Lokacija: Slovensko ljudsko gledališče Celje, Gledališki trg 5, 3000 Celje

Simpozij je posvečen »vsakdanjim banalnostim« kot osrednji temi festivala, ki naslavlja odnos fotografije in vizualne kulture do vsakdanjega, običajnega, nespektakularnega, znanega in dolgočasnega; te situacije, objekti in prostori so namreč sestavni del naše vsakodnevne stvarnosti. Omenjena tema naslavlja tudi vizualne manifestacije sveta, v katerem živimo, kot so kulturna krajina, javni prostor, materialni fetišizem, kič in samonanašanje. Dokumentarna in ulična fotografija, na primer, pogosto raziskujeta tovrstne pojave in jih povzdigujeta v osrednje motive ustvarjanja podob v 21. stoletju. Kljub temu pa je tema simpozija razširjena predvsem na različne formalne in konceptualne pristope v sklopu tako imenovane optične umetnosti [lens-based art]. Predavatelji in govorniki torej z različnih perspektiv razmišljajo o fotografiji in drugih načinih vizualne komunikacije, ki odsevajo pojave običajnosti, vsakdanjosti in banalnosti v naši neposredni okolici.

Petek, 28. 6. 2019 

16.00–16.45: Klaus Pichler, Really, This Will Change Your Life Forever / predstavitev

Fotograf Klaus Pichler bo skozi predstavitev večletnega projekta This Will Change Your Life Forever in istoimenske knjige razmišljal o razlogih za pojav številnih gibanj ezoterizma, ki počasi, a zanesljivo vstopa v naš vsakdan, o iracionalizmu, psevdoznanosti, teoretikih zarote, obljubah odrešitve ter družbenem vplivu tovrstnih gibanj v t. i. dobi postresnice. 

16.45–17.30: Martin Kollar & Borut Krajnc, O normalizaciji / diskusija

Diskusija s fotografoma Martinom Kollarjem in Borutom Krajncem odstira nekatere manj očitne vidike njunega kontinuiranega delovanja in iskanja na področju vizualne kulture. Navezujoč se na njuno dialoško razstavo Normalizacija je v središču pogovora relativnost percepcije normativnosti v odnosu do kulturnih vzorcev in družbenih pričakovanj.

17.30–18.30: Davor Konjikušić, Moj problem z dokumentarno fotografijo / predavanje

Fotograf, novinar in pisec Davor Konjikušić v svojem predavanju usmerja pozornost v omejenost družbene kritike, ki jo producentom in prejemnikom omogoča medij fotografije. Konjikušić omenjeni pojav predstavlja na presečišču principov kritičnega realizma in dokumentarnosti, pri tem pa se nanaša na dostopno teorijo in lastno fotografsko prakso.  

Sobota, 29. 6. 2019

16.00–16.45: Peter Rauch, Bazen realnosti / predavanje

Gospa, ki jo poznam, je preteklo poletje padla po stopnicah. Med vzpenjanjem se je spotaknila in močno udarila z glavo ob rob hiše. Ker so jo na urgenci odpravili z diagnozo, da ni nič zlomljenega, pretrganega ali poškodovanega, da so bolečine zgolj posledica udarca in naj le miruje, se je odpravila po drugo mnenje. Nepoimenovanje poškodbe je zanjo pomenilo nediagnozo. Predavanje razpira specifično polje zaznave, želje in vednosti, polje, ki v določeni obravnavi dobi razsežnost zgubane površine. 

16.45–17.30: Sandra Križić Roban, We Haven't Taken Photos for Quite a While / predavanje

Konceptualna umetnost je v nekdanji Jugoslaviji delovala kot pomembna antiteza tradicionalnim oblikam umetniškega izraza. Sandra Križić Roban v svojem predavanju analizira principe, kot so raziskovanje možnosti dekonstrukcije in rekonstrukcije fotografske podobe, intervencije v fotografski material, intervencije v javnem prostoru, materialnost v fotografiji in meje medija na primerih umetniških praks Petra Dabca, Željka Borčića, Vlada Marteka in Edite Schubert.

17.30–18.15: Miroslav Karić & Sladjana Petrović Varagić, Kolektivne prakse / predavanje

Predavatelja predstavljata primere kolektivnega delovanja na področju sodobne fotografije v Srbiji in na širšem območju nekdanje Jugoslavije. Tovrstne oblike začasnega ali trajnega združevanja so se močno uveljavljale prav v obdobju turbulentnih ideoloških sprememb v preteklih treh dekadah, da bi zapolnile odsotnost institucionalne infrastrukture in podpore. Kolektivne akcije tako pogosto beležijo prizore družbenega vsakdana in ironično naslavljajo odnos avtorjev do aktualne družbeno-politične situacije.

