Vaclav Macek,director of the Central European House of Photography, Bratislava,
organizer of the Month of Photography
Issues arising during the writing
of the massive work European History of Photography

Vaclav Macek,
director of the Central European House of Photography, Bratislava,
organizer of the Month of Photography
Issues arising during the writing
of the massive work European History of Photography

The History of European Photography 1900 – 1938 (Vol. 1) is the first volume of a three-volume encyclopedia on the history of European Photography of the 20th Century. On more than 800 illustrated pages, over 45 experts discuss their research on photography in 34 countries. So far, it is the most complex overview of European photography – an accomplishment that didn’t come easy. In his lecture, Vaclav Macek, the editor of the volume, discusses a multitude of issues that arose during the compilation of the publication. He touches upon the relationship between the arts and the socio-political situation of the regions and states. He also elaborates on the floating nature of the motifs in European photography culture. He studies photography as part of the arts, as well as part of the visual culture. And, also, he expounds on what the cognate European photography means at all.