On Saturday, June 9, in the Katzenberg manor, Kamnik photographers prepared a workshop, lectures and an exhibition related to the topic of industrial heritage in the municipality.
The one-day photography event entitled Photo day in Smodnišnica was centered around the exhibition The passing of members of the Kamnik photo club. On the one hand, the exhibition is tied to the place where the events took place in Smodnišnica and industrial heritage in general, but at the same time, it tackles the passing of time more broadly, including through the question of the viewer of photography itself, which in a way records and preserves moments from the past.
Photography students at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Ljubljana added their share, and under the curatorship of Emina Djukić, Petar Koštrun and Petar Rauch, they prepared the project Load Up!. As part of the project, the curators and students "stick" the first works on the gallery wall, and then invite everyone else to participate as well. The result is thus always interesting and unpredictable.
The event was put into the context of Kamnik's "factories" by Marko Kumer, the author of exhibitions on the heritage of Kamnik's industrialization from the Kamnik Intermunicipal Museum in Zaprice, who briefly walked through the colorful history of the most recognizable factories in the vicinity of the town with photos and words.
Rudi Kotnik, a member of the club and a lecturer at the Faculty of Education in Maribor, continued, presenting one of the most influential photographers still alive, Robert Frank, the author of the famous monograph Americans, which is considered one of the best books in the field of photography. The presentation served as a starting point for reflection and discussion on the title theme, Passing.
During the photo day, a cyanotype workshop was also held, one of the many alternative photographic processes, which is still quite popular even among amateur photographers due to its characteristic blue shades. The workshop was led by club member Egon Bajt.
In the afternoon, a relaxed social event followed, which was enlivened by an interesting tour of Katzenberg's premises by Goran Završnik from the Cultural Association Priden možic.
Video: Simon Podgoršek
Photo: Teja Gerkman
