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Viktor Kolář

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(Redirected from Viktor Kolar) Czech photographer (born 1941)

This article is about the Czech photographer. For the Hungarian-born American composer and conductor, see Victor Kolar.
Viktor Kolář
Kolář in 2013
Born (1941-09-07) September 7, 1941 (age 83)
Ostrava, Czechoslovakia
Known forPhotography
StyleDocumentary photography
Websiteviktorkolar.com

Viktor Kolář (born 7 September 1941) is a Czech photographer. Along with Jindřich Štreit, Kolář is considered one of the most important exponents of Czech documentary photography. He mainly depicts urban life in the Ostrava region.

Early life and education

Viktor Kolář: Retrospective, an exhibition held at the Stone Bell House, Old Town Square, Prague in 2013

Kolář was born in 1941 in Ostrava, Czechoslovakia. His father was a documentary filmmaker and Ostrava’s principal photographer, owner of a photographic studio.

In 1953, Kolář began taking photographs, and studied the work of photographers including Henri Cartier-Bresson. 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. In 1964, Kolář held his first solo exhibition.

In October 1968, after the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia, Kolář emigrated to Canada, working in the molybdenum mines and in the nickel smelters in Manitoba. 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", he worked as a laborer in Nová Huť [cs; eo; pl; sk] steelworks, while covertly documenting the Ostrava Region with his camera. From 1975 to 1984, he worked as a stage technician at the Petr Bezruč Theatre. In 1985, Kolář again worked as a freelance photographer and in 1991 won the Mother Jones International Photography Award.

Vladimír Birgus [cs] and Jan Mlčoch [cs] write that from as early as the late 1960s:

was 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 than to the humanistic photojournalists of Magnum or Life 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, Kolář began to teach documentary photography 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. OCLC 18245947. Text in Czech, with summaries in English, German and Russian.
  • Viktor Kolář. Baník Ostrava. West Berlin: Ex-Pose, 1986. OCLC 18151558. Text in Czech, German and English.
  • Ladislav Brumek, ed. Divadlo Jiřího Myrona: Ostrava 1986. Opava: Okresní stavební podnik, . OCLC 39415248. About the 1986 reconstruction and reopening of the Jiří Myron Theatre [cs]. In Czech, with summaries in German, Russian and Spanish. Photographs by Viktor Kolář, František Krasl [cs], Petr Sikula, and others.
  • Viktor Kolář. Malá Strana. Prague: Köcher & Köcher, 1993. OCLC 755098953. Text in Czech, German, English and French.
  • Viktor Kolář; texts by Richard Svoboda, Peter Zajac, and Jaroslav Žila. Ostrava-obležené město. Ostrava: Sfinga, 1995. ISBN 80-7188-016-7. 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. ISBN 9788085883534.
  • Viktor Kolář. Seminar in documentary photography. Prague: Academy of Performing Arts, 2000. ISBN 9788085883565.
  • Jiří Cieslar. Viktor Kolář. Fototorst 9. Prague: Torst, 2002. ISBN 80-7215-159-2.
  • Kate Bush and Mark Sladen, eds. In the face of history: European photographers in the 20th century. London: Black Dog, 2006. ISBN 978-1-904772-57-6. Photographs by Kolář on pp. 146–155. Via the Internet Archive.
  • Lara Moreno and Pilar Sánchez, eds. Años 70: fotografía y vida cotidiana. Madrid: La Fábrica, 2009. ISBN 978-84-92498-76-5. Photographs by Kolář on pp. 78–89. Via the Internet Archive.
  • Viktor Kolář, et al. Ostrava. Prague: Kant, 2010. ISBN 978-80-7437-030-4. Text in Czech and English.
  • Viktor Kolář, et al. Canada, 1968–1973. Prague: Kant, 2013. ISBN 978-80-7437-103-5. Text in Czech and English.
  • Viktor Kolář and Roland Angst. Viktor Kolář: Human. Berlin: Only Photography, 2015. ISBN 978-3-9816885-3-5. Text in German and English. Edition of 300 copies.

