Miroslav Tichý

cliveh · Nov 10, 2014

Miroslav Tichý What do you think about this guy and his images. I think he is more voyeuristic than an artistic. However, I may be wrong.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=M...a=X&ei=wCphVKKmLeaQ7AbtkoHABQ&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ

pdeeh · Nov 10, 2014

this got a good workout here: (there was a url link here which no longer exists)

I've actually seen some of his work (at the Exchange in Pz) - they are rather impressive in their way. Enough that I wish I had the money to buy a couple of books of his work.

His personal story is rather an interesting one as well.

The articles about Tichy use particular kinds of (highly judgmental) language, and because in them we are told (and we have no means of verifying the truth of these statements) that he "sneaked around" or was seen as a suspicious character, we immediately place his photographs in a context.

If we had been told that Tichy was a famous academic artist whose photographs were posed with paid models, the response might be quite different.

If you went to an exhibition and saw these photographs, but had no information at all - not even the artist's name - just the pictures ... what then ?

All you can do is notice your own emotional (or intellectual or wheteveral) response.

cliveh · Nov 10, 2014

pdeeh said:
this got a good workout here: (there was a url link here which no longer exists)

I've actually seen some of his work (at the Exchange in Pz) - they are rather impressive in their way. Enough that I wish I had the money to buy a couple of books of his work.

It was that exhibition that prompted my post.

removed account4 · Nov 10, 2014

darko recently posted a small video / interview with him as well
(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

i am a fan of his work. i love the tonal nature and abstract quality of image he was able to create
sometimes stark,and honest portraits ..

i see no difference between "street" photography and what he was doing.
both are voyeuristic+documentary, as all photography tends to be.

snapguy · Nov 10, 2014

racket

Like anything else, "fine art" can be a pretty good racket if you know how to push peoples' buttons. What one person sees as garbage others see as a license to steal. "It is immoral to let suckers keep their money." Now they want you to pay to see stuff by a Peeping Tom? Amazing.

removed account4 · Nov 10, 2014

snapguy

what is the difference between what he did
and what someone who does "street" photography does?

its exactly the same thing ( surveillance ) as far as i can see

jspillane · Nov 10, 2014

Easy. Tichý is fantastic.

cliveh · Nov 10, 2014

jnanian said:
snapguy

what is the difference between what he did
and what someone who does "street" photography does?

its exactly the same thing ( surveillance ) as far as i can see

No it is not, as general street photography is not sexually voyeuristic.

pdeeh · Nov 10, 2014

You mean you find his photographs "sexually voyeuristic" ?

Or do you mean you think that Tichý was personally a sexual voyeurist?

Because I have seen a great deal of amateur psychology trotted out online about this gentleman without a shred of evidence to back it up.

Let us say we had only just discovered the work of HCB (to name a street photographer) - a la Vivien Maier - and we were told he was a sneaky old pervert who snuck around secretly taking pictures of people without their consent, how would we then perceive his photographs? Works of genius? Or voyeuristic perversion?

cliveh · Nov 10, 2014

pdeeh said:
You mean you find his photographs "sexually voyeuristic" ?

Or do you mean you think that Tichý was personally a sexual voyeurist?

Because I have seen a great deal of amateur psychology trotted out online about this gentleman without a shred of evidence to back it up.

Let us say we had only just discovered the work of HCB (to name a street photographer) - a la Vivien Maier - and we were told he was a sneaky old pervert who snuck around secretly taking pictures of people without their consent, how would we then perceive his photographs? Works of genius? Or voyeuristic perversion?

I know nothing about the personal character of Tichy, but am basing my views on his images.

