7. 18 REGARDING MASTERFUL, SPATIAL DESIGN
Prof. Dr. Jože Trontelj
20 ABOUT LJUBLJANA, PLEČNIK AND PHOTOGRAPHY
Dr. Mojca Puncer
21 IMAGO PERENNITATIS
Prof. Dr. Fedja Košir
28 THE DEPTH OF THE SURFACE OF A MOMENT
Barbara Jakše Jeršič
30 SPACE AND TIME
Stane Jeršič
32 THE CHURCH OF MY CHILDHOOD
Dr. Katarina Marinčič
38 PLEČNIK AND I
Boštjan Vuga
40 THE PAST AND FUTURE WORLD
OF PLEČNIK’S LJUBLJANA
Marko Košan
48 A VIEW REVEALED
prof. dr. Jure Mikuž
51 PHOTOGRAPS
118 INTERVIEW WITH STANE JERŠIČ
AND BARBARA JAKŠE JERŠIČ
mag. Jože Osterman
122 AUTHOR BIOGRAPHIES
124 CHRONOLOGY
126 LOCATIONS AND DATES OF PHOTOGRAPHS
8.
9.
10. If music with its abstraction and
time sequence is on one side of the
scale, then photography, with its
seemingly strict reality and frozen
time frame is on the other.
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11. Glasba ne caught in čemoment, it
If music is obstaja, a je zaprta
doesn’t exist, the same as a photograph
v trenutek, kot tudi ne
doesn’t exist if it abandons itself to a
fotografija, četime flow.
se izroči
časovnem toku.
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12.
13.
14. REGARDING MASTERFUL, SPATIAL DESIGN
Prof. Dr. Jože Trontelj
Space is a special commodity. It seems al- the construction of the Egyptian and Mayan pyra-
most inexhaustible. Nevertheless, this impression mids, erecting huge sculptures on Easter Island or
is wrong. With the growth of the global popula- centuries long building of magnificent medieval
tion and also the world economy, space is being cathedrals.
used up and is shrinking at a very fast rate, while The ingenious architects of Egyptian and
those areas, which haven’t been used by humans, Mayan pyramids or the builders of Stonehenge
are becoming more and more devalued due to care- knew the importance of choosing, designing and
less human interventions. Managers and guardians consecrated a place and how to realise their ideas.
of space often don’t recognise its precious value They still had the luxury to freely use the chosen
enough. Great architectural masters have always part of a vast and untouched space. They could ori-
known how to place human work in a natural or entate their buildings and their interiors by the ce-
urbanised space and how to harmoniously and lestial signs: by the Sun’s yearly movements or the
aesthetically arrange this individual part from the paths of the constellations. The architects of secu-
interior to the exterior. If we want to learn their re- lar medieval castles were choosing hilltops with
spectful attitude towards space, we have to follow strategic position and also with an eye toward the
in their steps. aesthetics of vistas. The artistic designers of sacral
Humans have evolved and distinguished buildings - from medieval cathedrals to modern
themselves from other living beings by introducing churches and mosques - erected apart from others
two completely new phenomena in their lives: by or within cities, weren’t only masters of beautiful
paying homage to their dead and by erecting tem- exteriors. Even after all these centuries, they still
ples. Since that time forth, man has been investing evoke a feeling of a special grandeur of a sacral and
huge amounts of energy and effort in this pursuit. carefully designed space.
Now it is almost impossible to imagine the humon- An artist directs his sacral creation into a
gous efforts that were invested in the creation of supernatural timelessness, eternity: towards God.
Stonehenge, carving Egyptian temples into rocks, And there he also directs a person who achieves his
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15. creation: his or her feelings and thoughts. Similarly available to them: they made them nobler and as- young and middle aged and old people. With his
in respect to sacral music, this is one of the highest, sembled them in eternal and mysterious creations, monumental buildings, Plečnik affects even the
if not even the highest pinnacle of artistic creation. which touches, overwhelms and makes speechless passers-by, who are often unaware of what it is they
The artist rises above and distances himself even those who are less perceptive. This certainly are passing across. But to a much greater degree,
from everyday life, which we mostly spend in the can be said about the maestro Jože Plečnik. In the he affects those who accept his invitation, enter his
shallows, on the surface or epidermis. At the same best spirit of the tradition of his trade, he didn’t space and open their hearts and minds to the power
time, he raises a visitor who opens his or her mind turn only to God with his creations; he turned to- of his art.
to a work of art above everything that is perceived ward man and even the mundane world around
as mundane. his monumental structures. With them Plečnik
A temple is a place which quietens and cov- still generously shares his noble works of art and
ers the triviality of everyday life by its dignity and his highly spiritual message with humanity. With
poise. A place, which by itself, with its genius loci, his works of art, Plečnik enriched the environment
summons the visitors: sursum corda. also: nature and work of humans.
A place, which by its power of expression, Art is one of the basic human needs! In some
imposed upon it by an artist from his inner wealth, higher spiritual level it is closely connected with
communicates that it is sacral. all our values, which are the foundation of morals
Every era had its own chosen ones who were and ethics. Today, we often ask ourselves the fol-
able to breathe within this invitation to spirituality lowing question: how to raise our children in order
toward the sacral space. Thousands of ingenious ar- to become good colleagues, friends, parents and
chitects and visual artists have done this through- citizens? We can use three forms of advice. The first
out the history of sacral art. They achieved their one is to tell the child what’s right, good and beauti-
goal through different ways, as every epoch has its ful. The second one is to give him/her the example
own method, artistic language and style. through our own behaviour and actions. And the
The best of the best knew and were able third advice is to introduce him/her to the world
to use the most exquisite means of expression of art. Good art evokes good: even the best in both
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16. ABOUT LJUBLJANA, PLEČNIK AND PHOTOGRAPHY
Dr. Mojca Puncer
Upon entering. Ljubljana is becoming an views onto the cityscape? images of imaginative consecrated, chaotic parts
increasingly attractive tourist city. Plečnik’s ar- The style and symbolism of a public urban and rational, controlled areas. Numerous criti-
chitecture gives the city its own unique identity, space. The spatial style can be (with regard to the cal thinkers point out that a transparent, pure
which is based on the high European culture of French philosopher Gaston Bachelard) viewed in and neutral space is simply an illusion. A space
Modernism. In the photographs from this cata- the context of the psychological, existential and doesn’t have a social existence independently
logue, we can only sense the wave of faces and phenomenological reflections of space, which from visualisation, as architectural photography
colourful attires and also the river of human fig- influenced more contemporary studies of archi- ingeniously and subtle keeps in mind. The photo-
ures and voices, which washes away the eventual tectural and spatial styles. The fundamental shift graphs of the city in this catalogue tackle various
first impression of coldness, raised by the monu- with important consequences for our perceptions subjects: spatial practices, architecture, urban
mental architecture. The city embodies complex of space happened in the middle of the 1980’s. planning, environment, representation, ideology,
spatial proportions, while the efforts of the two This was the shift from the phenomenological etc. At the same time, they focus upon myth, si-
photographers add an emotional and poetic di- interest of the past decades to modern identi- lence, solitude, peacefulness and even beauty.
mension to the symbolic value of the space itself, ties and cultural policies. The latter have forced Architectural photography: photographs
while at the same time blurring numerous links: cultural history to face evolutionary discontinui- of Plečnik’s architecture. In this kind of photog-
amongst them the link with the social structures ties, gaps and deviations (here we could mention raphy, the space talks but doesn’t say everything.