Collections

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

Solo exhibitions

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  • Fotografie Viktora Koláře, Černá louka [cs], 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, House of Arts [arz; cs; de], Brno, 12 December 1980 – 11 January 1981
  • Novosvětská setkání, Galerie pod Podloubím, Olomouc, 1981
  • Ostrava, Malá výstavní síň, Liberec, 1981
  • Novosvětská setkání, Galéria F, Banská Bystrica, 1981
  • Ostrava, Ústav makromolekulární chemie Akademie věd České republiky [cs], Prague, 1981
  • Novosvětská setkání, Fotochema, Ostrava, 1981
  • Ostrava, Canon Gallery, Amsterdam, 1981
  • Viktor Kolář, Fotografijos Galeria, Kaunas, 1981
  • Viktor Kolář – fotografie, Muzeum Stillonu, Gorzów Wielkopolski, 1981
  • Viktor Kolář: Fotografie, Ústav makromolekulární chemie [cs] (Galerie Makráč), Prague, 13–23 September 1982
  • Viktor Kolář – fotografie, Realistické divadlo, Prague, 1987
  • Viktor Kolář: 13 let, Galerie 4, Cheb, 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, Museum Hoesch [de], Dortmund, 1992
  • Viktor Kolář: Nevinné oko, Ostravské muzeum [cs], Ostrava, 1993 (3 March –)
  • Baník Ostrava, Baumwollspinnerei Ermen & Engels, LVR Industrial Museum, Engelskirchen, 1993
  • Viktor Kolář: Menschen zwischen Stal und Kohle, Landschaftsverband Rheinland – Rheinisches Industriemuseum, Meckenheim, 13 June 1993 – 7 August 1993
  • Viktor Kolář, Slovenský rozhlas, Slovak Radio Building, Bratislava, 1994
  • Viktor Kolář – 40 fotografií / 40 photographs, Americké kulturní středisko, Prague, 4 April – 12 May 1995
  • Viktor Kolář – fotografie, House of Arts [cs], Brno, 23 January – 25 February 1996
  • Viktor Kolář: Vročení let 1965–95, Silesian Museum, Opava, 21 March – 17 April 1996
  • Viktor Kolář, Helsingør Custom House (Toldkammeret), Helsingør, 1996
  • Viktor Kolář: Ostrava, Biennale of International Photography, Photographic Centre, Skopelos, 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 Centre, Berlin [cs], (Czech Centres), 1999
  • Viktor Kolář, Fotografie / Photographs Ostrava 1963–1999, Gallery of Fine Arts [cs], 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, 17–20 July 2003
  • Viktor Kolar Photographs, World of Glass, St Helens, 2007
  • Město budoucnosti = The town of future, Galerie u Rytíře, Liberec, 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, Hannover. 25 February – 31 May 2015
  • Human, Only Photography, Berlin, 28 March – 31 May, 2015
  • Viktor Kolář: Canada 1968–73, Galerie Jiřího Jílka, Šumperk, 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, 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, Gallery of Fine Arts [cs], Ostrava, 7 March – 4 June 2023

