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The exhibition “Visions” presents the search for novelty and originality in Lithuanian photography throughout the twentieth century. It showcases avant-garde, modern, experimental and conceptual Lithuanian photography, demonstrating the different approaches that have shaped these artistic developments. The exhibition was created for the Białystok Interphoto Festival and was presented at the Białystok City Hall (Podlaskie Museum) in October 2024.
The opening event at the Photography Museum (Vilnius str. 140, Šiauliai) will take place on 14 November 2024 at 17.30.
The exhibition at the Photography Museum will run until 8 December, 2024.
The exhibition “Visions” presents the search for novelty and originality in Lithuanian photography throughout the twentieth century. It showcases avant-garde, modern, experimental and conceptual Lithuanian photography, demonstrating the diverse approaches that have shaped these artistic developments.
The exhibition starts with Povilas Karpavičius, who began his work in the interwar period. Karpavičius sought to create innovative visual representations by converting reality into artistic phenomena using photomontage and surrealist compositions. His work connected the interwar photo enthusiasts and the emerging photographers of the 1960s and 1970s.
The Lithuanian School of Photography, represented at the exhibition by Vitalijus Butyrinas, Aleksandras Macijauskas, and Vitas Luckus, emerged under Karpavičius’s influence. Butyrinas’s early montages recalled reportage shots, while later, he used poetic imagery and symbolism to construct surreal realms. Macijauskas is known for his dynamic series, such as “At the Veterinary Clinic,” in which he used a wide-angle lens to capture intimate and impactful scenes. Luckus, a pioneer in performative photography, included the “mind concept” into his work, reimagining photos by altering colours and arranging them in unique combinations, as exemplified in his cycle “Mimai.”
The 1980s marked a distinct period in Lithuanian photography. Virgilijus Šonta’s “School is My Home” series portrayed the everyday experiences of orphans with special needs, tackling previously forbidden subjects and questioning established social standards. Algirdas Šeškus fearlessly challenged conventional Lithuanian photography, motivating a younger generation to embrace innovative conceptual and aesthetic methods. Violeta Bubelytė created conceptual performances in front of the camera, while Alfonsas Budvytis, Remigijus Pacėsa, and Vytautas Balčytis moved from documentary techniques to capture “defective” photographs that evoked a feeling of decay and a slowed perception of time. Similarly, Arūnas Kulikauskas and Giedrius Liagas, from the Kaunas “Predators Group,” used found photography to reflect on mundane objects and cityscapes.
This exhibition presents the artistic development of Lithuanian photography and emphasises individual innovations that drove these changes. It is a diverse and intricate display of visual art that encapsulates the Lithuanian photographers’ relentless pursuit of originality and self-expression.
The exhibition presents works from the Photography Museum, the Lithuanian Photographers Association and the Lithuanian National Museum of Art collections, private archives.
Curators:
Valentyn Odnoviun
Vilija Ulinskytė-Balzienė
Coordinator – Mindaugas Laurinaitis
Publicity designer – Darius Linkevičius
Organisers:
Photography Museum
Białystok Interphoto