Until recently the only Czech photographers to have achieved international renown were the long-dead classics František Drtikol, Josef Sudek, Jaromír Funke, and Jaroslav Rössler and – with the exception of Jan Saudek – a handful of photographers who had made their mark while émigrés – Josef Koudelka, Antonín Kratochvíl, and Jitka Hanzlová. Of the photographers who still live in the Czech Republic, those who have become well known are the ones who shone during the brief period of interest in the art of the formerly Communist countries of central Europe shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall: Ivan Pinkava, Václav Jirásek, Miro Švolík and Tono Stano; today they are in their early fifties. Lately some young students and recent graduates of the six Czech institutions of higher learning with specialized programs in photography – the Academy of Performing Arts, Prague, the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design, Prague, Silesian University, Opava, Jan Evangelista Purkyně University, Ústí nad Labem, Tomáš Bata University, Zlín, and, most recently, Ostrava University – have begun to make their presence felt at important exhibitions and festivals. Though each has a different orientation and a different number of teachers and students, all these schools are endeavoring to enrich Czech photography with new, expressive, creative photographers. This lecture presents important current trends, people, and works in Czech photography.