Notes

  1. ^ "Viktor Kolář". Moravian Gallery in Brno. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
  2. Baďura, Jaroslav (2 September 2010). "Kolář, legendární fotograf Ostravy, vydává knihu". Mladá fronta DNES (in Czech). iDnes. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
  3. "Viktor Kolář: 40 let "lovu" v Ostravě". Hospodářské noviny (in Czech). iHNed.cz. 19 May 2008. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
  4. Chuchma, Josef (3 October 2010). "Velkolepé potýkání se fotografa Viktora Koláře s rodnou Ostravou". Mladá fronta DNES (in Czech). iDnes. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
  5. ^ "About". Viktor Kolář. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  6. Ostrava (2010), p. 198
  7. Viviano, Frank (March–April 1994). "Europe's dark center, Ostrava". Mother Jones. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
  8. "In the Face of History: European Photographers in the 20th Century". Barbican Art Gallery. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
  9. Birgus, Vadimír; Mlčoch, Jan. "Czech Documentary and Reportage Photography 1968–79". Stredoeurópsky dom fotografie. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
  10. ^ "Three Generations of Czech Documentary Photography – Jan Lukas, Viktor Kolář, Evžen Sobek". Leica Gallery Prague. Archived from the original on 23 August 2011.
  11. Uhlar, Bretislav (31 August 2010). "Křest knihy Viktora Koláře proběhne i v Ostravě". Moravskoslezský Deník. Retrieved 12 January 2025.
  12. ^ Birgus, Vladimír; Mlčoch, Jan (2010). Czech Photography of the 20th Century. Prague: Kant. ISBN 978-80-7437-027-4.
  13. Search results, Moravian Gallery. Accessed 12 January 2025.
  14. Rišlinková, Helena (2002). Česká a slovenská fotografie osmdesátých a devadesátých let 20. století = Czech and Slovak photography of the 1980s and 1990s. Olomouc: Muzeum umění Olomouc. p. 208 – via Internet Archive.
  15. ^ "Viktor Kolář: Queuing for coupon booklets: Exhibition of a single work". Gallery of Fine Arts in Ostrava. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  16. ^ "Viktor Kolář". Viktor Kolář. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
  17. Search results, V&A. Accessed 12 January 2025.
  18. "Viktor Kolář". Art Institute of Chicago. Retrieved 12 January 2025.
  19. Search results, MFAH. Accessed 12 January 2025.
  20. "Victor Kolar". National Gallery of Canada. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  21. "Search the Collection". National Gallery of Canada. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  22. Contemporary Canadian photography: From the collection of the National Film Board = Photographie canadienne contemporaine: de la collection de l'Office national du film. Edmonton: Hurtig. 1984. ISBN 0-88830-264-9 – via Internet Archive.
  23. Search results, Yale University Art Gallery. Accessed 17 January 2025.
  24. "Viktor Kolář. Ostrava – fotografie z let 1968–1980". Dům umění (in Czech). Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  25. ^ "Viktor Kolář". abART (in Czech). Retrieved 17 January 2025. (Under the tab "Výstavy/akce".)
  26. "Art". The San Francisco Bay Guardian. 2 January 1991. p. 41 – via Internet Archive.
  27. "Viktor Kolář – fotografie". Dům umění (in Czech). Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  28. "Photographic Centre". Skopelos.net. Retrieved 18 January 2025.
  29. "Galerie Václava Špály". Artlist — Centrum pro současné umění Praha (in Czech). Retrieved 17 January 2025. (Under the tab "Výstavy".)
  30. "Dans le miroir tchèque, Photographies 1918–1998, Beauté moderne: les avant-gardes 1918–1948, Viktor Kolar: Figures de la solitude". Catalogue collectif suisse des affiches (CCSA) (in French). Retrieved 17 January 2025.
  31. "Viktor Kolar". Blue Sky Gallery. 7 March 2002. Retrieved 12 January 2025.
  32. Reibl, Přemysl (15 August 2003). "Festival Boskovice 2003". Radniční Listy. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  33. Minstrová, Zuzana (14 May 2008). "Výstavou předběhl Liberec řadu velkých měst". Liberecký Deník (in Czech). Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  34. Minstrová, Zuzana (26 June 2008). "Galerie prodloužila výstavu Viktora Koláře". Liberecký Deník (in Czech). Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  35. Kubačáková, Markéta. "Photo zero-nine (Krakow Month of Photography and other festivals in Poland)". Fotograf Magazine. Retrieved 12 January 2025.
  36. Moucha, Josef. "The mystical city of Viktor Kolář". Fotograf Magazine. Retrieved 12 January 2025.
  37. "Viktor Kolář: Retrospektiva 7. 6. 2014 – 29. 9. 2013". Galerie hlavního města Prahy (in Czech). Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  38. "Viktor Kolář – Retrospektiva". Grafika (in Czech). 31 July 2013. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  39. "Viktor Kolár". Leica Fotografie International. 21 February 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  40. "Ausstellung in Hannover: Viktor Kolář. Fotografien – sein zentrales Motiv war und ist stets seine Geburtsstadt Ostrava". Gesellschaft Freunde der Künste (in German). 16 March 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  41. Brosowsky, Bettina Maria (2015). "Düstere Schönheit". Bauwelt [de] (in German). No. 13. Retrieved 18 January 2025.
  42. "Viktor Kolář » Human". Photography-now.com. Retrieved 12 January 2025.
  43. "Viktor Kolář: Canada 1968–73" (PDF). Galerie Jiřího Jílka (in Czech). Retrieved 17 January 2025.
  44. "Viktor Kolář: Ostrava". Nicolas Krupp Gallery. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  45. "Visions of Viktor Kolář. Czech Photo". Photography-now.com. Retrieved 12 January 2025.
  46. "Viktor Kolář: Canada, 1968–1973". Stephen Bulger Gallery. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  47. Martinović, Jelena (9 January 2017). "Viktor Kolar photography in exhibition at Stephen Bulger Gallery". Widewalls. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  48. Cheng, Jennifer (31 January 2017). "Ten fascinating snapshots of Toronto in the 1970s". Toronto Life. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  49. "Viktor Kolár: Photographs". MutualArt. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  50. "Viktor Kolar: Colors of Ostrava". MutualArt. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  51. "Aktuální výstava: Viktor Kolář: Současnost: 22. 4. – 24. 6. 2022". 400 ASA (in Czech). Archived from the original on 6 July 2022. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  52. "Viktor Kolář: Současnost 1989–2022 v pražské Galerii 400 ASA". FotoVideo. 3 May 2022. Retrieved 15 January 2025.

References

  • Kolář, Viktor; Balabán, Jan (2010). Ostrava. (preface: "A Return Home. An Essay on the Photography of Viktor Kolář"); Volf, Petr (interview: I am my lord, master, student, and judge) et al. Prague: Kant. ISBN 978-80-7437-030-4.
  • Birgus, Vladimír; Mlčoch, Jan (2010). Czech Photography of the 20th Century. Prague: Kant. ISBN 978-80-7437-027-4.

External links

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