Exhibitions
Controversial
Exhibition by Photography Students at the Academy of Fine Arts & Design, University of Ljubljana
Opening: 6 June at 10.15 pm
6-30 June 2014
Academy of Fine Arts & Design, Ljubljana
WHERE: Dolenjska cesta 83, Ljubljana
Controversy has accompanied the photographic medium from the very beginning. Its reckless use, or even misuse, raises doubts over authenticity and with its easy multiplicity of creation, an artist’s nonchalance and stylistic indetermination is questioned.
In the teaching process we examine an image; assessing its adequacy from an aesthetic perspective and – last but not least – its ability to communicate. How to make the subject visible to everyone is a challenge to any artist. Photography seems to be simple, easy and spontaneous and hence we tend to forget that a camera is not just a tool, but is a particular type of weapon that can cut into both space and time as well as into the human soul. Too often an image – due to its controversy – is discarded, placed in dusty archives from where it sees the light of day only very rarely, reminding us of the invisible, doubting its past, omnipresence, persistence, vulgarity and beauty.
In the search for work that reaches the extreme limits of the photographic record, we shall through the choice of subject or technique and the individual or collective artistic approach, seek to answer the everyday questions about human life. A photograph is contact with reality, teaching us that mistakes are a part of life; they often hurt, often make us laugh but always take you along the road of discovery of the sense of life. In a time when the only real contact with identity is a “selfie”, we should ask ourselves whether directed education is now a necessity or just nonsense.
doc. Peter Koštrun
