1 je 2
[Jaka Babnik, Peter Koštrun, Jože Suhadolnik]
Skupna razstava 1 je 2 predstavlja dela treh fotografov in vizualnih ustvarjalcev, ki so kljub izraziti avtorski in izrazni raznolikosti hkrati tudi nezadržno povezani. Jože Suhadolnik je nekoč veljal za nekakšnega neformalnega mentorja mlajšima kolegoma, Jaki Babniku in Petru Koštrunu, v njunem formativnem obdobju, medtem ko so danes nepogrešljivi sogovorniki in medsebojni kritiki.
Čeprav se njihove ustvarjalne prakse zelo razlikujejo in so specifično usmerjene v obravnavo izbranih kontekstov, se njihova vizualna premišljanja stikajo v nekaterih zelo univerzalnih stališčih. Vsi so dosledni analitiki podobe v času njene radikalne transformacije v smislu produkcije in distribucije, prav tako kot interpreti kolektivnih in intimnih fenomenov v lastnem okolju. Kaj imajo torej skupnega koncept hiper-umetnosti Thomasson, Neue Slowenische Kunst in metaforične krajine? Na prvi pogled nič oprijemljivega. Ob poznavanju širšega konteksta pa se izkaže, da se trojica vselej iz kar se da drugačnih formalnih, tehničnih in konceptualnih izhodišč brezkompromisno in poglobljeno odziva na (njim) pomembne družbene pojave.
V dokumentarno zastavljenem ciklusu Why So Serious? se Jaka Babnik osredotoča na stalne ali začasne umetelne strukture, ki očitno ne služijo nobenemu racionalnemu namenu in za katere pogosto ni jasno, kakšna je bila njihova izvorna funkcija. Pri tem se naslanja na koncept hiper-umetnosti Thomasson kot ga je zastavil japonski umetnik Akasegawa Genpei. S tem Babnik dosledno nadaljuje linijo lastnega fotografskega izraza, kjer se posveča raziskovanju človekovega bivanjskega okolja in postavlja vprašanja o naravi javnega in zasebnega prostora. Sprašuje se o tem, kdo odreja standarde njegove zunanje podobe, ter o ozadju teh navideznih paradoksov?
Peter Koštrun predstavlja dela iz različnih kontekstov; to ročno ustvarjene fotografije iz projekta Slutnja (2015), ki jih sooča z izborom najdenih fotografij iz lastne zbirke. Te podobe v navidezno zapletenem razmerju odražajo avtorjev odnos do sveta. Na eni strani velikoformatna, rdeče tonirana fotografija subtilno opozarja na pasti ljudske percepcije v odnosu do lastnega okolja, nasičenosti vsakdana z vsebinami (in podobami) in medosebnih odnosov. Kot kontrapunkt stojijo črno-bele najdene podobe, ki v obzir jemljejo človeštvo kot takšno in pod vprašaj postavljajo krilatico o človeški naravi, ki je menda odgovorna za vse pretekle in prihodnje travme civilizacije.
Dokumentarni fotograf Jože Suhadolnik pa prikazuje dela iz serije NSK 1984-1999. V toku svojega fotografskega udejstvovanja je namreč ustvaril izjemno vizualno kronologijo domačega fenomena Neue Slownische Kunst, ki jo je obdelal izven pričakovanih dokumentarno-zgodovinskih okvirov. Fotografije poudarjajo avtorski pristop do obravnave protagonistov in dogodkov, s tem pa ponujajo intimni vpogled v pojav, ki je danes nepogrešljivi del kanonizirane zgodovine. Kolektiv NSK je avtor zaobjel kot motiv in likovno sredstvo, ki presega goli umetniški dokument in zgodovinsko gradivo, temveč prikazuje akterje in dogodke v vsej njihovi ambivalentnosti.
Miha Colner
1 is 2
[Jaka Babnik, Peter Koštrun, Jože Suhadolnik]
The group exhibition 1 is 2 presents the works of three photographers and visual creators that despite their expressively authorial and imaginative diversity are irresistibly connected. Jože Suhadolnik ranked in the past as some kind of mentor to his younger colleagues Jaka Babnik and Peter Koštrun in their formative period, but today they are indispensable interlocutors and mutual critics.
Though their creative practices differ very much and are specifically directed in the treatment of selected contents their visual thoughts connect in some very universal standpoints. All are consequent analyst of the modern age in times of its radical transformation in the sense of production and distribution and also as interpreter of collective and intimate phenomena in own environment. What have they then in common, the conceptual hyper-art Tomason , Neue Slowenische Kunst and metaphorical landscapes? On the first sight nothing tangible. But knowing the broader context it shows that the triple - each time from utmost different formal, technical and conceptual starting points - reacts without compromise and deep to important (for them) social phenomena.
In the documentary structured cycle Why So Serious? Jaka Babnik is focusing on permanent or temporary art structures that obviously serve no rational purpose and for which it is often not clear, what was their original function. Here he leans on the Tomason concept as set forth by the Japanese artist Akasegawa Genpei. By that Babnik consistently continues its own photographic expression, devoting to the exploration of human existence environment and asking questions about the nature of public and private space. He asks about who defines the standards of their external image and about the background of these fictive paradoxes.
