Viktor Kolář (born 7 September 1941) is a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

photographer. Along with

Jindřich Štreit Jindřich Štreit (born 5 September 1946 in Vsetín) is a Czechs, Czech photographer and pedagogue known for his documentary photography. He concentrates on documenting the rural life and people of Czech villages. He is considered one of the most ...

, Kolář is considered one of the most important exponents of Czech

documentary photography Documentary photography usually refers to a popular form of photography used to chronicle events or environments both significant and relevant to history and historical events as well as everyday life. It is typically undertaken as professional ph ...

. He mainly depicts urban life in the Ostrava region.

Early life and education

130607 Viktor Kolar Dum u kamenneho Zvonu Praha 0000b

Kolář was born in 1941 in

Ostrava Ostrava (; ; ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 283,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four rivers: Oder, Opava (river), Opa ...

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

. His father was a

documentary filmmaker A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". The American author and media analyst Bill Ni ...

and Ostrava’s principal photographer, owner of a

photographic studio A photographic studio is often a business owned and represented by one or more photographers, possibly accompanied by assistants and pupils, who create and sell their own and sometimes others’ photographs. History Since the early years of th ...

. Ostrava (2010), p. 198 In 1953, Kolář began taking photographs, and studied the work of photographers including

Henri Cartier-Bresson Henri Cartier-Bresson (; 22 August 1908 – 3 August 2004) was a French artist and Humanist photography, humanist photographer considered a master of candid photography, and an early user of 135 film, 35mm film. He pioneered the genre of street ...

. From 1960 to 1964 he did teacher training at the Pedagogical Institute in Ostrava.

Life and work

He then taught at an elementary school and from the mid 1960s was devoted to photography. In 1967, he befriended the photography theorist Anna Fárová and her husband, painter

Libor Fára Libor Fára (12 September 1925 – 3 March 1988) was a Czech sculptor and painter. Biography Fára was born in Prague. The versatile Fára graduated from the Academy of Applied Arts in Prague in the studio of Emil Filla in the second half of t ...

. In 1964, Kolář held his first solo exhibition. In October 1968, after the

Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia On 20–21 August 1968, the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was jointly invaded by four fellow Warsaw Pact countries: the Soviet Union, the Polish People's Republic, the People's Republic of Bulgaria, and the Hungarian People's Republic. The ...

, Kolář emigrated to Canada, working in the molybdenum mines and in the nickel smelters in

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

. Moving into photography, from 1971 to 1973, he documented shopping malls in Montreal, exhibiting the work in the Optica Gallery, Montreal. In 1973, Kolář moved back to Czechoslovakia, via Paris and London. As a former emigrant, he was interrogated by police on several occasions and, distrusted by the state, was eventually unable to work as a photographer. Instead, during that period of "

normalization Normalization or normalisation refers to a process that makes something more normal or regular. Science * Normalization process theory, a sociological theory of the implementation of new technologies or innovations * Normalization model, used in ...

", he worked as a laborer in steelworks, while covertly documenting the Ostrava Region with his camera. From 1975 to 1984, he worked as a stage technician at the

Petr Bezruč Petr Bezruč () was the pseudonym of Vladimír Vašek (; 15 September 1867 – 17 February 1958), a Czech poet and short story writer who was associated with the region of Austrian Silesia. His most notable work is ''Silesian Songs,'' a co ...

Theatre. In 1985, Kolář again worked as a freelance photographer and in 1991 won the Mother Jones International Photography Award. and write that from as early as the late 1960s:

olářwas often uncompromising in revealing the depreciation of ethical values, shallowness, and alcohol-induced merriment of the pub, and yet he was poetical in discovering extraordinary moments of everyday life.

They add that his ability to create works allowing for a variety of interpretations makes him "one of the first Czech photographers closer to

Robert Frank Robert Frank (November 9, 1924 – September 9, 2019) was a Swiss American photographer and documentary filmmaker. His most notable work, the 1958 book titled ''The Americans'', earned Frank comparisons to a modern-day de Tocqueville for his ...

than to the humanistic photojournalists of Magnum or ''

Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

'' magazine so generally admired and imitated". After his return from Canada to Czechoslovakia, however, he moved away from social documentary and sociological approaches, instead moving to more subjective work, with unusual compositions, raising questions as:

he searches in crowd scenes for the most precise photographic expression of his themes, including people's orientation in life, frustration, atrophy of the emotions and of faith, the relationship between the individual and the social system, and the adoration of consumerism.

In 1994, after the

Velvet Revolution The Velvet Revolution () or Gentle Revolution () was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations against the one-party government of the Communist Pa ...

, Kolář began to teach

at FAMU in Prague, where he was appointed associate professor in 2000. He also travelled and lectured across the USA.