Xmas · Nov 10, 2014

cliveh said:
No it is not, as general street photography is not sexually voyeuristic.

uncensored street photography or survelliance camera recordings will contain courtship rituals, pigeons homosapiens etc.

censored street photography won't.

what do you mean by 'general' do you mean 'censored'

removed account4 · Nov 10, 2014

cliveh said:
No it is not, as general street photography is not sexually voyeuristic.

people read into photography whatever they want.
it is easy to say that his work might be sexually voyeuristic
and it might be easy to say that any other street photographer
( you can fill in the blanks ) has certain fetishes as well.
i seem to remember someone here on apug posting something
a year ( maybe 2 ) ago about being asked to leave a kid-event ( pool-party ? )
where he wasn't invited and was making photographs &c which might be misconstrued as him or her having ill-intent.

i think tichy's work is poetry on photo paper ... very few people have been able to
make poetic images like he did.

Anton Lukoszevieze · Nov 11, 2014

I love Tichy's work, he was a wonderful artist.

MDR · Nov 11, 2014

Wasn't he marketed as some sort of reclusive behind the iron curtain perv. Even in art magazines he is described as reclusive peeping tom. "Whatever eroticism is present is limited to that of the voyeur; these women are not inviting us into their world." NY Photo review. Imo some of his photographs are cleary creepy and pure voyeurism but some others are like surreal dreams the latter I find very interesting and wouldn't mind owning. Regarding the quality of his prints who cares it's the image that counts.

darkosaric · Nov 11, 2014

jnanian said:
darko recently posted a small video / interview with him as well

This small video was part of longer documentary (cca 30min):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAA-0pEB08g

Like him or not - he passed the test of time, people are still talking about him, there are books about him (I have one) ...

baachitraka · Nov 11, 2014

He worked hard towards what ever he want to achieve and finally that yielded some good results.

All it remains me is to take the camera and expose a roll or few in week if not in a day.

ajmiller · Nov 11, 2014

I saw the Tichý exhibition in 2008 at Centre Pompidou in Paris and was blown away by his works of art. On the wall they were jewels - jnanian describes them as poetry on photo paper which is exactly right.

darkosaric · Nov 12, 2014

I took a look on some youtube video again - and I must say that prints are not so bad quality when you look at the camera that he used . Also it is clear that you don't need 3D printing technology to make camera and lens at home . Makes me wonder why we don't have Holga with 400mm lens, it could be new project for Lomography: "Miroslav Tichý camera" - Holga with 35mm film and 400mm lens. I think I will drop them an email!

cliveh · Nov 12, 2014

darkosaric said:
I took a look on some youtube video again - and I must say that prints are not so bad quality when you look at the camera that he used . Also it is clear that you don't need 3D printing technology to make camera and lens at home . Makes me wonder why we don't have Holga with 400mm lens, it could be new project for Lomography: "Miroslav Tichý camera" - Holga with 35mm film and 400mm lens. I think I will drop them an email!

Good idea and make sure they give you a cut on sales %.

darkosaric · Nov 12, 2014

cliveh said:
Good idea and make sure they give you a cut on sales %.

I wrote them an email, let's see what they replay .

removed account4 · Nov 12, 2014

darkosaric said:
I wrote them an email, let's see what they replay .

make sure it is made of corrugated cardboard it will save them lots of $$

darkosaric · Nov 13, 2014

I just found the photo of enlarger he used:

Dead Link Removed

Looks like Meopta lens to me, but I am guessing he was not worried about perfect aligning

pdeeh · Nov 13, 2014

I just watched the video darko linked, I hadn't managed to find anything of him on film before so I'm very glad to have done so.

I thought he showed an admirable sense of irony and the absurd, and considerable self-awareness

If he had been an English peer, of course, he'd have been treated as a charming eccentric, and féted by one and all ... as it is, he had dirty hands and lived in a shack on the fringe of Eastern Europe ...

Interesting I thought that many of the images of women shown in the film were clearly made with the knowledge of the women concerned, and quite a number showed interaction with the act of being photographed.

jp80874 · Nov 13, 2014

I love his attitude. See quote below.

John Powers

darkosaric · Nov 13, 2014

I think Kim Kardashian is a Miroslav Tichý fan as well .

Miroslav Tichý

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