulhak was mostly using LF, namely 13x18 cm, even though sometimes he was also using medium format camera. Personally I would count him as a pioneer for two reasons: he was a pioneer of fine art photography in Poland and more importantly he was kind of pioneer in melting traditional pictorial qualities with modernistic simplicity of composition.

BTW - what kind of format Karl Blosfeldt was using? I guess also LF. I would certainly count him as a pioneer.

Jan