Publications

*Daniela Mrázková. ''Viktor Kolář.'' Ostrava: Profil, 1986. . Text in Czech, with summaries in English, German and Russian. *Viktor Kolář. ''Baník Ostrava.'' West Berlin: Ex-Pose, 1986. . Text in Czech, German and English. *Ladislav Brumek, ed. ''Divadlo Jiřího Myrona: Ostrava 1986.'' Opava: Okresní stavební podnik, 987 . About the 1986 reconstruction and reopening of the . In Czech, with summaries in German, Russian and Spanish. Photographs by Viktor Kolář, , Petr Sikula, and others. *Viktor Kolář. ''Baník Ostrava: Menschen zwischen Stahl und Kohle.'' Dortmund:

Hoesch AG Hoesch (; German: Hoesch AG; formerly also Eberhard Hoesch & Sons and Hoesch-Werke) was a German steel and mining conglomerate headquartered in Dortmund and several subsidiaries across the Ruhr region and Siegen. Founded in 1871, by Leopold Ho ...

, 1992. . With 22 plates, a preface by Kolář, and an essay by . All texts in German only. *Viktor Kolář. ''Malá Strana.'' Prague: Köcher & Köcher, 1993. . Text in Czech, German, English and French. *Viktor Kolář; texts by Richard Svoboda, Peter Zajac, and Jaroslav Žila. ''Ostrava-obležené město.'' Ostrava: Sfinga, 1995. . Texts in Czech, and partly in Slovak, English, French and German. *Viktor Kolář. ''Seminář o fotografickém dokumentu.'' Prague: Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, 2000. . *Viktor Kolář. ''Seminar in documentary photography.'' Prague: Academy of Performing Arts, 2000. . *Jiří Cieslar. ''Viktor Kolář.'' Fototorst 9. Prague: Torst, 2002. . *Kate Bush and Mark Sladen, eds. ''In the face of history: European photographers in the 20th century.'' London: Black Dog, 2006. . Photographs by Kolář on pp. 146–155
Via the Internet Archive
*

Lara Moreno Lara Moreno (19 January 1978 in Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches ...

and Pilar Sánchez, eds. ''Años 70: fotografía y vida cotidiana.'' Madrid: La Fábrica, 2009. . Photographs by Kolář on pp. 78–89
Via the Internet Archive
*Viktor Kolář, et al. ''Ostrava.'' Prague: Kant, 2010. . Text in Czech and English. *Viktor Kolář, et al. ''Canada, 1968–1973.'' Prague: Kant, 2013. . Eighty-two plates (61 of these of photographs taken either in Toronto or Montreal, 15 elsewhere in Canada, and six in the US). With an interview of Kolář by and a preface ("Figure and place") by , all in both Czech and English. *Viktor Kolář and Roland Angst. ''Viktor Kolář: Human.'' Berlin: Only Photography, 2015. . Edition of 300 copies. Sixty-one plates, taken 1963–2004 in Ostrava. With an interview of Kolář by Roland Angst, in English.

Collections

Kolář's work is held in the following permanent collections: * Moravian Gallery, Brno. Numerous prints. * Museum of Decorative Arts, Prague *, Ostrava *

Maison Européenne de la Photographie Maison (French for "house") may refer to: People * Edna Maison (1892–1946), American silent-film actress * Jérémy Maison (born 1993), French cyclist * Leonard Maison, New York state senator 1834–1837 * Nicolas Joseph Maison (1771–1840), M ...

, Paris. * Photo Élysée, Lausanne. *

Museum Ludwig Museum Ludwig, located in Cologne, Germany, houses a collection of modern art. It includes works from Pop Art, Abstract and Surrealism, and has one of the largest Picasso collections in Europe. It holds many works by Andy Warhol and Roy Lic ...

, Cologne *

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

, London. One print. *

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park. Its collection, stewa ...

, Chicago. Six prints. *

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), is an art museum located in the Houston Museum District of Houston, Texas. The permanent collection of the museum spans more than 5,000 years of history with nearly 80,000 works from six continents. Follo ...

. Three prints. *

National Gallery of Canada The National Gallery of Canada (), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's National museums of Canada, national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the List of large ...

, Ottawa, Canada. 15 prints. *

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...

. *

Yale University Art Gallery The Yale University Art Gallery (YUAG) is an art museum in New Haven, Connecticut. It houses a major encyclopedic collection of art in several interconnected buildings on the campus of Yale University. Although it embraces all cultures and period ...

. Three prints.

