Antanas Sutkus, historical photographer from Lithuania, presented in the heart of Clermont-Ferrand
The exhibition Antanas Sutkus, Un regard libre, organised by the gallery Château d’eau in Toulouse is now on show in Auvergne at the Hotel Fonfreyde – photographic center of Clermont-Ferrand, until January 2, 2019.
Antanas Sutkus – born in 1939 – is the most famous Lithuanian photographer. He began to photograph during his adolescence. The clichés rediscovered of his debut bear witness to a nascent talent. He abandons journalism studies to become a photographer and keep company with the world of Lithuanian letters. Thus in 1965, he will accompany the stay of Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir in Lithuania and he will realize the most famous photography of the philosopher (this image that has been around the world is presented in the exhibition).
A great master of the image
This photographer is a great master of black and white photography: he made his prints with great success. His management and the rendering of contrasts in his images are striking.
“Are you asking me why I became a photographer? It’s like you’re asking, Why did I love? Why did I live? “: He presents Lithuania as it is, seen by a poet, who photographs his country as he would photograph his family. Sutkus was able to find the arguments for the authorities to accept the creation of a Union of Photographers in Lithuania. Even today, the Union of Lithuanian Photographic Artists enlivens local creativity by organizing its presentation in Europe by participating in major events, or by hosting artists from other parts of the world in its galleries and festivals.
“Sutkus’s work is not in the service of propaganda. All the images of Sutkus were made without the knowledge of the censorship in force in Lithuania and the visas awarded to “correct” images by the Tass agency at the time. “Explains Jean-Marc Lacabe, director of the Gallery of the Water Castle.
This general context of control was of the same order in all the countries of the former Eastern bloc of the Soviet Union. And Antanas Sutkus has developed a personal approach – even critical – in a context of political constraint. Despite the difficulties of a personal expression at the time, we discover a talented street photographer, and a good portraitist of the everyday. The great interest of the authors from Eastern European countries is that they have continued their work on the sidelines of fashion, independently and disconnected from the mainstream of the history of Western photography.
A harsh humanism
In most of his photographic work, the human is present. If one pays attention to his images, one feels the great interest he had towards those he photographd; it is the man who is at the center of his work, his relationship to the world, his place in urban or rural areas. But this humanism of the photographer is a precise attention, sometimes a tenderness, but certainly not optimism or smug humor.
For the organizers, it is right and necessary to contribute today to the widest possible recognition of the work of a great European photographer. Chance of the calendar: a major retrospective project is taking place at the Vilnius National Gallery of Contemporary Art currently (the opening took place on November 9th).
Antanas Sutkus, a liberated look
until January 2, 2019
Fontfreyde Hotel – Clermont-Ferrand Photographic Center
34 Rue des Gras
63000 Clermont-Ferrand
