Marija Braut: My Zagreb (guest appearance in Ljubljana)
Zagreb City Museum, guest appearance in Cankar Centre in Ljubljana
Exhibition concept: Iva Prosoli
Exhibition design: Iva Prosoli, Nina Pirnat Spahič
“Zagreb is my city. I came to know it thoroughly through picture-taking. There are certain routes that I usually take, but I also explore the new parts of the city when commissioned to photograph them. I have once captured all the parks of Zagreb on film. Thereby, I have discovered some of the city’s hidden parts that would have otherwise remained unrevealed. I simply cannot refrain from taking snaps of Zagreb, after all I am in the city every day. I see something new every day.”
“The guardian spirit of Zagreb”, “the First Lady of Croatian photography” are two of the titles associated with Marija Braut. Not unjustifiably, art historian Ive Šimat Banov named her ‘Mare the vagrant’ (Mare lutalica in Croatian). And it is thus – by roaming the city streets – that Marija Braut has been indefatigably exploring the city of Zagreb for the past forty years. The artist’s motion is noticeable in her photos: unobtrusive and devoid of blatant commentary, these are shots made by a silent observer. Tiny notes on the city. Having trained at the studio of an illustrious Croatian photographer, Tošo Dabac, Marija Braut worked for numerous newspapers, magazines, theatres, museums and other cultural institutions. Legendary is the story about Marija’s initiation, when Tošo Dabac instructed her to take to the streets, saying simply: Take photos! And that’s how it happened. It is the city of Zagreb that most recurrently features in her shows, and she has contributed photos for numerous monographs on Zagreb. Throughout the years she has come to adopt Zagreb it its entirety. Her photos not only document Zagreb but also her love for this city.
The photos included in the Ljubljana exhibition have been selected from the vast collection donated to the Zagreb City Museum by Marija Braut. The period of their origin spans twenty years. Looking at them today, from a temporal distance, they can be considered documents of time, the story of a city narrated by its streets, squares, promenades, facades, parks and people. They will raise many a smile, perhaps even feelings of nostalgia, when beholders will recognize the views, nowadays fairly transformed, the signs of no longer operating businesses, old car models or a lady dressed in the latest vogue. Marija Braut has also recorded the spread of the city onto the right bank of the Sava River, the birth of Novi Zagreb (New Zagreb). The photos of the “old” Zagreb’s Gornji and Donji grad (Upper and Lower Town), which radiate a Central European atmosphere, are represented alongside the wide spaces, the yet uncompleted areas of the new city and contemporary architecture functioning as clear signs of new optimism.
The exhibition also contains one of Braut’s early photographs of Zagreb – Ilica Street at 5 am. One of Marija Braut’s special pleasures is taking photos of Zagreb in the early morning; a pursuit indulged in at the beginning of her artistic path just as much as now. The skilful mastery of light, the multitude of the cast, often elongated shades, which disclose information on the time of day, and the light accents obtained by pronouncedly enhanced contracts, are only some of the reasons why the critics call her “a master of chiaroscuro”.
When asked about the changes brought about by time, Marija Braut replies:
“The cityscape has been much changed by new buildings, but the spirit has remained. Its spirit lingers still in the old parts that have been left intact. In the winding streets of Gornji grad, in the the zigzag rhythm of the Ilica Street.”
May the exhibition bring some of this spirit also to you!
Iva Prosoli
On the stairs leading towards Dolac Market, Zagreb, c. 1980, MGZ 56689
On the Strossmayer Promenade bench, Zagreb, c.1980, MGZ 56693
Bird-seller in Gornji grad, Zagreb, c. 1985, MGZ 56688
Splendid, Zagreb, c. 1980, MGZ 56708 In the window, Zagreb, c. 1980, MGZ 56711
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The Octogon Gates at the Flower Market, Zagreb, c. 1980, Ilica Street courtyard - Strap makers' window, Zagreb,
MGZ 56675 c. 1980, MGZ 56684
Lang Square, Zagreb, c. 1980, MGZ 56698
On the banks of the Sava River, Zagreb, c. 1975, MGZ 56692 Fishing in the Sava River, Zagreb, c. 1975, MGZ 56679
Youth Bridge under construction, Zagreb, 1974, MGZ 56678
Boys on the Mašerin Prilaz Street, Zagreb, c. 1980, MGZ 56680
Pictures from the exhibition
photo Cankar Cultural and Congress Centre
Exhibition catalogue
Prosoli, Iva. Marija Braut : My Zagreb.
Ljubljana : Cankar Cultural and Congress Centre, 2012