fotos

Czech Photographer, FAMU (1979)

Since 2002 Head of Atelier výtvarné fotografie at FAMU, Praha

Author: Š. G., Konceptuální uměni a fotografie. Praha 2004
Interview: P. Blahotová, Domov 36: 1996 (11), 50-51
Author´s books: Planeta, Umbrella Editions, Praha 1993
How do you Feel Today? Umbrella Editions, Praha 1998
Membership: Prague House of Photography, Asociace profesionálních fotografů České republiky

Photos by Štěpán Grygar differed from previous style of photography in Czechoslovakia since the beginning. They are similar to so called visualism, elementarism, minimalism, but they overcome the frame of –isms. Intensity of Grygar´s images is built on a tension between a concept, personal visual experience and exploitation of neglected possibilities of the medium photography. Since the beginning, he comes out of the criteria of „artworld“, in which he had grown up. His father Milan is one of the internationally respected constructivists, his mother Květa Pacovská is world famous illustrator of books. For him, photography has allways been a part of visual arts.

By the middle of the 80s, his work has consisted mostly of individual pictures. They are allways abstract in compositions. At the time of Grygar´s youth, photography has started to reflect itself more properly. „Medium photography“ became an important topics. Therefore, Grygar´s photos intermingle with an international style transforming fragments of visual reality into a new reality of a picture, which is almost allways built after a model of a snap-shot. In fact, a casuality of a snap-shot is allways premeditated and often emphasized by an electronic flash light. Flat compositions combine static and dynamic (birds, snow) elements. In the beginning, pictures are based on a visual impression. With a time passing, conceptual aspect becomes stronger and finds its execution in a series of shots.

Grygar says: „Problem comes out only in the whole series of photos“. His authors? books Planeta (1993) and How do you Feel Today? (1998) show just one object in a huge series of shots taken from different angles. Last exhibition of Š. G. (Roudnice consisted of a few large format series of prints. Grygar´s work gives an evidence of a fact that a subject of a photograph must not be important, an image can give a reference of itself and of the medium through which it came to world. In the 90´s, part of the Grygar´s work showed manual interferences and local colour (Green Label, 1997).

Jerzy Olek adopted Grygar´s work into his concept of elementary photography. In 1986, Grygar was the only foreigner exhibiting with Polish representatives of elementary photography Jakub Byrczek, Bogdan Konopka, Andrzej J. Lech, Jerzy Olek. Later there were more photographers involved in Olek´s programm of elementary photography. Grygar is an influential professor at FAMU and an author of a book on conceptual art and photography.