BIULETYN FOTOGRAFICZNY-Poland
12/01/2003 , By Marta Eloy Cichocka
Marta Eloy Cichocka
I apologize in advance for not an elegant introduction to this article: not elegant, because as it is known, gentlemen do not talk about money and the rest of the world does it either too often or too impudent. Maybe that is why I have an impression that lately financial matter has dominated most of the discussions about photography and events connected with it. A conversation interspersed with esoteric slogans of photographic technique was in a good tone not long time ago. Now you can hear easy to remember expressions everywhere: photographic market, costs of negatives, good sponsor, expensive equipment... In addition there is common conviction that in fact photographic market in Poland does not exist. I was thinking about it coming back from seventh edition of Paris Photo showroom, which differed only in size from previous ones, as it was bigger: this time the number of galleries taking part in it was above 100, and prices of selling pictures were calculated in thousands of euro. East Europe was presented only by two galleries: Vintage from Budapest and Leica Gallery from Prague. I was returning from Paris, going through catalogue of a showroom, browsing offers which were supposed to attract collectors and I was wondering, who in countries of former soviet block, will believe that not a flat or a car but a photograph is worth to invest in. If only elite can afford it, and where to look for egalitarian art receivers, whose role would be culture-creating? Whether an expensive photo at the art market is a pure product or a masterpiece? What changes a good sponsor into a patron of culture?
That is to wind the introduction up: because now it is to turn up that in Poland it is possible to sell photos costing hundreds or thousands of euro, to organize exhibitions of photographers from distant places, to make good conferences and to invite on vernisages (openings) mainly potential buyers the way it is practiced all over the world. It is enough to go out of Cracow and see, like in 30 minutes away Paszkowka, how an international art center develops. Palace in Paszkowka has served as a hotel for several years, a conference center and a meeting place of international elite exactly elite! Financial, cultural and political. Now the intention of owner, Jan Oleksy is to invite to Paszkowka also artists, connoisseurs and art lovers, to restore previous glamour and cultural function of former the Weyk Family's castle.
In fact the opening of the exhibition After the Turmoil, worth to recommend all photography lovers within a radius of 50 miles from Cracow, took place in October. Its author, Diwan Manna, had come from homeland Punjab. He was present during vernisage and concomitant with it press conference. He was listening with interest our comments and answering all the questions with smile on the face. Few days later he visited club OKO cafe on our invitation, he met participants of Photo workshops when he was telling about his work with details, about realizing assignments and reports, also about his own artistic projects. An accumulation of events connected with Month of Photography in Cracow has caused that I am coming back to photos of Indian artist just now: I feel absolved as they can be watched till 11th of January 2004. They require calm during watching: so much elusive beauty and original shades, what universal philosophy of humanity depth, compassion for human sorrow and a faith in divine element hidden in each of us, is there. Majority of my works concerns religion and philosophical function of religion, also social and political worries of society I live in India, was saying their author at the press conference.
Diwan Manna is not just known artist, loaded with awards and present during many exhibitions, reviews and conferences: I have in front of me catalogues of his previous exhibitions in France, Great Britain, Germany and India. He is sincere and sensitive human being as well, gifted with imagination and sense of humour, proud of his humble origin, not putting much of an attention neither to equipment, nor to formal matters, If something really connects me with a person or a place, I don't need any particular camera, It is good to know that such a person can also succeed at an international photography market. His works, displayed at Paszkowka Palace, came from 3 series: Violence, Shores of the Unknown and After the Turmoil. The first series is a reflection about common cruelty all over the world. Here major characters are women, �Violence affects directly men, who are killed in majesty of law. Women are left alone and suffer. They are dependent on men economically, financially, emotionally; female sense of security also depends on men. That is why I was trying to feature mostly women, explained the artist. When asked about biblical connotations of the way some of the characters look, he admitted it didn't come to his mind: and again turned up that interpretation of a certain picture is inseparably connected with cultural references of the receiver (it is our Judeo-Christian cultural background which causes that in photos from this series we can easily see allusion to the Virgin Mary).
The object of the second series is life and death: �life before life, life after life and every-day life, day by day, was saying Diwan. Female profiles in shrouds accompany a bird, the symbol of soul. In photos from the last series dominates a man and a woman, a bird and a tree: The third series is an attempt of reaction to negative social occurrences which succumb both our children and our politicians. I wanted to express my conviction through this series, that independently to these occurrences we can still do something for a better society, of which we are a part. The curator of the exhibition, Avtarjeet Dhanjal was emphasizing that an artist is somebody who can show his dreams in an art form. Photography is understood in India in a simple way: close to documentary photography. Conceptual photography, which Diwan Manna creates, is not practiced. Viewers in Europe are more open on alternative form of photography, i.e. conceptual or experimental photography. But if we take into account a number of artists or an amount of selling masterpieces, India is not far behind. That is why it is worth to take advantage of this special opportunity to see the world through an Indian photographer's eyes. At the end I would like to add that Diwan Manna's exhibition is an introduction to series of world art presentations, which we will see at Paszkowka Palace in year 2004. Let's hope that not just in this year.
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