19.00–19.45: Fotosfera, Razglednice iz Slovenije / predstavitev fotoknjige

Razglednice iz Slovenije je fotoknjiga kolektiva Fotosfera, ki na kritičen in (samo)ironičen način upodablja vsakdanje motive slovenskega urbanega in podeželskega okolja. V središču zanimanja njihovih podob je dokumentacija povsem običajnih dogodkov, ki sicer večinoma ostanejo prezrti. Člani kolektiva se tako navezujejo na osnovni pomen in vrednost besede razglednica, obenem pa poigravajo z njeno običajno vsebino.

Location: Slovensko ljudsko gledališče Celje, Gledališki trg 5, 3000 Celje

Symposium is dedicated to the central topic „Everyday Banalities“ which addresses notions of photography and visual culture in relation to ordinary, everyday, non-spectacular, familiar or even dull situations, objects and places that are integral part of our everyday reality. It is about addressing the visual manifestations of the world we live in such as cultural landscape, public space, material fetishism, kitsch and self-referentiality. Documentary and street photography, for instance, often explore such phenomena making it one of the central subjects in the 21st century image making. However, the topic will be expanded beyond and across different formal and conceptual approaches within so called lens based art. From different perspectives the speakers will therefore discuss how photography and other means of visual communication reflect the phenomena of ordinary, familiar and seemingly banal in our immediate surroundings.

Friday, 28 June 2019 

16.00–16.45: Klaus Pichler, Really, This Will Change Your Life Forever / presentation

In his presentation of the long-term project This Will Change Your Life Forever and the eponymous book, photographer Klaus Pichler ponders on the reasons behind the emergence of the numerous movements associated with esotericism, a phenomenon slowly but surely entering our daily lives; on irrationalism, pseudoscience, conspiracy theorists, promises of salvation, and the social impact of such movements in the post-truth era.

16.45–17.30: Martin Kollar & Borut Krajnc, On Normalisation / discussion

Discussion with photographers Martin Kollar and Borut Krajnc sheds light on some of the less evident aspects of their ongoing activity and explorations in visual culture. Referring to their dialogue exhibition Normalisation, the debate focuses on the relative perception of the normative in relation to cultural patterns and social expectations.

17.30–18.30:Davor Konjikušić, My Problem with Documentary Photography / lecture

In his lecture, photographer, journalist and writer Davor Konjikušić centres on the limited space for social commentary provided to authors and audiences by photography as a medium. Konjikušić explores these issues at the point of intersection of the principles of critical realism and the documentary, drawing on the available theoretical background and his photographic practice.  

Saturday, 29 June 2019 

16.00–16.45: Peter Rauch, The Pool of Reality / lecture

A lady that I know fell badly on her stairs last summer. While climbing upstairs she stumbled and head first hit a corner of a house. As she was dismissed at the ER with a diagnosis that nothing was broken, torn or seriously hurt, her pain was merely a bodily reaction to the injury and she should rest for some time, she made an appointment to get another doctor’s opinion. She took a diagnosis of no specification of the injury as a non-diagnosis. The lecture introduces a specific field of perception, desire and knowledge, a field that in a particular perspective takes a form of a folded surface. 

16.45–17.30: Sandra Križić Roban, We Haven't Taken Photos for Quite a While / lecture

Conceptual art in former Yugoslavia functioned as an important antithesis to traditional artistic expressions. In the presentation, the procedures such as researching the possibilities of deconstruction and reconstruction of the photographic image, the intervention into the photographic material, interventions within the public space and questioning the volume in photography, as well as researching the limits of the medium in general, will be discussed in the work of Petar Dabac, Željko Borčić, Vlado Martek, and Edita Schubert. 

17.30–18.15: Miroslav Karić & Sladjana Petrović Varagić, Collective Practices / lecture

The speakers present case studies of collective activities in contemporary photography in Serbia and in former Yugoslavia. These forms of temporary or permanent unification have been particularly established in the period of turbulent ideological shifts in the past three decades in order to replace the absence of institutional infrastructure and support. Collective actions therefore document scenes of everyday life and ironically address relationship of artists to the current socio-political situation.

19.00–19.45: Fotosfera, Postcards from Slovenia / photobook presentation

Postcards from Slovenia is a photobook by collective Fotosfera showcasing critical and (self)ironic display of everyday motifs of Slovenian urban and rural surrounding. The central interest of their imagery is in documenting very common occurrences that remain, for most of the people, unnoticed. The collective is thus referring to the basic meaning and significance of the word postcard; moreover, they playfully interact with its usual content.