Generation ’74 – exhibition at M.Žilinskas Art Gallery

Custom framed Kirill Golovchenko‘s “Kachalka” at Generation ’74 exhibition, pictured by © Laura Sadinauskaitė

The eleventh edition of KAUNAS PHOTO festival starts exactly ten years after the first KAUNAS PHOTO DAYS festival, bringing to spotlight a number anniversaries. There is one anniversary, common to a number of European photographers, creators of documentary image, whose works were joined at KAUNAS PHOTO into an exhibition, titled “Generation ’74“, shown at M.Žilinskas Art Gallery of the National M.K.Čiurlionis Art Museum.

While preparing the 11th edition, festival director Mindaugas Kavaliauskas contacted a line-up of creators of documentary photography who either have had do to with KAUNAS PHOTO festival during its first decade, or  were on the to-exhibit list. More precisely, they were born in 1974 and turning 40 in 2014. Among those were Simon Roberts (UK), Nick Hannes (Belgium), Tomáš Pospěch (Czech Republic), Pekka Niittyvirta (Finland), Kirill Golovchenko (Ukraine/Germany), Przemysław Pokrycki (Poland), Borut Peterlin (Slovenia), Davide Monteleone (Italy/France) and of course, his colleague, now director of Kaunas Photography Gallery, Gintaras Česonis (Lithuania). In Arles 2014, the freshly announced winner of the European Publishers’ Award for Photography, Kirill Golovchenko suggested Mindaugas Kavaliauskas to get acquainted to Vitus Saloshanka (Belarus/Germany). The latter “caught up with the last train” to join the Generation ’74 project, becomming the 11th player in the team.

What do these 11 photographers have in common apart from their birth year?

Today, everyone of them is well known in their respective countries. Some are globally renowned and celebrated figures of photography. But before they became what they are now, they were turning 15 in the year when Berlin wall came down, they experienced the expansion of Europe in 2004 when they were starting their thirties. They accommodated the Internet and the Digital photography in a mature age, having not discarded the fundamental ideas about life & photography. They all have created long-term projects based on the notion that the world is analogically unique. Their photographic works do not pretend to be fashionable, flashy, and are not superficial. Instead, they are humane, thoughtful, bitter, ironic, humorous, critical. They slowly but strongly invade our minds and memories, sharing with their audience the feelings and human experiences they captured.

The Generation ’74 project consists of the exhibition and the book, preparatory work on which include two more’74-ers: Ángel Luis González (Spain/Ireland), director of PhotoIreland festival, who creates the design and layout, and Irina Tchmyreva, director of PhotoVisa festival (Krasnodar, Russia), whose keynote text will accompany the book and provide insights to photographers’ work.

Generation ’74 autoriai ir jų darbai >>>

Elektroninis laiškas, kuris buvo išsiųstas parodos dalyviams 2013 m. lapkričio 14 d.

Gerbiamieji…,

Simon Roberts (Jungtinė Karalystė), Nick Hannes (Belgija), Borut Peterlin (Slovėnija), Kirill Golovchenko (Ukraina / Vokietija), Pekka Niittyvirta (Suomija), Davide Monteleone (Italija / Prancūzija), Przemyslaw Pokrycki (Lenkija), Angel Luis Gonzalez (Ispanija / Airija), (sąrašas nėra galutinis)… aš, Mindaugas Kavaliauskas (Lietuva),…

Nuo to laiko, kai prieš 10 metų aš pradėjau kuruoti pirmąją KAUNAS PHOTO festivalį, man teko ypatinga garbė pakankamai gerai pažinti daugumą šių, sąraše išvardintų fotografų ir kuratorių.

Bet ką šie fotografai, kuratoriai turi bendro?

Supratote ! Jie visi gimė 1974 metais – kada Eurovizijoje triumfavo ABBA ir kada Amerikos prezidentas Richard‘as Nixson‘as atsistatydino. Po nedidelių tyrinėjimų, atrodo, kad 1974 metai Europai ir pasauliui davė eilę svarbių fotografų.

Kodėl to nešvęsti ? .. 2014 rugsėjį @ KAUNAS PHOTO festivalis, Lietuva, kol festivalis prisimins savo pradžią prieš 10 metų, 2004 rugsėjį.

Viena iš kelių festivalio temų/ motyvų, pasiūlyta Europos fotografų 1974 karta.

Mes Kauno Photo ir galbūt kiti festivaliai, 1974 metų vaikai ( aš žinau, daugiau nei du ..) nekantriai laukiame kada galėsime pradėti bendrą parodą ir knygą.

Pirmasis laiškas iš tikrųjų tavęs klausia:

„Ar tu su mumis“?

Linkėjimai iš Kauno,

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Mindaugas Kavaliauskas

Fotografas /  Photographer
Mobile: +370 650 77895  |  Skype: Mi_Kas  |  Blog: www.light.lt
New web site!  www.kavaliauskas.eu

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KAUNAS PHOTO 2013 festival
Meno vadovas / Chief Curator | www.kaunasphoto.com | www.kaunasphoto.info