Jernej Humar fotografije Odvodi in dovodi
Jernej Humar Odvodi in dovodi 25. 9.–16. 10. 2015
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Odvodi in dovodi Novembra 2014 je modul Philae, sestavni del vesoljske sonde Rosetta, pristal na kometu 67P in za~el analizirati sestavo popotnika našega oson~ja. Ve~ji del raziskav sestave je namenjen iskanju kompleksnih organskih sestavin, ki so gradniki nukleinskih kislin in aminokislin. Druga~e povedano, iš~ejo se sledi živih bitij. Za komete se domneva, da so bili eden najpomembnejših virov vode na Zemlji in posledi~no tudi nastanka življenja. Analiza vodikovih atomov na tem kometu nakazuje, da voda na Zemlji izvira s kometov te vrste v manjši meri od dosedanjih predvidevanj. Znova se je pokazalo, kako malo vemo o tem osnovnem elementu, ki ga imamo za vir življenja. Vsako vrtanje in praskanje po vesolju vsaki~ odpre ve~ vprašanj, kot ponudi odgovorov, vendar tudi opazovanje vode v naravi ali laboratoriju na Zemlji hitro pokaže, da nimamo opravka s preprosto snovjo. Ve~inoma smo njeno delovanje sprejeli kot samoumevno, a ~loveka vedno znova prevzame ob sre~anjih z njo tako v naravi kot v doma~em umivalniku. Fascinantna je tudi njena vseprisotnost in možnost njenega soobstajanja v treh agregatnih stanjih v enem pogledu. Pogosto daje ob~utek, kot bi bila živa, in v ljudskih mitologijah so vodne pokrajine še pogosteje poosebljene od zemeljskih. Motiv pokrajine v likovni umetnosti ima danes druga~en pomen kot v preteklosti. Še vedno ga lahko delimo na naravo in pokrajino ~loveka, vendar ob zavedanju, da življenje ~loveštva že nekaj stoletij v naravi puš~a posledice, ob zavedanju, da je nastopilo novo geološko obdobje – antropocen, celo gozd pogosto le stežka dojamemo kot ~isto divjino. Prav gozd predstavlja v nas arhetipski simbol za nezavedno. Toda vplivi ~loveštva so segli celo že v globine oceanov, tako da danes divjina prodira skozi špranje v naših sistemih. V~asih je to plevel, ki zraste skozi razpoko v betonu, v~asih napaka v ra~unalniškem programu. Za razumevanje pokrajine tudi ni nepomembno, kako razumemo delitev na naravo in kulturo. Sama delitev je umetna in gre za prakti~en pristop k lo~itvi med ~loveško dejavnostjo in vsem ostalim, ki zunaj konteksta ~loveške družbe nima nobenega posebnega pomena. Mi vidimo v arhitekturi termitov naravo, a hkrati je treba verjeti, da živali naša bivališ~a tudi vidijo na tak na~in – kot eno in brez razlikovanja. Kultura je torej le zavestno delovanje ~loveka, vse ostalo, tudi posledice njegovega delovanja, ki se jih ne zaveda, so že naravni procesi. Lo~iti pa je treba tudi med cinizmom, ki trdi, da je vse naravno, kakor
razpreda glavni junak na za~etku filma V leru, in sprejemanjem odgovornosti za posledice lastnega zavestnega delovanja skupaj z zavedanjem, da smo vtkani v vesoljsko tkivo, da smo z njim eno. Pokrajina je manifestacija kozmi~nih procesov in na ta na~in lahko razumemo tako umetniške upodobitve iz preteklosti vse od jamskih slik dalje kot tudi te iz našega ~asa. Jernej Humar se zadnja leta intenzivno posve~a vodi, njeni pokrajini in oblikam njene preobrazbe. Motive za fotografije iš~e na sprehodih, pri tem pa se izogiba prostorom ~loveka in ~loveku nasploh. Ne fotografira spektakularnih prizorov. Ve~inoma gre za anonimne ali vsaj le redkim poznane kraje, vendar jih narava vseeno ni prikrajšala za svojo inherentno spektakularnost. Pred ve~ kot 10 leti je Humar fotografiral urbane neznance in marginalce, detajle iz družbe, izseke iz množic. Ustvaril je vrsto portretov, ki jih odlikuje ob~utek za osebnost in posebnost posameznika. Podobno tudi sedaj pristopa k prostorom v pokrajini. Njegove fotografije niso podobe s potovanj po eksoti~nih krajih, temve~ so dobesedno posnete v doma~ih logih. Prizori so navadni, nekako doma~i, vendar vseeno neznani. Ne gre namre~ za fascinantne motive, ki smo jih že videli ali slišali o njih. Triglavska jezera, na primer, si lahko predstavljamo kot kako pop zvezdo, kot ikono, o kateri