The question “what is photography?”has been raised long ago and in various

parts of the world. That special type ofcommunication, the representation of a'frozen' moment that occurred in some com-mon space and time, has contributed,among other things, to our knowledge oftheir (both spatial and temporal) disloca-tion. The coexistence of “there and then”with “here and now” has been intriguingcritics, theoreticians, philosophers, and allthose attracted by the world and the mean-ing of photographic images for years.

We keep wondering how the photogra-phers move among us. Are they always pre-pared, do they always have a camera athand, together with a fresh film roll, adjust-ed exposition, flesh turned on or off? Howdo they recognize and encounter that “deci-sive moment”, once defined by HenriCartier-Bresson? How long do they have towait in order to focus their camera on a sol-dier dying, and do blazing bombs fall onlywhen the camera is ready?

We are surrounded by images. Andwith words explaining those images, wordswhich set them in various, more or less con-vincing contexts. Communication, oncedirect, has meanwhile become multilevel,since it seems that there is no longer any-thing that we could see, feel, or know with-out a mediator. (Or can we? Still, the ques-tion remains: are we able to realize all theshades that are mediated?)

This issue of Æivot umjetnosti has beendedicated entirely to the various aspects ofthe photographic medium. This mediumhas been used for many various purposes -repressive, solemn, advertising, documen-tary - thus having a different impact on eachand every person involved with it. Everyindividual is captured by something, whilethe sharp eye of the photographer keepstearing our present experience apart, de-manding that it should be lived again andreinterpreted. It is precisely this transforma-tion of the medium, conditioned by the con-text of “here and now”, that forms the fra-mework of an initiated photographic dis-course. l

prijevod / translation: Marina Miladinov

Pitanje “πto je fotografija?” postavlja sena raznim stranama svijeta veÊ dugo

vremena. Ta osobita vrsta komunikacije,prikaz 'zamrznuta' trenutka koji se dogodiou zajedniËkom prostoru i vremenu, uz osta-lo pridonosi spoznaji o njihovoj (i prostor-noj i vremenskoj) dislociranosti. Istodobnopostojanje “tamo i tada” i “ovdje i sada” go-dinama intrigira kritiËare, teoretiËare, filozo-fe i sve ostale privuËene svijetom i znaËe-njem fotografskih slika.

Pitamo se na koji se naËin fotografikreÊu meu nama? Imaju li stalno u pri-pravi, negdje pri ruci, kameru s prireenimfilmom, pravilno odabranom ekspozicijom,iskljuËenom ili ukljuËenom bljeskalicom?Kako se prepoznaje i doËekuje onaj “odlu-ËujuÊi trenutak” koji je svojedobno definiraoHenri Cartier-Bresson? Koliko je potrebnoËekati da se pred fotografovim oËima dogo-di smrt vojnika, padaju li plamene bombetek kad je kamera spremna?

Okruæeni smo slikama. I rijeËima kojete slike pojaπnjavaju, dovode u raznovrsnekontekste, viπe ili manje uvjerljive. NekoÊizravna komunikacija u meuvremenu seuslojila, zato πto se Ëini kako danas viπeniπta ne moæemo gledati, osjetiti niti spoz-nati bez posrednika. (Ili ipak moæemo? Noostaje pitanje hoÊemo li osvijestiti baπ svenijanse koje nam oni posreduju?)

Ovaj broj Æivota umjetnosti u cijelostije posveÊen raznovrsnim aspektima foto-grafskog medija. Koriπten u najraznovrsnijesvrhe - represivne, poËasne, reklamne, do-kumentarne - razliËito djeluje na one koji senjime bave. Svatko pojedinaËno biva kap-tiran neËime, dok oπtrice fotografskih pogle-da razdiru danaπnje iskustvo traæeÊi da ihse iznova doæivi i interpretira. Upravo tatransformacija medija uvjetovana kontek-stom “ovdje i sada” okvir je iniciranog foto-grafskog diskursa. t

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t lsandra kriæiÊroban

tamo, tada… ovdje, sadathere, then… here, now

1. M. Tudor, 06/2003, detalj / detail

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