Jan Saudek

Saudek in 2010

Jan Saudek (born 13 May 1935 in Prague, Czechoslovakia) is a Czech art photographer and painter.

Life

Saudek's father was a Jew^[1] and this, coupled with his Slavic (Czech) heritage, caused his family to become a target of the Nazis. Many of his family died in Theresienstadt concentration camp during World War II. Jan and his brother Karel, or Kája, were held in a children's concentration camp for Mischlinge, located near the present Polish-Czech border. His father, Gustav, was deported to Theresienstadt concentration camp in February 1945. Both sons and father survived the war.

According to Saudeks's biography, he got his first camera, a Kodak Baby Brownie, in 1950. He apprenticed to a photographer and in 1952 started working as a print shop worker, where he worked until 1983. In 1959, he started using the more advanced Flexaret 6x6 camera, and engaged in painting and drawing. After completing his military service, he was inspired in 1963 by the catalogue for Edward Steichen's The Family of Man exhibition, to try to become a serious art photographer. In 1969, he traveled to the United States and was encouraged in his work by curator Hugh Edwards.

Returning to Prague, he was forced to work in a clandestine manner in a cellar, to avoid the attentions of the secret police, as his work turned to themes of personal erotic freedom, and used implicitly political symbols of corruption and innocence. From the late 1970s, he became recognized in the West as the leading Czech photographer, and also developed a following among photographers in his own country. In 1983, the first book of his work was published in the English-speaking world. The same year, he became a freelance photographer as the Czech Communist authorities allowed him to cease working in the print shop, and gave him permission to apply for a permit to work as an artist. In 1987, the archives of his negatives were seized by the police, but later returned.

Saudek lives and works in Prague. His brother Kája Saudek is also an artist, the best-known Czech graphic novelist.

Work

Poster for a film by Adolf Zika: Jan Saudek: Bound by Passion (2008).

His best-known work is noted for its hand-tinted portrayal of painterly dream worlds, often inhabited by nude or semi-nude figures surrounded by bare plaster walls or painted backdrops, frequently re-using identical elements (for instance, a clouded sky or a view of Prague's Charles Bridge). In this they echo the studio and tableaux works of mid nineteenth century erotic photographers, as well as the works of the painter Balthus, and of Bernard Faucon. His early art photography is noted for its evocation of childhood. His later works often portrayed the evolution from child to adult (re-photographing the same composition/pose, and with the same subjects, over many years). Religious motifs or the ambiguity between man and woman have also been some of Jan Saudek's recurring themes. His work was the subject of attempts at censorship in the West during the 1990s.

Some of Saudek's work has been used as covers for the albums of Anorexia Nervosa (New Obscurantis Order), Soul Asylum (Grave Dancers Union), Daniel Lanois (For the Beauty of Wynona), and Beautiful South (Welcome to the Beautiful South).

Saudek's imagery has had a mixed international reception. Quite early, he had shows in the United States and in Australia, where in 1970 his work was shown at the Australian Centre for Photography and was welcomed by curator Jennie Boddington at the National Gallery of Victoria. In the same country, by contrast, Black Sheep & White Crow, which features a semi-naked prepubescent girl, was removed from the Ballarat International Foto Biennale on the eve of its opening on August 21, 2011 following child prostitution claims.^[2]

Publications (selected)