of power. Individual structures and spaces cre- the first confrontations of the profession with The documental value of photographic images is
ate a string of symbolic meanings and with them, Plečnik’s architecture). When dealing with the tightly connected with expressive, interpretative
the city’s “identity”. Nevertheless, the photogra- style and symbolism of a space, our thinking can and poetical views of the photographers them-
phers don’t celebrate the colourful central city rest mainly on the imagination: claiming that a selves. These photographs of Plečnik’s architec-
bazaar. Instead, they offer an ascetic dimension space, permeated with imagination, can’t stay in- ture in Ljubljana subtly reveal the span of the
of Plečnik’s market. Is this an emblem of the city, different and left only to a rational calculation. architect’s projects, actions and visions for the
a monument, a symbol of Modernism, a fragment It’s experienced, not only in its reality, but with future with a hint of the past. While in the an-
of a creative idea to make Ljubljana the Athens all bias that the imagination can thrust upon an cient world, which inspired Plečnik immensely,
of Slovenia with a “museum effect”, or a unique individual or group. the aesthetic function of an “art” (architectural)
and meaningful detail which opens different The modern urban space is a plethora of object was inseparably connected with religious
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17. and public functions, in the course of history the style. Its function hovers above the scene as that architecture left an indelible mark. His architec-
individual functions prevailed. This tendency of a phantom, a harbinger of an elated, lumi- ture is a unique amalgam of the classical and the
reduced the organic and symbiotic side of a city nous, even transcendental world. The front yard modern and thus locally participates in the uni-
community as an existential and political collec- of Križanke, a popular open space theatre, rep- versal sphere. This style is now increasingly more
tive. In the ancient world, public life of a munici- resents a colourful diptych, while the black and recognisable and appreciated on the internation-
pal community was significantly defined by the white panoramic views are typical for the detail al scene. The photographs reflect the spatial con-
architectural image of the city with its agora of a pillar in the market building with its antique texts surrounding the captured architectural cre-
(popular political assembly), emporium (mar- qualities in the winter months, a view on the ations. The photographic images follow Plečnik’s
ketplace), theatre (public stage for municipal snowy promenade from Tivoli Castle, the walk- architecture in approaching the dimension of art,
events) and necropolis (cemetery). With Plečnik, ing path by the funeral parlours of Ljubljana ne- which reaches far beyond the time frame of its or-
Modernism in Slovenia completed the process of cropolis Žale, which emanate a sense of serenity igin. The architectural photography is always an
creating formal oppositions between the “clas- and stillness... interpretation of the intrinsically designed space,
sic” and the “modern”. Plečnik achieved this by This unique photographic diary embraces which is a result of rich personal and social expe-
inventing a new form of reviving and merging the fragile relationship between the architectural riences. The photographers took on a demanding
different functions. He thus embodied numerous stability and the ephemeral natural transforma- task to capture the fluidity of space against the
spans of history in his architecture, especially in tions, where the natural space retracts to give impressive architectural frame and make it more
his urban and design planning for the Slovene room for the social, labelled one. familiar to the observer. These photographs are
capital. Plečnik’s inventiveness is shown in the The architectural photography of Barbara dedicated to the openness of different gazes. The
melodic linking of visual elements which invoke Jakše-Jeršič and Stane Jeršič is an articulated ar- creative expression opens our eyes and subtly im-
pleasure in the urban dweller. tistic statement regarding the image of the city plicates the dimension of the observer.
Photographic documentation, the “read- of Ljubljana. The photographers used a modern
ing” of a space unpretentiously follows the ambi- panoramic technique to efficiently realise the
tious production of the city space and Plečnik’s concept of perceiving the city space in a broader
creative impetus. It reveals the structure of the definition. They didn’t focus on the functionality
architect’s creations and also his architectural of the photographed urban areas, where Plečnik’s
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18.
19.
20. IMAGO PERENNITATIS
Prof. Dr. Fedja Košir
A photograph is (both as a technical prod- Plečnik’s work has recently been docu- where photographers, who are in the first case
uct and as an art form) according to a simple, if mented on an enormous scale. These files can be completely powerless, can enjoy all their mastery
not even a populist definition; a reflection of a in principle classified into two groups: one literary of composition expressed more or less in a person-
moment. Nevertheless, since it can reflect entire and the other one as visual. Written points of view al manner. But what is composition? Something
strings of moments and thus reveal not only dy- can be very diverse, while the visual ones are as a completely coincidental or an idea, premeditated
namic but also static elements or scenes, we can rule similar and thus are almost stereotyped. The to the last detail? Probably both! But!
concur with the paradoxical antithesis that a pho- latter ones can of course always focus only on built The same visual motive can be executed in
tograph can also embrace that almost incompre- structures. As a rule, they are photographed from many ways: from pure realism, completely faithful
hensible duration we call eternity. Since Plečnik’s the same points and angles, in the time of the year to nature, to pure and sometimes chaotic abstract-
architecture is in a way “eternal” or “perennial”, we when capturing images with a camera is the sim- ness, as a drawing or a colourful sfumato or even in
can call its images, captured through the lens of a plest and in many cases at the same hour when the with stark contrasts. The same melody, performed
camera, “imago perennitatis”. shadows provide the proper contrasts. We have with a harp or flute can sound differently but in
A camera is a tool which enables us to re- such feeling about all things created in the last de- both cases harmonious, and with an attention
flect reality. Since I don’t have experiences as a cades of the 20th century. What is architecture? A to every detail. Can we then be surprised by the
critic of photographic services and creations, I can magnificent interplay of volumes assembled under fact that the combination of both musical instru-
only comment on what stirs my emotions upon ob- light, as Le Courbusier put it. ments is even more efficient (because it widens the
serving these photographs (which certainly aren’t Allow me to digress a tad. In regard with field of perception)? Nevertheless, inventiveness
services, they are creations). I might even see or Plečnik’s work – at least for a handful of erudite doesn’t suffice if we want to step outside the sacro-
imagine more than their authors wanted to dis- – is more interesting to study those structures sanct frame of established approaches. We need a
play or say. This task is far from simple, because a that weren’t built and exist only as sketches or good measure of healthy courage as well.
comment of elemental things requires at least the blueprints. Nevertheless, the majority of observ- The panoramic format of the photographs
same amount of imagination as was invested into ers quite happily form their evaluation and lavish is the most obvious but not the only audacity we
their photographs, which are excellent both by praise upon the basis of plethora of created arte- notice immediately and which sets them apart from
their quality of content and their unconventional facts of all dimensions and sizes: from chalices and the standard formulas. Am I exaggerating when
form. chairs to portals and cityscapes. This is the sphere saying that these longitudinal gazes into space
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21. are for me familiar to those sections and façades gard to the composition of photographs are in both completely. Only then a magical world of the sug-
published in the books Napori and Architectura cases probably coincidental but nevertheless obvi- gestive, direct or discreet and often paradoxically
Perennis? Architect’s drawings, seemingly so very ous. The differences are equally important. Where sharpened non-verbal addresses suddenly opens
technical, are in reality so extensive that our gaze Picasso fills his vision of the Apocalypse with a up in front of us.
has to travel from one detail to another before we multitude of figures, in Plečnik’s world-class ar- There is a multitude of examples: in less
comprehend them as an entirety of rhythmic parts chitecture we notice his deliberate idiosyncrasy or provoking dimensions of sections, the composition
that follow each other in a closed sequence, where even whims for the absence or even redundancy of technique redirects itself into a deliberate contrast,
the intensified monotony (which could be even human beings. Nevertheless, when we think about achieved by the combination of built structure and
seen as boring) becomes the main attraction, the the bizarre advice of John Ruskin to architects to lush vegetation and as a rule in the first plane. The
same as with the panoramic format. design all their buildings by bearing in mind how crystal-like exactness of solid matter is hiding be-
The second thought which springs to mind they would look like in ruins, we realise that a man hind the curtain of coincidentally branched-off
and cannot be stifled by any means is the com- might not be the only measure of all things (the treetops. We can avoid human beings but can’t
parison to Picasso’s Guernica. The unusual dimen- existing and non-existing things which are and escape from objects. This is what the photographs
sions of the painting are one of the reasons for its which are not, if I finish the quotation of this an- are telling us. In a way, they are binomes, depic-
magnificent compositional framework where the cient wisdom). tions of the same space in two separate moments.
zigzagging breaking line – a determinant of a clas- It’s true: photographs capture reality. But In the first one, the architecture lives next to itself
sical triptych – crosses the edges of the image only the reality can have more than one meaning (or as an autonomous ensemble of walls, roofs and col-
to return to the frame again and thus maximally even no meaning at all). That what seems to us in onnades. In the second one, it becomes a container,
heighten the orderliness and dramatic feeling of a normal format for the undoubtedly recognisable, filled with an enormous pile of things.
the design. The fusion of the traditional topic and becomes through this method unusual, mysteri- In this way, the fourth dimension, time,
original variation is surprising, but not complete- ous and almost unrecognisable. Which probably steals into these images. Thus they deliberately in-
ly unexpected. This is the way of the majority of proves that we perceive our environment and the tegrate into time with such sovereignty that they
good artists. And with this thesis I return straight people in it like clichés, based on innate or imparted will always stay precious documents of architec-
back to Plečnik again. patterns, probably even on prejudices. In the pres- ture.
