The genius of place. Classics of Lithuanian photography

At the Lumiere Brothers Center for Photography in New York in early 2014, a large-scale exhibition project, “A Genius of Place. Classics of Lithuanian photography. The exhibition included more than two hundred works by fifteen iconic Lithuanian photographers of the second half of the twentieth century.

1. Virgilijus Šonta. Flight. 1978

The photographic coordinates of Lithuania in the sixties are unique. While located in the latitudes of Soviet ideology, it was distant enough from the center to absorb pan-European photographic trends, to make successful attempts at dialogue with the global photographic community.

Many authors had access to Western publications and the opportunity to send their work to international competitions and exhibitions. Lithuania was justly called the “photographic republic”: the first official Society of Photographers was organized here in 1969 and it was the only one in the whole Soviet Union for many years.

That same year, the legendary “9 Lithuanian Photographers” exhibition was shown at the Central House of Journalists in New York, which was a defining event in the formation of the school.

Works of Lithuanian authors were characterized by their free approach to the choice of artistic methods sharp angles, close-ups, tough graphics, wide optics and at the same time by a strong national aesthetic and themes.

This was surprisingly complementary to the individuality of each photographer’s style. And each of them, staying within the framework of his own style or genre, was a guide and visual embodiment of genius loci lat. genius of place , was the guardian of a special spirit peculiar only to the Lithuanian land and Lithuanian culture.

Unlike the rest of Soviet reportage, the photographs of Lithuanian authors never feature the glorification of a “hero” or deliberate grandiosity of life, but only its natural, sincere side and aspiration to show the commonality and wholeness of the Lithuanian people.

The genius of place is capable of manifesting itself in a thousand different images: in the beauty and purity-filled “Flowers Among Flowers” by R. Dichavicius, in the unique clouds over the Vilnius suburbs A. Kuncius, in the sincere spiritual life of the hinterland, depicted in the Pilgrimages/Village Holidays series by R. Pojerskis, in the carefree summer “Beach” by A. Maciauskas.

2. Romualdas Pozerskis. Mountain of Crosses. 1989

3. Antanas Sutkus. Song festival. Dance Day. Vilnius. 1975

The spirit of the place – in the piercing glances of children from the series “People of Lithuania” A. Sutkus and in the almost pictorial acts of A. Mežanskas, where women’s beauty dissolves into the beauty of the forest, in the poetic “Blossom” by R. Rakauskas, in the minimalist dunes of A. Zavadskis and the mystical forest landscapes of J. Kalvelis.

In a very personal, existential, photography V. Shontas and optimistic photo essays by M. Baranauskas, genre sketches by R. Augnus and the aesthetic collages of V. Butyrina. And finally, in the famous, piercing portraits of V. Lutskus. It’s hard to imagine that these pictures were taken anywhere else but Lithuania. On them, one can undoubtedly read Mesto. A place has a meaning. It is not just a geographical or national marker, but a key to uniting different authors a position stated either overtly or deeply, between the lines.

The White Hall of the Photographic Center showcased works by Vaclovas Straukas, who celebrated his 90th birthday in November 2013. The work of this lyrical realist of photography is inextricably linked to his native seaside Klaipeda and its people.

The exhibition, which was prepared together with Antanas Sutkus, includes three iconic cycles, each of which refers to a certain period in the author’s life: childhood “Dunes” , youth “Young Klaipeda” and adulthood, the time when he worked as a literature teacher “Last Call” .

In 2009, the Center of Photography opened the project series “Classics of Lithuanian Photography” with retrospective of Aleksandras Maciauskas and a year later with a large exhibition “Phenomenon of Lithuanian School. Western Photography in the USSR”. The present project is a continuation of the series and the next stage in the study of the unique phenomenon of the Lithuanian school of photography.

4. Romualdas Rakauskas. Vilnius.

5. Romualdas Pozerskis. From the series “Lithuanian Pilgrimages,” Krozhe City. 1974

6. Antanas Sutkus. Lithuania’s first bikers. Klaipeda. 1974

7. Alexandras Matsiauskas. Summer. 1982

8. Antanas Sutkus. With dad’s bike. 1969

Thanks to Olga Korovina for her help in preparing the material.

Thanks to the Lumière Brothers Center for Photography for the photos provided for publication.