The following thesis is an exploration of the activities of Fotoklub Ljubljana, a photography club active between 1931 and 1941, until their activities were interrupted by World War II. The first half of the thesis is dedicated to Fotoklub itself, their activities and the circumstances of their founding, their tasks and members. I will attempt to dissect their extensive exhibition activities, in which three international photography exhibitions are a clear stand out – the ones the club organised in 1934 (Hedžet–Koritnik palace), 1936 (Jakopič pavillion) and 1938 (Ljubljanski velesejem). The second part of the thesis is dedicated to the research of the motifs Fotoklub members employed and their search for national expression through idyllic, romaticized scenes of the Slovene landscape. By analysing what is depicted and comparing it with other European countries, I attempt to follow the complex relations between art and politics, while investigating the position of photography as a medium in a wider context of art in the thirties. The research is based on existing literature, archival material and articles published in contemporary newspapers and magazines.
|