The similarities mentioned above with re- ent case it is especially important to shake them off
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22. THE DEPTH OF THE SURFACE OF A MOMENT
Barbara Jakše Jeršič
There are boundaries between the percep- lady’s cat and the heavy feet of a certain dubious Mr. Panoramically! This isn’t about the movement of the
tion and feeling of the world. Some are simple and Vautrin; the stomp of horse hooves on the cobbled lens on the perimeter of a circle, or the capturing and
obvious, others are invisible. The world is made of Parisian roads. We admire the beauty of Goirot’s fixing of perspectives in a 360 degrees angle: it’s sim-
images, described through an abstractness of the daughters and cry because of the suffering father... ply about the panorama. It is about the view from a
word and projected in the knowledge of that what is We feel. distance, from the other side.
seen within us. I discovered the mystery and magic Words are of course wrapped in a multilay- It would be easy to say from the other side
of uncovering the layers of images through reading ered veil of mystery and the images are covered with of the road, window, plane or elevator... It’s about
“holiday” books which I took on my summer holi- the blanket of a seemingly naïve charm. They sur- a gaze “somewhere”, about the discovery of a mo-
days this year. round us with the aim to seduce us. The beauty is in ment which is eternal, extended into infinity in the
Old Goirot by Honoré de Balzac, On the innocence of the communication and the purity same way the panoramic format is thrust unto the
Photography by Susan Sontag and Man and His of forms; in order and with respect to the relation- relationship to the usual format of single-lens reflex
Symbols by Carl Jung. I read Old Goirot very quick- ship with the outside world. Beauty is in a simple cameras. That moment represents a narrow, short
ly. I still haven’t finished On Photography, while I embrace of love: towards the world, ourselves and slice of time, which is supposed to capture its sig-
had to put Man and His Symbols back on my book- others. nificance by the fact that it is eternalised by a pho-
shelf in order to read it later. What do these books To try and get a sense of the spirit of histori- tograph and exposed to the observer. But it can also
have in common? They are connected by a simple cal masters through their work is a very enchanting represent a mirrored timelessness, where it projects
coincidence, in the same way as coincidences unite challenge. You ascend the mountain top as a climb- itself on its screen to eternity so we can see it in the
us in life and as we choose images by pure chance. er across the rocks. Rung upon rung, step by step, reality of the present time.
We see the tenants in Madame Vaquer’s boarding you uncover the contents of the spirit of the past. How important is this moment to record the
house as beings made from flesh and blood, living The taste of the past, captured in the photographic spirit of master Plečnik, which has embodied itself in
their own lives. We see images that weave the story framework is charmingly empty. If the moment of a Plečnik’s works and in the urban architectural har-
in a seemingly familiar place and time. We can smell decisive action – as an inimitable gesture or expres- monies he has created? How decisive is this moment
the mutton, dressed with butter, a room permeated sion – is captured on one side, is the moment, which for the heritage and the message of history, which
with the stink of burnt milk and a sultry reception becomes that only by pressing the camera button, funnels into our present where we now live, exist
room. We can hear the soft movements of the land- on the other. One long moment that records space. and (co) create? Hugely? Not much? We become
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23. aware of the significance of a moment, when we slip a moment when everything happens and a moment Atget and Brassaï is mostly gone,” says Susan Sontag
on an icy road: its value is explained to us by the when nothing happens at all. A moment, which in her collection of essays On Photography (1977).
consequences brought upon us by this incident. The changes life! A moment, which takes life slowly but Plečnik’s Ljubljana exists and persists.
importance of the fragments of time is appreciated, persistently! A timeless moment becomes the pan- Plečnik’s Ljubljana is a city for all who feel, trust
when life slowly assembles into days, years, decades... orama of our gaze, directed into infinity. and believe.
The Music of Plečnik’s Architecture Ljubljana, The Music of Plečnik’s The essence of a message is wrapped in mys-
Panoramas is a book of photographs and words; it Architecture Panoramas, is a book of images, a book tery. “You are mortal, only your works are your mem-
is a book about Ljubljana and for Ljubljana. The of words, a book of a city, a book of architecture. A ory,” reads the sign carved into a stone in Plečnik’s
Music of Plečnik’s Architecture Panoramas is a book book of music? Križanke and cover the uncovered secret. Moment
of images, of images of Ljubljana and a book of re- The music plays to the heart, even though by moment we abandon ourselves to eternity and
flections regarding Ljubljana. It is a book about the this statement feels simple and familiar. The images leave behind us objects, thin sheets of paper, stones,
architectural value bestowed to us. It is a book about play under the baton of a creator of the visible and sand, ashes...
the importance of the treasures which we intimately invisible: they play the music of harmonies, imma- The depth of the surface of a moment is lost
notice as current strollers upon the stage of life in nent to the eyes. The inaudible music of deliberate in eternity. The depth of the surface is visibly invis-
the city of Ljubljana. visual rhythms, sequences of light, shadows, lines ible. It is a timeless beauty that enchants us. It is love
A photograph, an image of the world through and colours. The coincidence of sounds creates noise; for life; a respect for the past and a belief into the fu-
the viewfinder of a camera, printed on a thin sheet of the coincidence of images chaos; the coincidence of ture. The depth of the surface of a moment is a pho-
paper, reflects time. Time, which remains somewhere words nonsense. tograph. It is a moment, in which the photographer’s
else and creates a new place in a photographic im- Photographs record. “Cameras began dupli- hand pressed the trigger and captured a transient
age held by the observer! It produces new, subjective cating the world at that moment when the human existence. The depth of the surface of the moment is
narratives in the language of images. The magic and landscape started to undergo a vertiginous rate of the Music of Plečnik’s Architecture Panoramas. The
the mysterious! change: while an untold number of forms of biologi- inaudible music of harmonies, played to our hearts
How does a photographer perceive and see cal and social life are being destroyed in a brief span by these images. The Music of Plečnik’s Architecture
a certain space, how does he/she defines an appro- of time, a device is available to record what is dis- Panoramas is a mysterious anthology of images of
priate image? Each moment has at least two sides: appearing. The moody, intricately textured Paris of Plečnik’s Ljubljana.
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25. I’m constantly returning to the same ics of photographic images. Only then can I be-
spaces. Spring is the youngest of all the sea- gin to take pictures and connect moments (pho-
sons. Winter directs me towards the past, when tographs) reflecting space and time into context
Plečnik’s ambiences become filled with subtle and thus enable the viewer to perceive the emo-
intimacy. tion, which symbolises the meaning of our exis-
Spring, summer, autumn, winter ... and tence.
spring. Different seasons - something else, then? Then I come upon l’instant decisive (The
Gazes transparently and mysteriously Decisive Moment, Henri Cartier-Bresson). When
recognise the spaces. In a large ambience created does this decisive moment happen for me? When
by Plečnik, the voice sounds differently than in I’m choosing the image to be taken and press the
a small one: in an open space it has a completely shutter release button or when I sit in front of
different tone than in a closed space. my computer and decide which one of numerous
The infinite number of perfect composi- photographs shall I choose and which might be-
tions uncovering various cultures and time! come lost forever?
