Viliam MalIk and Bratislava

FOTOFO
 in Photograph Gallery Profil, Prepoštská 4,
814 99 Bratislava
Opening hours: 1 p.m. – 6 p.m. except Mondays
 

Viliam MalIk's photographic work is closely connected with Bratislava and this from several aspects. In the first place, he is a native of Bratislava. He is one of the few Slovak photographers from the time of classical modernism who stems directly from Bratislava and therefore Bratislava, that is the looks of the city and life in it feature prominently among his principal topics. We might even speak of his lifelong work even though he has not lived in his native town for the past fifty years. That is also why the main section about Bratislava dates from before the mid-40s of the 20th century.
However, Viliam MalIk has never completely severed his
contacts with the town - not only family, but also his
photographic interests have often brought him here, hence, he has been taking picture in Bratislava to this day. This has gradually given rise to a photographic collection by one author who is in himself a rarity. Bratislava appears in it as a topic with variations reaching across two-thirds of a century. This is a span of time as long as the reign of Francis Jozef I. Even if there were question of purely documentary pictures, they would nonetheless represent an extraordinary value.
During several decades MalIk used to take pictures of places and situations in Bratislava photographed before and after him by many others, but also such as hardly any, and even nobody took notice of. His photographic versatility proved a great boon to him in such an interpretation of a topic. As a matter of fact, MalIk knew how to photograph urban wholes and their details, entire buildings and their photogenic parts. In the 30s and 40s of the last century he was one of the most prominent photographers not only in Bratislava, but
the whole of Slovakia. When taking pictures of buildings, he in fact could apply - occasionally even forcefully - iconic principles of modern photography while simultaneously respecting the specific nature of the object being photographed. That is why his pictures are still used to this day as an illustrative accompaniment to historical essays on modern architecture. However, Viliam MalIk did not confine his photography toarchitecture. As a socially oriented author and one of thefirst photojournalists in Slovakia he was at least equallyinterested in the life of the town. A significant role in hissocio-critical, or purely genre-photography was played by themilieu. Thus, the author photographed Bratislava as if from various aspects - starting with an alienating modernist
aloofness, up to an onrush on detail, on the town's breathingmembrane. His specific attention centered on people living on the outskirts of the society and it happened that, on returning to these spots decades later, he again found a beggar there - belonging naturally to a new generation. That is how the idea of this exhibition came about - not only to show a Bratislava that no longer exists, but also to
compare the non-existant with what exists not merely in
architecture, but also in the town's life itself.
 

Aurel Hrabušický