opazovalec (fotografije in v naravi) v sebi nosi nekaj pri~akovanj in je zato že v izhodiš~u med njima neka razdalja. Humar pa objekte svojega fotografiranja pozna in jim dovoli, da komunicirajo z njim na osebnem nivoju. S tem vzpostavlja sre~anje enakovrednih in ukinja razmerje subjekt – objekt. Opazovano postaja abstraktno, kot nekakšen madež v vizualnem polju, ki se takšno kaže zato, ker ga nekdo (ta) gleda. Za gledalca fotografske podobe pa je težko znebiti se njene povezave z resni~nostjo tistega, kar je bilo fotografirano. ^eprav gre za podobe, ki delujejo kot prispodobe in so pred gledalcem samostojne, si prizore na njih vedno v duhu predstavljamo tudi kot stvari v nekem drugem prostoru in ~asu. Realizem fotografskega medija je tako prepri~ljiv, da je prelahko pozabiti na njegov u~inek in enostavno verjeti. Tako dobijo fotografirane stvari dvojno življenje. Eno v duhu gledalca – fragmentarno ter vezano na spomin in domišljijo, drugo pa neodvisno od njega, a zato ni~ manj resni~no. Vasja Nagy
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Water: Inflows & Outflows On 12 November 2014, the Philae module of the Rosetta space probe landed on comet 67P and began analysing the composition of the object travelling through our solar system. The research is focused mainly on finding complex organic components that are the building blocks of nucleic acids and amino acids. In other words, the aim of the research is to find traces of life. Comets were supposedly one of the main sources of water on Earth and therefore the main factor for the origin of life. The analysis of the hydrogen atoms on this particular comet has shown that actually water on Earth had originated from this kind of comets to a far lesser extent than previously thought. Once again, we are discovering how trifling our knowledge of the basic element we consider the origin of life actually is. Every time we go out into space to drill or scrape something, we come back with more new questions than answers, while observing water in nature or in a laboratory on Earth immediately makes us realise that we are dealing with a substance that is far from being simple. We have come to taking the action of water for granted, but water can be overwhelmingly surprising every time we get in touch with it, be it in nature or in our own wash basin. Water’s pervasive presence is simply fascinating, at least as much as the possibility of grasping water in all three states in a single sight. Water gives us the impression of being alive and waters in traditional myths and legends are alive far more often than land. Landscapes in today’s art have a different relevance than in the past. Although we still divide them into natural and human landscapes, we are increasingly aware that human presence has been leaving its marks and led to consequences for a few centuries now, to the extent that we are talking about a new geological epoch: the Anthropocene. Even forests are hardly perceived as immaculate wilderness. Forest is the archetypal sign of the subconscious and as human activities have reached to the depths of the oceans, the wilderness is sneaking in through the gaps in our systems. On some occasions, it is weed sprouting from the cracks in the concrete, on others, bugs in software. Our division between nature and culture is far from irrelevant, if we are to properly understand landscape. The distinction itself is artificial and has only practical value as an approach to separating human activities from all the rest, all that, which has no particular meaning outside the context of human society. As we consider the architectural wonders created by ants part of nature, we should believe that animals also perceive our dwellings as one with and undistinguished from nature. Only the man’s conscious activities may therefore be called culture, while all the rest, including the consequences of our actions, which we are not aware of, are already part of natural processes. Of course, we have to distinguish between