2000 years ago, in his great masterpiece of I wish that the photographic story in
Latin literature, a narrative poem based on the the Music of Plečnik’s Architecture Panoramas
Greek mythology Metamorphoses, Ovid wrote: would give the impression that all photographs
“All things change, nothing is extinguished. [...] were taken in the same moment, despite the fact
Everything flows onward; all things are brought that some of them were taken in the rain, others
into being with a changing nature...” in the snow, mist, sun, wind, in the evening... An
Life goes on to reveal to us certain secrets, illusion which may display Plečnik in all his di-
which come to light when the past invites us to mensions: masterful, serious, thoughtful, elated,
revive memories. I set out to take photographs noble and humble.
in order to understand in which way to express
what I’ve seen and experienced through the poet-
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26. THE CHURCH OF MY CHILDHOOD
Dr. Katarina Marinčič
We always used the side entrance. During side door, although they now have a windbreak
my childhood in Šiška (part of Ljubljana) I felt which emanates a certain desire for luxury. The
as if the church didn’t have any other entrance front façade, which I saw only a few times as a
at all. You push the narrow, unpretentious-look- child and which filled me with awe every single
ing and weather-beaten door and then you find time, doesn’t look any less surprising after 30
yourself in a big solemn space. I don’t know if I years. What are those solemn grey and white
ever thought as a child how illogical really the columns doing in the backwater next to the
ratio between this humble little door and the railway, amongst the vegetable gardens, clothes
monumental interior. There were too many other lines, outhouses, extensions, porches and sheds?
things which seemed strange to a child: in rela- Plečnik’s church in Šiška isn’t one of those mar-
tion to churches as a whole and particularly in vels which open up to us in medieval towns; it is
relation to this church. not grown into the world which surrounds it. The
Thirty years ago, when my grandparents look on its façade – not in my childhood, now,
lived in Šiška, the roads were still paved gravel thirty years later, when I check the accuracy of
and they poured a brown liquid with the smell my memories – makes me think that the build-
of chicory to prevent the dust from rising up- ing looks like a foreign object due to its uncom-
wards. Street lamps that reminded of coffee pots promising honesty. It expresses its immodesty
dangled from frayed wires as if some squalid through the modest materials from which it is
tight rope walkers put them on. But not much built: this contradiction doesn’t give an expres-
has really changed since then. The atmosphere sion of homeliness but of anger, at least to me.
has remained the same: it’s not completely ur- As a child I was of course convinced that
ban and not completely rural. The gravel roads this anger was directed towards me. My grand-
are gone but when the air pressure is low you can parents used to send me and my sister to the
still smell the aroma of mealy food. And finally, church in Šiška during the holidays, especially
we still humbly enter the church through the at Easter for the food blessing ceremony. Our
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27. grandmother combed our hair and braided firm writer, Chateaubriand had for example associat- tells the story of the panoramas in the language
plaits on us, while our grandfather gave us ten ed the grandeur of the Catholic religion with the of images. In a way, Plečnik’s church in Šiška is
grand to put them into the collection plate (the architecture of Gothic cathedrals. The antique connected with my discovery of the meaning of
holiday zealousness of a not too regular an atten- temples are beautiful as palm groves, he wrote, the word “panorama”. I was eight years old any
dant of church ceremonies). Their neighbour ac- but our cathedrals are as ancient Gallic woods. my parents took me to see our new apartment on
companied us and telling us on our way on how to According to this, a church is not only a meet- the ninth floor of the apartment building on the
draw back the cloth to allow the blessing to reach ing place and a temple, but also and above all a northern edge of Ljubljana. All windows looked
the Easter eggs. “Now!” she whispered sharply, sanctuary, a hiding place, a labyrinth with dark towards the south: I could see immensely far
after that we sat in the pew which seemed like corners and caverns. away, above the flood of houses straight to the
infinity. It seemed to me as everyone was watch- I try to extend Chateaubriand’s metaphor Ljubljana Castle and the faint outline of moun-
ing us. Even more: that everyone was watching on a sunny June afternoon to Plečnik’s church of tain Krim behind it. On the right side of the view
me and that they all noticed how I get up and sat St. Francis of Assisi. In this building, I say to my- were a few fields, a railway track, a strangely
back down with a certain time lag, because (oh, self, you can’t become lost nor can you hide in it: threatening gasworks and a blue building of a
how embarrassing) I don’t know when and why even a small child can’t do that. But to be honest: medical drugs’ factory. And there, at the right
you stood up and sat down in church. palm groves are distant too, and so is the blos- side of the panorama, the rocket-like tower of
When I walked around the empty interior soming land of the first Christians, so poetically Plečnik’s church suddenly sprang forth in front
of Plečnik’s church a few days ago, I felt that the described by another French Romantic and bi- of my eyes. I recognised it, but at the same time
soul of my childhood back then, would be easier ographer of Jesus, Ernest Renan. The afternoon felt as if I saw it for the first time.
to reconcile itself with superstition and fraud if sun seeps through the smooth windows; the light
we took our food to be blessed to some other, dif- bounces off the brick columns and light wood.
ferent building. In a building which would look It’s strange that an orange light feels so firm. If
less like an antique temple (or a very beautiful I had to compare, I’d say that the interior of this
gymnasium) and more akin to those things which specific church of Plečnik reminds me of a wheat
were expected from Christian temples by later field.
generations, closer to us. The French Romantic The book for which I write this short text
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28.
29.
30. Plečnik’s work and details are no different from other ingenious works of architecture:
31. as a rule, they enable a multitude of gazes and interpretations and it is up to the observer to notice and appreciate them or not.
32. PLEČNIK AND I
Boštjan Vuga
A narrow white ramp is ascending in a trude from the façade and look like drops sliding taught in school, the dismissal of the typological
spiral fashion within a white rectangular verti- down the top part of the sloping façade. The com- hierarchy of spaces, the non-rigorous and eclec-
cal space of the church tower. The light comes position and the material wealth of the church tic use of materials, the egocentric and at the
through two large circular windows at the top of are not connected with its interior at all. If the same time creative approach toward renovation,
the tower. The glass itself is divided by a net-like square ground plan of the nave is of unusual de- completion, upgrading or removal of the existing
structure. The hour hands are fitted on the out- sign for a Christian church, the technologically building structures in Plečnik’s work actually in-
side section of the glass and encompass the rim utilitarian tower with its ramp represents some- stigate a form of alienation between the object
of the circle. While ascending this white space, what of a “glitch” in Plečnik’s architectural work. and us, subjects, observers or users of a certain
you hear the echo of the hour hands in motion. It is too fat, insufficiently decorated; we notice object in the same manner as the identification of
From the inside and through the clock you gaze a lack of classical architectural elements on the audiences towards actors in the plays of Brecht
at the two parts of the city, at two images. In the one side, and too many Modernistic elements on become alienated.
vertiginous white space of the Holy Heart of the other. It simply doesn’t emanate enough of I don’t even try to understand Plečnik.
