Jan Saudek (born 13 May 1935) is an art photographer and painter.
Contents
Life
Saudek and his twin brother Karel (also known as Kája) were born to a Slavic (Czech) mother and Jewish father in Prague in 1935. Their mother's family came to Prague from Bohemia, and their father from the city of Děčín in the northwest part of that area. During World War II and after the invasion of the German Nazis, both sides of his family were racially persecuted by the invaders. Many of his Jewish relatives died in Theresienstadt concentration camp during the war. Their father Gustav was deported to Theresienstadt concentration camp in February 1945. Although their mother and many other relatives died, both sons and father survived the war. A Communist-dominated government gained power after the war to rule the country, enforced by the Soviet Union and considered to be behind the Iron Curtain.
According to Saudek's biography, he acquired his first camera, a Kodak Baby Brownie, in 1950. He apprenticed to a photographer, and in 1952 started working in a print shop; he was restricted to this work by the Communist government until 1983. In 1959, he started using the more advanced Flexaret 6x6 camera, and also engaged in painting and drawing. After completing his military service, he was inspired in 1963 by the catalogue for American photographer Edward Steichen's The Family of Man exhibition, and began to work to become a serious art photographer. In 1969, Saudek traveled to the United States, where he was encouraged in his work by curator Hugh Edwards of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Returning to Prague, Saudek had to work at his photography clandestinely in a cellar, to avoid the attentions of the secret police. With his work turning to themes of personal erotic freedom, he 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 Saudek's work was published in the English-speaking world. The same year, he became a freelance photographer; the Czech Communist authorities allowed him to stop 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.
During the 2000s Saudek lost all his photo negatives in a dispute with a former partner. The pictures were managed and displayed by Saudek.com, his son’s company, against Jan’s will. In 2012 High Court in Prague invalidated contracts between Jan and Saudek.com, effectively returning control over the works to the artist.
Saudek lives and works in Prague. His brother Kája Saudek was also an artist, the best-known Czech graphic novelist.
Work
His best-known work is notable 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. He frequently re-uses elements (for instance, a clouded sky or a view of Prague's Charles Bridge). In this his photographs suggest the studio and tableaux works of mid-19th century erotic photographers, as well as the works of the 20th-century painter Balthus, and of Bernard Faucon.
Saudek's 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 and the ambiguity between man and woman have also been some of Saudek's recurring themes. During the 1990s, his work at times generated censorship attempts in the West because of its provocative sexual content.
Saudek's imagery has sometimes had a mixed reception internationally. He gained early shows in 1969 and 1970 in the United States. In Australia, in June–July 1977 his work was welcomed by curator Jennie Boddington at the National Gallery of Victoria, who sent the show to the Australian Centre for Photography in August, in the Centre's third year. Both shows were accompanied by the same exhibition of four young Australian photographers. Jan Saudek: Story from Czechoslovakia, My Country, then appeared again in Melbourne at Church Street Photographic Centre in December and was reviewed favourably by women's activist Beatrice Faust. Shepparton Civic Centre showed Photographic images 1956-1981 by Jan Saudek in June–July 1982, followed by Benalla Art Gallery in September 1982. Decades later, by contrast, his photograph Black Sheep & White Crow, which features a semi-naked pre-pubescent girl, was removed from the Ballarat International Foto Biennale in Victoria, Australia just before the opening on 21 August 2011; objections had been made related to allegations of child prostitution for his subject.
Saudek's photographs have been featured as covers for the albums of Anorexia Nervosa (New Obscurantis Order), Soul Asylum (Grave Dancers Union), Daniel Lanois (For the Beauty of Wynona), Rorschach (Remain Sedate), and Beautiful South (Welcome to the Beautiful South).
Publications
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 della vita. Giuliana Scimè, Selezione d'Imagini, Monza, 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.
Films and radio
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).
Saudek Brothers Documentary, Czech Radio, 2001
Solo exhibitions
1963
Divadlo Na zábradlí, Prague, Czech Republic
1969
Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington, IN
1976
Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Jacques Baruch Gallery, Chicago, IL
1977
Australian Centre for Photography, Sydney, Australia
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia
RIP, Arles, France
1978
Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati, OH
1979
G. Ray Hawkins Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1980
FNAC - Montparnasse, Paris
photokina, Cologne, Germany
1981
Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati, OH
Jacques Baruch Gallery, Chicago, IL
Marcuse Pfeifer Gallery, New York
1984
Musee National d'Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris
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