Tribute to Jan Blažej Santini
29. May 2023Students of the Advertising photography studio under the guidance of MgA pedagogues. Ing. Evžena Sobka and doc. MgA. Jaroslav Prokop is preparing an exhibition Tribute to Jan Blažej Santini. The opening of the exhibition will take place on June 4 from 11:30 a.m. at Náměstí Cyrila a Metoděj in the Želiv Monastery and will last until the end of September 2023.
The exhibition project “Homage to Jan Blažej Santini” commemorates the extraordinary personality of the Czech Baroque Gothic architect Jan Blažej Santini Aichel, who with his buildings had a fundamental influence on the area of the Bohemian Lands at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries. And it is his inventive, unmistakable handwriting, where he works in a completely unique way with light, ornament and detail of the building, that is the main theme of the photos taken by students of the Advertising Photography studio in the premises of the Želiv Monastery.
The exhibition of 40 large-format photographs is conceived as a freely accessible open-air picture gallery and is installed on Náměstí Cyrila a Metoděje in front of the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary and in its immediate vicinity. The entire collection is presented on 20 banners of 100 x 150 cm format and is thematically divided into two parts. The title page of each banner is thematically focused on the architecture of the monastery and emphasizes the aesthetics of the solutions for the interiors and exteriors of the buildings. The rear exhibition area then presents images of the monastery in various seasons and moods and conveys the genius loci of the place at the confluence of the Želivka and Trnávka rivers.
The exhibited photographs were created during two workshops, which were completed by students of the Zlín Advertising Photography studio as part of teaching architecture photography under the guidance of MgA pedagogues. Ing. Evžena Sobka and doc. MgA. Jaroslav Prokop. A total of 8 students of the 2nd, 3rd and 5th years participated in both workshops.
The project took place with the significant support of the Premonstratensian Canon in Želiv, which provided students and teachers with accommodation and financially ensured the production of large-format prints and the production of exhibition spaces in the monastery grounds. Last but not least, it also provided photographers with superior access to the premises of the entire abbey, without which the photographic collection could not have been created in such an interesting format.
The final photos and data will be handed over to the Canonry of Premonstratensians in Želiv for further use and will continue to be used to present the monastery after the end of the exhibition.
List of exhibiting students: 2nd year – Viktória Hegedüšová, Kristína Kiliková, Dominika Krošláková, Michal Para, 3rd year – Patrik Fica, Daniela Jeklová, 5th year – Pavel Hála.