Jesus church tower in Prague, you’re listening to Plečnik’s spirit. What attracts me the most in his works is ex-
time. The feeling is both surreal and basic both at I have never completely understood actly that what seems to be the most “wrong”
the same time: the sound of moving hour hands, Plečnik. I have never reflected upon his work in a and the least familiar: an experiment, something
the static of the cityscape and the dizzy white- way a person can learn from the work of his con- which we can’t see anywhere else. I’m drawn by
ness of this non-tectonic space. The experience temporaries or the great architects of the 20th spatial sequences outside the cannons of classical
we would expect more from one of Hitchcock’s Century. Plečnik isn’t Le Courbusier or Mies or and modern architecture. Besides in the tower of
films rather than a work of Plečnik. It is more Gropius or Asplund. You can’t learn him, he isn’t Plečnik’s church in Prague, I discover these al-
akin to a sequence from the black and white film didactic. Whenever I thought I finally grasped most Daliesque and lobotomy-like sequences in a
The 39 Steps than from any church interior from the essence of his work and I was able to fol- unified grid of light, which cover different outer
Plečnik. low it so far to take some of Plečnik’s principles walls of the Devil’s Courtyard of the Križanke
From the outside, the tower and the and use them in my own projects, I discovered complex in Ljubljana; in the wooden transept in
church itself are clad into a brick-wall, which they were elusive and fluid. Playing with clas- the upper floor of the church of the Archangel
lean outwards near the top. Stone squares pro- sical rules, that is to say with everything I was Michael on the Marsh; or in the strange cross-
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33. section of the new and existing naves in the or a mixture of both? Plečnik demolishes every- size, the shock of the white vertical tower space
white church in Bogojina. thing not valuable enough by his standards and is even greater.
With regard to Plečnik’s work, I’m the builds his own formula of the new Ljubljana. Pure cinematography: interplay between
most attracted by those things I don’t under- What is Ljubljana today, after 85 years perception and movement. This is close to my
stand: in the things that are the least didactic from the beginnings of its transformation with heart.
and the most difficult to explain. The associative Plečnik’s architectural works? Is its substance
flow in my brain is stimulated by these spatial se- of a metropolis established or does it need a new
quences, in which I seek links outside the archi- helping hand to develop it further?
tectural matter itself. I try to discover the wild- No, it doesn’t! Today, Ljubljana is a
ness of these sequences, the reason why they have European metropolis which should enable a plu-
such a profound effect on me and what are their ralism of spatial concepts, a city where everyone
basic elements. This is always a digression from seeks for his/her own space and is able to find
the familiar, the already seen. These experiences it. This is exactly the driving force which en-
are always tests, experiments, searches, which are riches the image of the city and encourages its
sometimes more, sometimes less interesting. dynamic development. This is the formula “New
Let’s move to a bigger scale: from spatial Ljubljana”, a dynamic city at the beginning of
sequences to the city scale. Plečnik’s Ljubljana the 21st Century.
as a Slovenian Athens, his formula to establish a I’m very attracted by the church of the
metropolis within the scale of a provincial city, Holy Heart of Jesus in Prague. It is a mental icon
as Ljubljana was in the first half of the 20th of the entire city district, a centre of identity.
Century. A city without sufficient historical sub- When you suddenly see its ornamental building
stance or critical mass, which needed a hand and mass and reach the end of the street leading to
a vision and which gradually started to weave the it; when you notice how its axial placement in
urban fabric and actually transformed Ljubljana space and on the top where it even makes it more
into a metropolis. Pure ego trip, pure altruism horizontal, almost flattened out and immense in
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34. THE PAST AND FUTURE WORLD OF PLEČNIK’S LJUBLJANA
Marko Košan
Jože Plečnik wrote his architectural tes- tails. The city silhouette gradually spreads from
tament to Ljubljana. The cosmopolitan Vienna the Ljubljanica riverbanks to nearby and more
and the golden Prague might have inspired some distant neighbourhoods, where the medieval en-
of his best and the most original works, but it clave of Ljubljana, hugged against the castle hill,
was his hometown – the emerging capital of a flirts with its mirror image, built upon the sunken
young European nation, who were at the time network of the Roman insulae. The only visible
only a few steps away from achieving their cen- remnant of the ancient town of Emona is now its
turies long aspiration for an independent state southern wall. The wall itself was preserved and
– where Plečnik has created a monumental pic- subtly transformed by the great master himself,
ture of European dimensions in which he weaved who passed it on his daily walks from his spiri-
the architectural ideas of the past and a future tual home and workshop in Trnovo to the bus-
world into a fantastic urban fabric with subtle tling city centre. That part of the city echoes the
threads of a unique creative pattern. Although ideas and spiritual power of the ancient world.
Plečnik couldn’t realise all his ideas the way he Nowadays, when a modern traveller follows
intended, he nevertheless pleated a noble wreath Plečnik’s steps into the city centre, he/she im-
of panoramic views upon the provincial sleep- prints those ideas in the intricately placed cob-
ing beauty. In the middle of the 20th century, blestones found on streets and squares. He/She
he gave the city its identity, which distinctively then crosses the river on one of the monumental
continues to underline the sentiment of its popu- three bridges and continues his/her way under
lation in the 21st century as well. He was subtle the colonnade of the city market, where the hus-
enough to recognise the genius-loci of this old- tle and bustle of life is caught in the echo of the
world city, measured in the shy proportions of heavy columns and lintels of the new-age agora.
the mentality of a nation devoid of their own The route continues its way up to the loggia of
princes and kings. Plečnik gave Ljubljana an the slim triangular structure of Peglezn, which
urban skyline and focused upon picturesque de- is raised above the noisy traffic, and further on
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35. alongside the Ljubljanica River to the Ambrož wreaths intertwine into a magnificent whole. terns of the past in an eternal form, which always
Square where the river is crossed by floodgates Equally suggestive are the frozen gazes of pays attention to the consciousness of the pres-
with their intricately designed antique elements. the photographer’s eye – motionless and refined ent and keeps as much of the past as is possible
The panoramic aerial views of the cam- reflections of loquacious details, which reveal to to feel in the present. As the Romantic philoso-
era are very convincing and silently beautiful. the attentive observer of ambiences expected pher Friedrich Shlegel would say, Plečnik’s work
They capture the subtle urban carpet, woven for and more often unexpected master’s stamp, cap- seems to be permeated with “inverse prophesy”;
Ljubljana by Plečnik, who was always aware of tured in numerous views that call for a dialogue. it contains an equal measure of dedicated seri-
the transience of reality itself, but nevertheless Although they have been completed in a self-ev- ousness and humorous wit which can be observed
used the eternal glow of higher ideals, embraced ident material and spiritual face of the city pan- both in monumental projects in the symbolic
in the idea of the “architectura perennis”. This orama, they never congest in an unrecognisable, centre of Ljubljana and in the seemingly less im-
force, driven by the invisible Creator and tai- crammed and non-definable heap of moments at portant projects outside the city edges: a beauti-
lored by the imponderable logic of absolute har- the intersection of historical periods. Plečnik’s ful example of the latter is St. Michael church in
mony and proportions is symbolised by the fierce interventions into space always retain an aloof Črna vas, which emerges from the sticky mists of
gesture of Moses, the Messenger of God. This sense of independence; they dominate the envi- the moist laden Ljubljana marshes like a mirage,
sculptural masterpiece by Dolinar adorns the ronment in a stylised manner and demand at- and is with its simple interior a lyrical homage
façade of the National and University Library, tention. Only a careful reading of their multi- to the tradition of folk architecture and design.
which is probably the most eminent palace built layered message reveals the wit of the architect’s A homage to a set of values which don’t die with
by Plečnik for his hometown. With its pictur- spiritual charge. Plečnik and which begin anew, an almost eternal
esque red brick façade and a structure using Plečnik’s architecture merges both the life by passing under a commemorative arc of
renaissance tectonics and proportions, Plečnik past and the present: it enables the past world to triumph: they persevere for much longer than a
achieved the final and the most refined stage in enter the time we live in now and stirs the noble fabulous photograph, which after awhile inevi-
his attentive design of façades, always entangled sediments of the past into the blossoming pres- tably turns into a yellowed image on a decayed
in the infinitive interplay of the classicistic style ent. Plečnik cloaked modern forms with a clas- sheet of paper inside a book cover.