Solo exhibitions

*''Fotografie Viktora Koláře'', , Ostrava, 1964 *''Viktor Kolar's Czech Eye'', Optica Gallery, Montreal, 1973 *''Člověk mezi lidmi'', Fotochema, Ostrava, 1976 *''Ostrava'', Fotochema, Ostrava, 1978 *''Viktor Kolář. Ostrava – fotografie z let 1968–1980'', , Brno, 12 December 1980 – 11 January 1981 *''Novosvětská setkání'', Galerie pod Podloubím,

Olomouc Olomouc (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 103,000 inhabitants, making it the Statutory city (Czech Republic), sixth largest city in the country. It is the administrative centre of the Olomouc Region. Located on the Morava (rive ...

, 1981 *''Ostrava'', Malá výstavní síň,

Liberec Liberec (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 108,000 inhabitants, making it the fifth largest city in the country. It lies on the Lusatian Neisse River, in a basin surrounded by mountains. The city centre is well preserved and is pr ...

, 1981 *''Novosvětská setkání'', Galéria F,

Banská Bystrica Banská Bystrica (, also known by other #Etymology, alternative names) is a city in central Slovakia, located on the Hron River in a long and wide valley encircled by the mountain chains of the Low Tatras, the Greater Fatra, Veľká Fatra, and t ...

, 1981 *''Ostrava'', , Prague, 1981 *''Novosvětská setkání'', Fotochema, Ostrava, 1981 *''Ostrava'', Canon Gallery, Amsterdam, 1981 *''Viktor Kolář'', Fotografijos Galeria,

Kaunas Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...

, 1981 *''Viktor Kolář – fotografie'', Muzeum Stillonu,

Gorzów Wielkopolski Gorzów Wielkopolski (), often abbreviated to Gorzów Wlkp. or simply Gorzów (formerly ), is a city in Geography of Poland, western Poland, located on the Warta, Warta River. It is one of the two principal cities and seats of the Lubusz Voivodes ...

, 1981 *''Viktor Kolář: Fotografie'', (Galerie Makráč), Prague, 13–23 September 1982 (Under the tab "Výstavy/akce".) *''Viktor Kolář – fotografie'', Realistické divadlo, Prague, 1987 *''Viktor Kolář: 13 let'', Galerie 4,

Cheb Cheb (; ) is a town in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 33,000 inhabitants. It lies on the Ohře River. Before the Expulsion of Germans from Czechoslovakia, expulsion of Germans in 1945, the town was the centre of the G ...

, 29 March – 21 April 1988 *''Viktor Kolář: Ostrava,'' Žďár nad Sázavou, 25 August – 10 September 1989 *''Viktor Kolář'', House of Photography (Pražský dům fotografie), Prague, 6 June – 14 July 1991 *''Viktor Kolář'', Robert Koch Gallery, San Francisco, – 31 January 1991 *''Viktor Kolář – Schwarzes Ostrava'', Palais Jalta, Frankfurt am Main, 1991 *''Baník Ostrava'', , Dortmund, 12 May – 3 July 1992 *''Viktor Kolář: Nevinné oko'', , Ostrava, 1993 (3 March –) *''Baník Ostrava'',

Baumwollspinnerei Ermen & Engels The Baumwollspinnerei Ermen & Engels is a former cotton mill in Engelskirchen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany. It is now part of the LVR Industrial Museum. Location Engelskirchen is midway between Cologne and Olpe, Germany, Olpe, today served by t ...

, LVR Industrial Museum,

Engelskirchen Engelskirchen (literally "angel’s churches") is a municipality in Oberbergischer Kreis, Germany in North Rhine-Westphalia, about east of Cologne. The neighbouring municipalities are (clockwise from the west) Overath, Lindlar, Gummersbach, Wie ...

, 1993 *''Viktor Kolář: Menschen zwischen Stal und Kohle'', Landschaftsverband Rheinland – Rheinisches Industriemuseum, Meckenheim, 13 June 1993 – 7 August 1993 *''Viktor Kolář'',

Slovenský rozhlas Slovenský rozhlas (, ) or SRo was a state-owned nationwide public-service radio broadcaster in Slovakia. It was headquartered in Bratislava in a building shaped like an inverted pyramid, which currently serves as STVR radio's headquarters. Hi ...

, Slovak Radio Building, Bratislava, 1994 *''Viktor Kolář – 40 fotografií / 40 photographs'', Americké kulturní středisko, Prague, 4 April – 12 May 1995 *''Viktor Kolář – fotografie'', , Brno, 23 January – 25 February 1996 *''Viktor Kolář: Vročení let 1965–95'',

Silesian Museum Silesian Museum in Katowice (; ) is a museum in the city of Katowice, Poland. History The museum was founded in 1929 by the Silesian Sejm, while the region was recovering from the Silesian Uprisings. In the XX century interbellum, the Siles ...