cynicism, such as saying that everything is natural, as the main character claims at the beginning of the film “V leru”, and owning up to the consequences of our conscious activities, alongside with an awareness that we are part of the cosmic tissue, that we are one. Every landscape is a manifestation of cosmic processes and this is one way of understanding the artistic renderings of the past, from cave paintings onwards, as well as the contemporary ones. Over the past few years, Jernej Humar has been devoting much of his attention to water, its landscapes and the varying forms it may take. He finds the motives for his photographs on his walks, while carefully avoiding human spaces and man in general. He does not shoot spectacular scenes. Most of the times, his photographs show mostly or completely unknown places, where nature has not been stripped of its inherent wonder. More than ten years ago, Humar used to photograph anonymous city dwellers and marginalised people, as well as societal details and crowd cut-outs. He created a series of portraits, which show his fine sense for personality and individual traits. He has preserved the same approach to natural landscapes. His photographs are far from being simple images from trips to exotic places, but shots made in his own backyard. The scenes are plain, familiar and yet unknown. We do not see fascinating motives, the ones we have already seen or heard about. The lakes of Triglav have become famous and could be equalled to pop stars or icons. Seeing such a place (on a photograph or in nature) already implies a series of expectations, which create a certain distance between the object and the viewer. Conversely, Humar knows the objects of his photographs and allows them to address him on a personal level. In this way, he turns the shooting into a meeting of peers and thus abolishes the subject-object relation. What is observed, becomes abstract, a kind of a stain in the field of view that has only become such because of being watched by someone. Viewers, however, struggle to separate the photograph from the actual object represented. Although we are seeing images, independent representations of things, it is not easy for us not to imagine the scenes as actual things, existing in another space and time. The reality of the photographic medium is so convincing that we consistently forget about its effects and just believe everything we see. The photographed things thus have a double life: One, in the observer’s eye--fragmented and strongly tied to memory and fantasy, and the other, independently from all objective reality, and still not less real. Vasja Nagy
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Jernej Humar (1975) se je rodil v Šempetru pri Gorici. Po kon~ani srednji tehni~ni šoli se je odlo~il za študij strojništva. Leta 1997 je opravil sprejemni izpit na Akademiji odrskih, filmskih in televizijskih umetnosti v Pragi, kjer je leta 2002 diplomiral z odliko pri profesorju Viktorju Kolarju s fotografsko serijo Brezdomci. Je dobitnik 3. nagrade na Emzinovem fotografskem nate~aju za ciklus Subway leta 2000. Svoje fotografije razstavlja na samostojnih in skupinskih razstavah doma in na tujem. Živi in dela v Novi Gorici. Samostojne razstave 2013 Krog goric, knjižnica Franceta Bevka, Nova Gorica 2007 Pi~ke, Cankarjev dom, Ljubljana Skoki, MKC, Postojna 2006 Skok v višino, Toba~ni muzej, Ljubljana 2004 Brezdomci, predor pod Kostanjevico, Nova Gorica Pilonova galerija, Ajdovš~ina 1999 Minor Threat, avla ob~inske hiše, Nova Gorica 1997 Koncertna fotografija, Kontrada, Kanal ob So~i
Izid kataloga je omogo~ila:
Katalog izdal: Javni zavod Kulturni dom Nova Gorica, Mestna galerija Nova Gorica – Zanj odgovarja: Pavla Jarc – Urednica: Mateja Polj{ak Furlan – Besedilo: Vasja Nagy – Prevod: Peter Szabo – Oblikovanje: Adenda d.o.o. – Tisk: Tiskarna Present d. o. o. – Naklada: 300
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