Peter Koštrun presents works from different contexts; i.e. hand-made photographs from the project Slutnja (Clue) (2015), confronting these photographs with the selection of found photographs from his own collection. These images express the author’s apparently complicated relationship to the world. On one side, the large format red toned photography subtly points to the traps of the human perception of their own environment, to the daily saturation with contents (and images) and interpersonal relationships. Found black-and-white images standing there as counterpoint, considering the humankind as it is and questioning the phrase on the human nature that should be responsible for all past and future civilisation traumas.
The documentary photographer Jože Suhadolnik presents works from the series NSK 1984-1999. In the flow of his photographic activity he managed to create the extraordinary chronology of the domestic phenomena Neue Slowenische Kunst, processing it outside the expected documentary-historical frames. The photographs emphasise the author’s approach to the treatment of the protagonists and events, offering the intimate insight into the phenomena, emerging today as an indispensable part of the canonised history. The author embraced the NSK collective as a motif and an artistry, exceeding the pure art document and historical records by showing the participants and the events in their complete ambivalence.
Miha Colner
Jaka Babnik (1979) je diplomiral iz sociologije in zgodovine na Filozofski fakulteti v Ljubljani. Od leta 1996 deluje kot samostojni umetnik, fotograf, založnik in filmar, ki je posnel zajetno število fotografskih serij in filmov o slovenski skejterski sceni. Uveljavil se je s številnimi odmevnimi projekti kot so sta We Are Dogs! (2009), Jebodrom (2014), Holy Land (2016-2017), Why So Serious? (2016-2017), Heroji mojega časa (2017) in Top lokacija (2017). Od leta 2012 skupaj z Boštjanom Pavletičem vodi neodvisno založbo Rostfrei Publishing. Živi in deluje v Ljubljani.
Jaka Babnik (1979) graduated in sociology and history on the Faculty of Arts in Ljubljana. From 1996 he acts as s freelance artist, photographer, editor and filmmaker, shooting a large number of photographic series and films about the Slovenian skater scene. He established himself with numerous echoed projects, as We Are Dogs! (2009), Jebodrom (2014), Holy Land (2016-2017), Why So Serious? (2016-2017), Heroji mojega časa (Heroes of my time) (2017) and Top lokacija (Top location) (2017). From 2012 and together with Boštjan Pavletič he manages the independent publishing house Rostfrei Publishing. He lives and works in Ljubljana.
Peter Koštrun (1979) je bil v obdobju 1998-2001 zaposlen kot uradni fotograf Urada predsednika in Vlade Republike Slovenije. Leta 2007 je diplomiral na Akademiji za likovno umetnost in oblikovanje v Ljubljani, hkrati pa od leta 2003 redno razstavlja v domačem in mednarodnem prostoru. Med najbolj ključnimi so bila dela oziroma razstave Tišina IV (2008), Sedanjost (2009), Singularnost (2011) in Slutnja (2015). Trenutno je strokovno deluje na področju fotografije kot izredni profesor na Akademiji za likovno umetnost in oblikovanje v Ljubljani. Živi in deluje na Brnici pri Celju.
In the period of 1998-2001 Peter Koštrun (1979) was employed as official photographer of the Prime minister’s Office and the Government of the Republic of Slovenia. In the year of 2007 he graduated on the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Ljubljana, at the same time he regularly exhibits from 2003 at home and abroad. Some of his key works and exhibitions are Tišina IV (Silence IV) (2008), Sedanjost (Present) (2009), Singularnost (Singularity) (2011) and Slutnja (Clue) (2015). Now he is professionally active in the field of photography as associate professor on the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Ljubljana. He lives and works in Brnica pri Celju.
Jože Suhadolnik (1966) se je začel ukvarjati s fotografijo v zgodnjih 80. letih, ko je bil kronist živahne pank in alternativne scene v Ljubljani. Pri šestnajstih letih je postal fotograf jugoslovanske tiskovne agencije Tanjug in časopisa Mladina, leta 1993 pa je bil eden ustanovnih članov fotografske agencije Bobo, medtem ko je redno sodeloval z agencijami Reuters, Associated Press in EPA. Delal je kot urednik fotografije, danes pa kot fotoreporter pri časopisu Delo. V svoji bogati karieri je objavil številna odmevna dela kot so Portreti (1996), Jutra v Rusiji (2005), NSK 1984-1999 (2012) in Balkan Punk (2014). Živi in deluje v Ljubljani.
Jože Suhadolnik (1966) begun to deal with photography in early eighties as a chronologist of the lively punk and alternative scene in Ljubljana. At sixteen he became the photographer of the Yugoslav Press Agency Tanjug and the newspaper Mladina; in 1993 he was a cofounder of the photographic agency Bobo, in the meanwhile regularly cooperating with the agencies Reuters, Associated Press and EPA. He worked as photographic editor, today he is working as a photo-reporter with the newspaper Delo. In his rich career he published numerous much-noticed works, as Portreti (Portraits) (1996), Jutra v Rusiji (Morning in Russia) (2005), NSK 1984-1999 (2012) and Balkan Punk (2014). He lives and works in Ljubljana.