• Jan Saudek-Photo, and Jiri Masin Milos Macourek, House of Lords of Kunštát, Brno, Czech Republic, 1970.
• The World of Jan Saudek: Photographs. Jacques Baruch Gallery, Chicago, IL, 1979.
• Jan Saudek-Il teatro de la vita. Giuliana SCIM, Selezione d'Imagini, Milan, Italy, 1981.
• Story from, Czechoslovakia, My Country, and Photographs by Jan Saudek. Aperture Nr. 89, New York, 1982.
• The World of Jan Saudek. Anna Fárová, The Master Collection Book III, Rotovision, Geneva, Switzerland 1983.
• Images from, Czechoslovakia. University of Iowa Museum of Art, Iowa City, IA, 1983.
• Story photo. Daniela Mrázková, Mlada Fronta, Prague, 1985.
• Jan Saudek-35 Jahre Photos / 35 Years of Photography. Manfred Heiting, Photography Forum Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Germany 1986.
• 50 Jahre moderne Farbfotografie. Manfred Heiting, Photokina, Cologne, Germany 1986.
• Jan Saudek-200 Photographs 1953-1986. Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Paris, 1987.
• 20 Years of Czechoslovak Art: 1968-1988. Anne Baruch, Chicago, IL 1988.
• The Second Israeli Photography Biennale, Museum of Art, Ein Harod, Israel, 1988.
• Jan Saudek-100 Fotografías 1953-1986. Primavera Fotografica, Barcelona, Spain, 1988.
• Jan Saudek-Monsieur Nicole (fashion catalog "Matsuda"), New York 1989.1991 (?).
• Photographs Tschechoslowakische der Gegenwart. Edition Braus, Heidelberg, Germany, 1990.
• Jan Saudek-Life, Love, Death & Other Such Trifles. Art Unlimited, Amsterdam, 1991.
• Jan Saudek-Theatre of life. Daniela Mrázková, Panorama, Prague, 1991.
• Jan Saudek-l'amour. VIS & VIS Nr. 10, Paris, 1992.
• Jan Saudek, Galerie Municipale du Chateau d'Eau, Toulouse, France, 1992.
• Photo La Collection de la FNAC, Calais des Estats de Bourgogne, Dijon, France 1993.
• Jan Saudek-life, love, death & other such trivia. Slovart, Prague, 1994.
• Jan Saudek-Jubilations and Obsessions. Rosbeek, Amsterdam, 1995.
• Jan Saudek-Letter. Sarah Saudek, Prague, 1995.
• The World of Jan Saudek 1959-1995. Museum of Art, Olomouc, Czech Republic, 1995.
• Jan Saudek 1895 Krišal Gallery, Geneva, Switzerland, 1995.
• Photographie des 20. Jahrhunderts. Museum Ludwig, Taschen, Cologne, Germany 1996.
• Security and search in, Czech Republic photography of the 90s. Vl. Birgus / Mir.Vojtěchovský, Kant, Prague, 1996.
• The Photography Book. Phaidon Press, London, 1997.
• Jan Saudek-Photographs 1987-1997. Taschen, Cologne, Germany, 1997.
• The Body in Contemporary, Czech Republic Photography. Vl. Birgus Macintosh Gallery, Glasgow, Scotland, 1997.
• Jan Saudek. Christiane Fricke, Taschen , Cologne, Germany, 1998.
• From Sudek to Saudek- Czech Photography in the 20th Century, The Eli Lemberger Museum of Photography, Tel-Hai, Israel, 1998.
• Masterpieces of Erotic Photography. Carlton, London, 1998.
• Jan Saudek three-Love. BB Art, Prague, 1998.
• Zärtliche Betrachtung schöner Damen-aus der Sammlung Photo Fritz Gruber. Wienand Verlag, Cologne, Germany, 1998.
• Absolut Originale, Absolit Originale Collection. Stockholm, Sweden, 1999.
• Jan Saudek 1959-1999. Mennour Gallery, Paris, 1999.
• Jan Saudek Single-married divorced widower. Slovart, Praha, Czech Republic, 2000.
• 20th Century Photography. Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany 2001.
• Jan Saudek-Realities. Arena Edition, Santa Fe, NM, 2002.
• Czech and Slovak Photography 80s and 90s of the 20th century. the Art Museum, Olomouc, Czech Republic 2002.
• Absolut Generations. 50th Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy 2003.
• Dictionary of, Czech Republicech and Slovak artists 1950-2004. Chagall Art Centre, Ostrava, Czech Republic 2004.
• Saudek. Daniela Mrázková, Slovart, Prague, 2005.
• The Best of Jan Saudek. Saudek.com, Prague, 2005.
• Chains of Love. Saudek.com, Prague, 2007.
• Evenings with a photographer. IDIF, Prague, 2007.
• ACP-learn creative shooting. Zoner Press, Brno, Czech Republic, 2007.
• 2006/2007 National Theatre. Gallery, Prague, 2007.
• Jan Saudek (1998, Taschen) ISBN 3-8228-7916-9.
• Pouta lásky (Chains of Love). [Saudek.com] ISBN 80-239-8225-7.
• Saudek. Prague: Slovart. ISBN 80-7209-727-X.
• Saudek, Jan: Ženatý, svobodný, rozvedený, vdovec. Prague: Slovart, 2000. ISBN 80-7209-701-6.
• Saudek, Jan: Národní divadlo 2006/07. National Theatre 2006/07 Season. Prague: Národní divadlo, 2007. ISBN 9788072582716.

Films

• Jan Saudek: Prague Printemps (1990). (26-minute film by Jerome de Missolz about Saudek).
• Jan Saudek: Bound by Passion (2008). (feature-length film by Adolf Zika about Saudek).

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions

2015 Valeria Rabbit Hole Art Room, Warsaw, Poland

Group exhibitions (selected)

Collections

Saudek's work is held in the following permanent collections:

• The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
• Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
• Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris
• International Museum of Photography at George Eastman House, Rochester, NY
• The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
• Moravian Gallery in Brno, Czech Republic
• Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Paris
• Musée Paul Getty, Los Angeles, CA
• Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany
• National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Australia
• National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jan Saudek.

• www.saudek.com
• www.saudekfilm.com