"Tarybinio" Vilniaus ženklai fotografijose

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Algimantas Kunčius; Antanas Sutkus; Fotografija; Istorija; Romualdas Rakauskas; Sovietmetis; Tarybinio Vilniaus ženklai; Vilnius; Algimantas Kunčius; Antanas Sutkus; History; Photofraphy; Photograofy; Romualdas Rakauskas; Signs of the Soviet Vilnius; Soviet period; Vilnius.

ENPhotography draws one’s thoughts towards time as nothing else, which is why it is interesting to ponder an object whose vanished existence is only witnessed in photographs. Vilnius is one of such objects. One period, i. e. that from 1945 to 1990, is especially intriguing since it was the time when artistic photography formed here. The cataclysms of the 20th century changed the view of Vilnius when attempts were made to adapt the Old Town to the Soviet mentality by straightening the streets and the new parts of the city were built following the principles of functionalism. Photographers responded to such developments. The reflection of the ugliness of the Soviet reality in photography was treated as anti-Soviet activity. Therefore visual criticism was not reflected strongly in photography or was disguised in various ways. Two books dedicated to Vilnius were published in the 1960s which defined the photographic visualisation of the city. These were "Vilniaus šiokiadieniai" (Everyday Vilnius) by Antanas Sutkus and Romualdas Rakauskas (1965) and "Senojo Vilniaus vaizdai" (Views of the Old Vilnius) by Algimantas Kunčius (1969). Vilniaus šiokiadieniai idealised the city. The volume was based on the opposition of the old and the new, history and the present whereby the past was romanticised and the view of the future was one showing hope.In "Senojo Vilniaus vaizdai", to the contrary, there were hardly any people in the photographs, while the dominating feeling was the nostalgia towards the antiquity which was "locked up". The author of the book focused on the state of loneliness of a person roaming the city. In the 1980s the new generation of photographers started presenting critical comments of the environment by showing its monotony and greyness. The photographers drew the attention to the signs of Soviet ideology, such as posters, slogans and monuments. However, the duality remained: the greyness reflected alienation towards the city as a boring monster, while stained glass and subtle print techniques created the impression of a photograph as an expensive item. [From the publication]