, Opava, 21 March – 17 April 1996 *''Viktor Kolář'',

Helsingør Custom House Helsingør Custom House () is a former custom house situated next to Helsingør station in central Helsingør, Denmark. Completed in 1891 to a Historicist design by Johan Daniel Herholdt, it replaced Øresund Custom House, which had played a centr ...

(Toldkammeret), Helsingør, 1996 *''Viktor Kolář: Ostrava'', Biennale of International Photography, Photographic Centre,

Skopelos Skopelos (, ) is a Greek island in the western Aegean Sea. Skopelos is one of several islands that comprise the Northern Sporades island group, which lies east of the Pelion peninsula on the mainland and north of the island of Euboea. It is par ...

, 28 June – 20 August 1996 *''Viktor Kolář – Ostrava'', The Photographic Center, Athens, 1997 *''Viktor Kolář, Fotografie 1967–1997'', Václav Špála Gallery, Prague, 6 November – 7 December 1997 *''Viktor Kolar: Figures de la solitude'', Musée de l'Élysée, Lausanne, 12 November 1998 – 17 January 1999 *''Viktor Kolář'', , ( Czech Centres), 1999 *''Viktor Kolář, Fotografie / Photographs Ostrava 1963–1999'', , Ostrava, 22 September – 24 October 1999 *''Viktor Kolář Photographs – Czech Photography II'', Leica Gallery, New York City, 2002 *''Malá Strana (Prague) photographs of Viktor Kolář'', Blue Sky Gallery, Portland, Oregon, 7–30 March, 2002 *''Na ostro (50 fotografií Viktora Koláře 1989–2003)'', Muzeum Boskovicka,

Boskovice Boskovice (; ) is a town in Blansko District in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 13,000 inhabitants. The area of the historic town centre, Jewish quarter, château complex and castle ruin is well preserved and is protec ...

, 17–20 July 2003 *''Viktor Kolar Photographs'', World of Glass, St Helens, 2007 *''Město budoucnosti'' = ''The town of future'', Galerie u Rytíře,

, 14 May – 12 July 2008 *''Retrospektywa/Retrospective of VK'', Gallery A, Starmach, Kraków, 2009 * Moravian Gallery, Brno, 11 March – 5 June, 2011 *''Viktor Kolář: Retrospektiva'' = ''Viktor Kolář: Retrospektiva,'' Stone Bell House, Prague, 7 June – 29 September 2013 *''Viktor Kolář. Fotografien'' = ''Viktor Kolář. Photographs,''

Sprengel Museum Sprengel Museum is a museum of modern art in Hanover, Lower Saxony, holding one of the most significant collections of modern art in Germany. It is located in a building situated adjacent to the Masch Lake () approximately south of the state m ...

, Hannover. 25 February – 31 May 2015 *''Human'', Only Photography, Berlin, 28 March – 31 May, 2015 *''Viktor Kolář: Canada 1968–73'', Galerie Jiřího Jílka,

Šumperk Šumperk (; ) is a town in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 25,000 inhabitants. It is an industrial town, but it also contains valuable historical and architectural monuments. The historic town centre is well preserved and i ...

, 6–31 May 2015 *''Viktor Kolář: Ostrava'', Nicolas Krupp Gallery, Basel, 5 September – 31 October 2015 *''Viktor Kolář: 2000 + 15 / Barevně'', AP Ateliér (Josef Pleskot), Prague, 11 December 2015 – 20 May 2016 *''Visions of Viktor Kolář'', The Lumiere Brothers Center for Photography, Moscow, 15 June – 25 September, 2016 *''Viktor Kolář: Canada, 1968–1973'', Stephen Bulger Gallery, Toronto, 21 January – 18 February 2017 *''Viktor Kolár: Photographs'', Norma Mangione, Turin, 3 May – 28 July 2018 *''Viktor Kolar: Colors of Ostrava'', Norma Mangione, Turin, 16 January – 11 April 2020 *''Viktor Kolář: Součastnost 1989–2022.'' 400 ASA Gallery,

Smíchov Smíchov () is, since 1922, a district and cadastral area of Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, and is part of Prague 5. It is on the west bank of the Vltava river. History It was only on 22 February 1903, that Smíchov was elevated to ...

, Prague, 22 April – 24 June 2022 *''Viktor Kolář, Fronta na kupónové knížky (Výstava jednoho díla ze sbírek GVUO)'' = ''Queuing for coupon booklets: Exhibition of a single work'', , Ostrava, 7 March – 4 June 2023

Notes

References

* *

External links

Viktor Kolářs Ostrava
" '. Twenty-three photographs of

, 1963–1995. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kolar, Viktor Living people Czech photographers Czechoslovak expatriates in Canada Czechoslovak photographers People from Ostrava 1941 births