and at the same time modern elements, where sical severity and covered them with an out of
pilasters and vertical bands, arcade arches and reach historical membrane. He imprinted pat-
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43. For a long time, the style of Plečnik’s work and appreciate them or not. But some are really
was difficult to define: its qualities were most special, excellent and exciting. The photographic
transparently described by Post-modern theo- tandem, Barbara Jakše Jeršič and Stane Jeršič
rists. They pointed out two things. The first one used a Post-modern photographic concept to re-
was Plečnik’s interest in detail, which he was tak- veal and enrich the above mentioned qualities of
ing from various and diverse architectural styles Plečnik’s work. With their visual sensitivity, they
and from his own inexhaustible imagination. As uncover selected details and less common views,
we can often see, this master of architecture fi- which aren’t known even to the admirers or con-
nalised and placed a personally very important noisseurs of Plečnik’s work. Their photographs
fragment only at the very end of a project and reveal to us what is seems to be the artist’s se-
thus vested his own, very personal mark upon it. cret itself: the secret of the architect, who created
In other words, Plečnik chose the place for some these seemingly hidden and guarded details and
architectural elements only in situ, where the views; and the secret of the two photographers
possible views of them became actual and final. who froze them in time. Architecture and pho-
Therefore we could name the second, an even tography are two very different visual art forms,
more elusive quality a different or other perspec- where both can truly and fruitfully meet only at
tive. Plečnik’s work and details are no different the crossroads of their difference, impressiveness
from other ingenious works of architecture: as a and idiosyncrasy. Then we realise that numerous
rule, they enable a multitude of gazes and inter- qualities of architecture can be perceived only
pretations and it is up to the observer to notice through an artistic photography.
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110. INTERVIEW
Stane Jeršič and Barbara Jakše Jeršič
Jože Osterman: What stimulated you to tography. The camera became the instrument of form of exciting and unexpected surprises. Your
become professionally involved in photography? my expression and photography became my pas- contemplation is connected with the discovery
Stane Jeršič: I became involved in pho- sion, regardless of any motif. of images, hidden on film. This is excellently
tography more seriously when I was awarded a Barbara Jakše Jeršič: Life is a beautiful depicted in the film Blow-Up by Michelangelo
Yashica camera and a few film rolls in a photo- stage of photographic recordings. Antonioni (1966). While digital technology on
graphic competition. I had to think very carefully Jože Osterman: How does modern digital the other hand enables you to an immediate re-
before I took a shot, since the film rolls had only technology have an influence upon photography? view of all the material and editing, since the
12 exposures each. It was intense and full of ex- Stane Jeršič: When I started taking pho- photographs aren’t thin sheets of paper anymore:
pectations. I developed the films in my own home tographs, we didn’t think: let’s press the button they become recorded moments in the form of an
dark room, made contact sheets and enlarged the – something useful will surely come up, if we take almost unlimited number of files. Digital technol-
photographs. In that moment, I became a photog- enough shots. This idea has become dominant ogy demands a very disciplined and professional
rapher. now, when photography is now available and af- attitude. Such experiences enrich me and bestow
Barbara Jakše Jeršič: When I was 21 and fordable to each and every one of us. There is a upon me surprising discoveries.
I held the book entitled Iluzija besed (Illusion of huge flow of photographs: they flood us and are Jože Osterman: What about photograph-
Words) in my hands, I also had an individual pho- lost in time. But I can’t say that the quantity of ic technology, cameras and lenses? Are they re-
tographic exhibition in the Museum of Modern good photographs has truly increased. ally so important as the manufacturers try to
Art in Ljubljana and a group exhibition of photo- Barbara Jakše Jeršič: Digital and ana- convince us that they are?
graphs in Amsterdam, I knew that the photogra- logue technologies are part of the learning pro- Stane Jeršič: The most important thing for
phy is the field I wanted to work in professionally. cess regarding photography. Both technologies me is an idea or a concept that develops through
Jože Osterman: What about the motif, the have their strong and weak points. The advan- the creative process. Nevertheless, the control
field of your interest? Was that clear from the be- tage of analogue technology is the actual process over perspective is of key importance when deal-
ginning? itself and the sense of anticipation, connected ing with the so-called “urban photography”. The
Stane Jeršič: I’ve always tried to say some with it. The work has to be planned and deliber- use of lenses, which allows for perspective correc-
things, to express feelings and views with my ately performed. It takes longer to get the final tions invites you to search for a unique new view,
work, to explore... That’s how I discovered pho- product, but the process brings experiences in the which is from the physical point of view closer to
126
111. the gaze of our eyes. Therefore the knowledge of people in the shot or they are completely in the and The History of Future (Zgodovina prihod-
the classic Sinar-Linhof technique is often help- background. Portraying ambiences for me is very nosti) are the anthologies of photographs which
ful to me. close to portraying a person. show a microcosm within a macrocosm: frag-
Jože Osterman: Your artistic career is Barbara Jakše Jeršič: Developing films by ments sought by an eye and a camera within the
surprising in many respects. Your early work, es- hand, working in a dark-room, the organisation of integrity of a chosen space.
pecially the photographs from your monograph photographic productions, arranging set-designs Jože Osterman: Is the thought, written
Slike iz življenja (1991) is very much based on the and shots are all typical for the period of studio at your exhibition “If music with its abstraction
studio environment. Every detail is premeditated, photography. I continued with documentary and time sequence is on one side of the scale, then
and the photographs are so full that they are al- photography of urban spaces. Identiteta prostora photography with its seemingly strict reality and
most Baroque. After 2000 you shifted your inter- (Identity of Space) project or Congress Square frozen moment is on the other” a sort of a motto
est to the milieu, which tells you its stories in real deals with the panoramic recording of space and of your present project? In music, we assume har-
time: for example Congress Square in Ljubljana, continues through portraits of the central figure mony as a key ingredient, which weaves the fabric
upon joining Slovenia to the EU in 2004. Your of a girl. Panorama is attractive also due to the of music. How can a person do this in your field
third phase is devoted to panoramas, created elongated format which evokes a feeling of peace, of work, in photography? Have you looked for it
by space (as we could see at the exhibition “Sky which is a link to the next project, entitled the and found it?
above Ljubljana”) and now onto Plečnik’s pan- Discreet Charm of Peace, where analogue and Stane Jeršič: Music, the same as films,
oramas. Your artistic development is undoubted- digital, black and white and colour, uniform and needs a longer time period, while a photograph
ly very interesting. What was the logic behind it? composed, panoramic and standard format pho- is a moment, a place in time. With connecting
Stane Jeršič: At the beginning, I invested tography is confronted. The project “Music of photographic moments, we create a story, which
my interest and efforts in ecology and later to Plečnik’s Architecture Panoramas” began in 2004 can be told in a language typical to a book of
portraits. This was followed by a period of studio and was presented for the first time in Jakopič photographs. We can always find moments (pho-
photography. Now, I’m returning to the so-called Avenue in Ljubljana as a part of the European tographs), which are reflections of our world,
“urban photography”. Even they don’t lack the Days of Cultural Heritage in 2007. Plečnik’s ar- but the value of these moments (photographs)
presence of people completely. Nevertheless, I try chitecture calls for observation and the attention depends of their placement and their contextual
to show human presence even when there are no of a camera. The projects Sky above Ljubljana positioning.
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113. Barbara Jakše Jeršič: Music is a sequence Jože Osterman: You often use views which Plečnik end with this find or discovery? Can this
of optimally placed sounds which together create are unusual, even for the connoisseurs of Plečnik. subject still reveal some more? Where will your
a completely new sound image and some form of Through the decades we have become used to the creative path take you now?
musical body, while Plečnik’s architecture can, same observational points and angles... Stane Jeršič: A photograph is a snapshot,
through photography – through a multitude of Stane Jeršič: Plečnik worked in a time while I’m interested in space as a habitat, as a
images, represented by individual photographs which was quite different from the present. sociological concept which represents a living en-
and positioned in a right or optimal sequence – Unlike the majority of modern architects, he vironment, a home. Everything changes in time,
become a unique and a completely individual ar- used models, which means that he perfected his this is a fact. Is it possible that something that
tistic story about architecture and space. creations from all sides and angles and together doesn’t exist anymore come into existence one
Jože Osterman: You say that portraying with them created a new urban space. Now, many more time? Life constantly demands new rela-
ambiences for you is very similar to portraying architects and investors don’t pay much attention tionships and this is where I see the power and
people. Your photographic opus is essentially a to the details which won’t be viewed or observed the opportunity of photography, also in the rela-
pure intertwine of space, of ambiences and peo- too often. Plečnik was different. This is the reason tion to Plečnik.
ple. It seems that you reached a new intensity why some of the photographs are taken from the Barbara Jakše Jeršič: Maybe I’m returning
with your increased focus on architecture. ground, others from the top of the buildings, from to the original depiction of the Illusion of Words
Stane Jeršič: Architecture is undoubtedly an airplane, elevator or a balcony. Some photo- project. A flood of images, unlimited opportuni-
one of the most complex forms of art. It must pro- graphs are black and white, since they express my ties of technologies, communication and creative
voke emotional reactions, but at the same time we own personal experience of certain spaces. challenges beckon me to start the project, The
have to feel pleasant in those rooms and spaces. For me it is important to preserve a realis- Illusion of Images in the Light of Present time.
The habitat has to work for the good of the peo- tic look even when I explore the spaces from an-
ple. These are the criteria where Plečnik’s work other perspective. This is the reason why the pho- Mag. Jože Osterman Ljubljana
achieves the highest standards. His ambiences tographing of Plečnik’s panoramas is a constant July 18th, 2010
have strong inner logic: nothing is coincidental; discovery of unknown details – details which
everything is based on a concept. And photogra- may be affirmed only through photography.
phy reveals this too. Jože Osterman: Does your attachment to
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114. AUTHOR BIOGRAPHIES
Mojca Puncer (1972) was award-
ed her PhD in Philosophy at the
University of Ljubljana (Slove-
nia) with her thesis on aestheti- Barbara Jakše Jeršič (1967) has
cal strategies of visual art in Slo- been a professional photogra- Boštjan Vuga (1966) gradu-
venia after 1990 (2008). She is pher since 1989. Together with ated at the Ljubljana Faculty
an Assistant for Aesthetics, the Stane Jeršič, she entered the Eu- of Achitecture in 1992 and con-
Philosophy of Art and Culture at ropean scene in 1990 and since tinued his studies between 1993
the University of Maribor (Slove- Katarina Marinčič (1968) is the then have had both individual and 1995 at the AA School of Ar-
nia) (2004–). Puncer works as an author of three novels (Tereza, and group exhibitions in numer- chitecture in London, where he
independent theorist, critic and Rožni vrt (Rose Garden), Prikri- ous important museums and art was awarded with a master’s de- Marko Košan (1961) Born 1961
curator in the field of the contem- ta harmonija (Subliminal Har- galleries in Slovenia and abroad. gree. Together with Jurij Sadar, in Ljubljana. He studied the his-
porary arts, as a teacher of culture mony)) and a collection of short Barbara Jakše-Jeršič’s photo- Vuga founded an architectural tory of art at Ljubljana Univer-
and writer (self-employed cultural stories O treh (About Three). graphs have been presented in studio Sadar Vuga Arhitekti sity. Since 1987 he has collabo-
worker, 2008–). Mojca Puncer is a For her novel Prikrita harmoni- many books and magazines and (SVA) in Ljubljana. In less than rated as a curator with many
member of Publicistično društvo ja, she was awarded the Delo’s are part of important public 10 years, the SVA has become galleries and museum in Slove-
ZAK (2002–), Maska magazine Kresnik Award in 2002 and and private collections, includ- one of the most prominent Euro- nia and abroad.A member of the
editorial board (2007–2009), the Dnevnik’s Fabula Award in ing the photography collection pean architectural studios with Slovene Association of Art Crit-
Slovensko društvo za estetiko 2006 for her collection O treh. in the Bibliothèque nationale its production and communica- ics and the AICA. He also works
(2001–), International Associa- Katarina Marinčič was awarded de France. Barbara Jakše-Jeršič tion based on open, integral and as publicist, essayist, columnist
tion for Aestethics (2001–) and her PhD through studying the has been running a non-profit innovative concepts. and writes reviews for many
Društvo Asociacija (2009–). She works of Honoré de Balzac. For organisation ArtKintakt since Boštjan Vuga is a writer of nu- Slovenian and international
has been published in numerous the past 15 years, she has been a 2009. Together with her hus- merous articles on modern archi- newspapers and art magazines.
publications at home and abroad. lecturer of 18th and 19th Cen- band Stane and their son Aleks tecture and urban planning for From 2008 he was appointed as
Mojca Puncer lives and works in tury French Literature at the she lives and works in Ljubljana both domestic and international the Director of Fine Art Gallery
Ljubljana. Ljubljana Faculty of Arts. (Slovenia). publications. Slovenj Gradec.
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115. Architect Fedja Košir (1940)
graduated in the field of archi-
tecture in 1964 and was awarded
his PhD in 1982. As an architect,
Stane Jeršič (1957) entered the he was awarded with more than
professional field of photogra- sixty awards and buy-ins for his
phy in 1989. Besides portrait and projects at Slovene and Yugoslav
eco-photography, with which he tenders. Since 1985, Košir works
became one of the top photogra- as a lecturer at FAUL (the Faculty
phers in the former Yugoslavia, of Architecture at the University
Jeršič concentrated mainly on of Ljubljana, Slovenia). He was
the studio photography at the awarded the Prešeren Award in
beginning. 1978 (for his numerous sugges-
Together with Barabara Jeršič, tions regarding urban planning). Jože Trontelj (1939) is a medi-
he entered the European scene Jure Mikuž (1949) je bil dolga Košir published the monographies cal doctor and a full professor
in 1990 and since then has had leta kustos in nato direktor Zamisel mesta (1993), Edvard for neurology at the Faculty of
both individual and group exhi- Moderne galerije v Ljubljani. Ravnikar kot arhitekturni teoretik Medicine at the University of
bitions in numerous important Zdaj je redni profesor na Insti- (2006), K arhitekturi I / III (2006 Ljubljana. Internationally, Jože
museums and art galleries in Slo- tutumu studiorum humanitatis and 2007) and the translation with Trontelj is known mainly for
venia and abroad. Stane Jeršič’s ter Fakulteti za podiplomske comments of the first tractate on his research in the field of neu-
photographs have been present- humanistične študije in vodja architecture by the Roman ar- romuscular transmission disease
ed in many books and magazines programa Zgodovinska antro- chitect Vitruvius entitled O arhi- diagnostics. In recent years,
and are part of important public Jože Osterman (1947) is the Sec- pologija ter profesor na Aka- tekturi & O antičnem inženirstvu Trontelj has dedicated his time
and private collections, includ- retary of the Government Com- demiji za likovno umetnost in (2009). Since 2009, Fedja Košir is on biomedical ethics as well. He
ing the photography collection munication Office and the edi- oblikovanje v Ljubljani. Njego- a consultant of architecture and is a member of the Slovenian
in the Bibliothèque nationale de tor of the Sinfo magazine, which va bibliografija obsega okoli 800 urban-planning at the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts
France. is published in English. enot, od tega 15 knjižnih. Academy of Sciences and Arts. and its chairman since 2008.
127
116. CHRONOLOGY
Stane Jeršič and Barbara Jakše Jeršič
SOLO EXHIBITION SELECTED 1989 Stedelijk Museum,
Schiedam – Rotterdam (Nizozemska)
2009 Cankarjev dom, Ljubljana (Slovenija) 1989 Galerie K61, Amsterdam (Nizozemska)
2006 Łódź Art Center – International Festival
GROUP EXHIBITION SELECTED
of Photography, Łódź (Poljska)
2005 Koroški pokrajinski muzej, 2006 Galerie Tresor, Kunstforum Wien
Slovenj Gradec (Slovenija) (Avstrija)
2004 Umetnostna galerija Maribor (Slovenija) 2006 Crossover, Kunstverein Karnten
2004 Muzej in galerije mesta Ljubljana, (Avstrija)
(Slovenija) 2006 Images Against War, Galerie Lichtblick
1997 Muzej in galerije mesta Ljubljana, Köln, Peace Museum Chicago
Evropski mesec kulture (Slovenija) (Illinois, ZDA)
1997 Mincovna Statniho Hradu a zamka, 2004 Blossomstreet Gallery, FotoFest,
Češki Krumlov (Češka) Houston (Teksas, ZDA)
1995 Galerija likovnih umetnosti, 2004 The Centre for Fine Art Photography,
Slovenj Gradec (Slovenija) Ft. Collins (Kolorado, ZDA)
1993 Prinz Gallery, Kyoto (Japonska) 2002 Die Sammlung, Melkweg,
Amsterdam (Nizozemska)
1992 Museo Ken Damy – Gallery Milano (Italija)
2001 Eulogy to Beauty, Photofusion
1991 Fotogalerie Wien, Dunaj (Avstrija) Photography Centre, London (Anglija)
1990 Moderna galerija, Ljubljana 2001 Akt na Slovenskem, Jakopičeva galerija,
(Slovenija) Ljubljana (Slovenija)
126
117. 1997 Maestri Contemporanei, 1991 Slike iz življenja (založnik: Barbara Jakše Bibliothèque nationale de France, Pariz
Museo Ken Damy, Brescia (Italija) Jeršič in Stane Jeršič) (Francija)
1990 Iluzija besed (založnik: Papirografika) Fotogalerie Wien, Dunaj (Avstrija)
1997 Angels, Melkweg, (Nizozemska)
Galerija likovnih umetnosti, Slovenj Gradec
1994 Melkweg Collection, PUBLICATIONS SELECTED
(Slovenija)
Amsterdam (Nizozemska)
Anthology nude, Asahi Press, Tokio (Japonska) Galerie Lichtblick, Köln (Nemčija)
1990 Recontres Internationales de la GIP, Goro Internationale Press, Tokio
Photographie, Arles (Francija) Camera Austria, Gradec (Avstrija)
Fotopratica, Milano (Italija) (Japonska)
Foto, Amsterdam (Nizozemska) Łódź Art Center, Łódź (Poljska)
BOOKS AND CATALOGUES SELECTED
Melkweeg Gallery, Amsterdam (Nizozemska)
Fotomagazin, Frankfurt (Nemčija)
2010 Glasba panoram Plečnikove arhitekture Moderna galerija, Ljubljana (Slovenija)
Graphis Annual, Zürich (Švica)
(založnik: ArtKontakt, Bast) Muzej in galerije mesta Ljubljana (Slovenija)
Il Fotografo Professionalista, Milano (Italija)
Muzej za arhitekturo in oblikovanje, Ljubljana
2009 Zgodovina prihodnosti (založnik: Center Likovne besede, Ljubljana (Slovenija)
(Slovenija)
urbane kulture Kino Šiška) M*ars, Moderna galerija, Ljubljana (Slovenija)
Museo Ken Damy (Italija)
2005 Diskretni šarm miru (založnik: Koroški Progresso Fotografico, Milano (Italija)
Prinz, Kyoto (Japonska)
pokrajinski muzej) VIS a VIS international, Pariz (Francija)
Stedelijk museum Schiedam, Schiedam
Shukan Shincho, Tokio (Japonska)
2004 Identiteta prostora – Slovenija Nova (Nizozemska)
Zvezda Evrope (založnik: Barbara Jakše Slovenska kronika XX. stoletja, Ljubljana
Bert Hartkamp collection, Amsterdam
Jeršič in Stane Jeršič) (Slovenija)
(Nizozemska)
1995 Fotografija (založnik: Galerija likovnih COLLECTIONS SELECTED Umetnostna galerija Maribor (Slovenija)
umetnosti Slovenj Gradec)
1991 Glasovi (založnik: Fotogalerie Wien) Artotheek Holland, Amsterdam (Nizozemska)
127
118. LOCATIONS AND DATES
Ljubljana 2003 - 2010
02 Križanke Summer Theatre in Ljubljana, 2007 50 Market Halls in Ljubljana and the Three Bridges,
2004
09 Faculty of Architecture, 2010
53 Tivoli Municipal Park in Ljubljana, 2010
12 Zois Street in Ljubljana, Faculty of Architecture,
2006 54 Tivoli Municipal Park in Ljubljana, 2005
18 Šentjakob Square, now Levstik Square in Ljubljana, 56 The Ursuline Gymnasium, now Jože Plečnik High
2004 School in Ljubljana, 2010
28 Church of St. Francis of Assisi, Šiška, Ljubljana, 57 The Ursuline Gymnasium, now Jože Plečnik High
2008 School in Ljubljana, 2010
36 Market Halls in Ljubljana, 2004 59 St. Bartholomew’s Church in Ljubljana, 2010
38 Cobblers Bridge in Ljubljana, 2004 61 Zois Pyramid in Ljubljana, 2009
45 The National and University Library in Ljubljana, 63 French Revolution Square and the monument to
2009 the Napoleon’s Illyrian Provinces in Ljubljana,
2010
46 The National and University Library (NUK) in Lju-
bljana, the sculpture of Moses by L. Dolinar, 2010 64 Business and Residential Building Peglezen (the
Flatiron) on Poljanska Street in Ljubljana, 2010
47 NUK in Ljubljana, 2010
65 Business and Residential Building Peglezen (the
48 NUK, 2004 Flatiron) on Poljanska Street in Ljubljana, 2009
66 Church of the Archangel Michael on the Marsh in
126 Črna vas near Ljubljana, 2010
119. 68 Church of the Archangel Michael on the 85 The Roman Wall in Ljubljana, 2010 102 Križanke Summer Theatre in Ljubljana, 2005
Marsh in Črna vas near Ljubljana, 2008
87 The Navje Cemetery in Ljubljana, 2006 105 Trnovo Bridge in Ljubljana, 2009
71 Chamber of Commerce, Works and Industry,
now the Constitutional Court in Ljubljana, 89 The protective ditch at the Ljubljana Castle, 106 Plečnik’s House, Trnovo, Ljubljana, 2010
2006 2009
109 Plečnik’s House, Trnovo, Ljubljana, 2007
73 Vegova Street in Ljubljana, 2010 90 Bežigrad Stadion in Ljubljana, 2007
112 112, Funeral Parlours at Žale Cemetary in
92 Vzajemna Insurance Company, now the Tri- Ljubljana, 2007
74 Three Bridges in Ljubljana, 2010 glav Insurance Company, 2010
Cover image, Cobblers Bridge in Ljubljana,
75 News-Stands and Market Pavilion in Lju- 93 Vzajemna Insurance Company, now the Tri- 2010
bljana, 2010 glav Insurance Company, 2010
76 Market Halls in Ljubljana, the new Butcher’s 94 Funeral Parlours at Žale Cemetery in Lju-
bridge and the Three Bridges, 2010 bljana, 2009
78 The Ljubljanica River Embankment at the 95 Funeral Parlours at Žale Cemetary in Lju-
mouth of the Gradaščica River in Ljubljana, bljana, 2006
2005
96 St. Andrew’s Chapel at Funeral Parlours at
81 81, The Floodgate at the Ljubljanica River in Žale Cemetary in Ljubljana, 2004
Ljubljana, 2006
99 Križanke Summer Theatre in Ljubljana, 2009
82 The Floodgate at the Ljubljanica River and
the capital with a statuary by Božo Pengov, 100 Križanke in Ljubljana, The Devil’s Courtyard,
2006 2007
127
