On Saturday, December 14, at 7 PM, the Red History Museum in Dubrovnik will open the
exhibition INTERFERENCE IN PICTURE RECEPTION – TRANSFERS OF PHOTOGRAPHY IN
DESIGN 1960–1990, which explores the relationship between photography and graphic
design through works by designers such as Ivan Picelj, Mihajlo Arsovski, Boris Bućan, Boris
Ljubičić, Mirko Ilić, Gorki Žuvela, Dušan Bekar, Dalibor Martinis, Goran Trbuljak, Sanja
Iveković, Bachrach & Krištofić, NEP, Greiner & Kropilak, and others.
The exhibition is curated by Marko Golub and Dejan Kršić and organized by the Red History Museum and the Croatian Designers Association (HDD). It will remain open until February 15, 2025.
From the text by Marko Golub and Dejan Kršić:
The exhibition “Interference in Picture Reception – Transfers of Photography in Design
1960–1990” focuses on the interplay between photography and graphic design in Croatia
from the late 1960s to the end of the 1980s. It examines how this relationship deepens our
understanding of both media while offering unique insights into the visual arts, media, and
popular culture of the era. Graphic design served as a bridge, transcending the established
boundaries between artistic, club, documentary, journalistic, and amateur photography.
This relationship is far from straightforward. It’s not merely about the use of photography in
various visual communication media but about the deconstruction of the photographic
medium—its language, texture, meaning, and properties—into a flow of other media such as
text, typography, collage, print techniques, and products (posters, magazines, newspapers,
books), as well as electronic imagery (TV, video) and xerography.
In some cases, photography becomes the dominant instrument of graphic design, while in
others, it manifests in unexpected ways, producing specific optical or aesthetic effects.
Sometimes it is employed in its most basic non-representational form (e.g., elemental
photography, photograms), blending seamlessly with other graphic elements—text, images,
and ideas—making it hard to discern where one ends and the other begins.
The classification of these relationships is a complex and often unrewarding task, as it
involves countless combinations and overlaps of creative approaches, techniques, and
technologies. These dynamics can be viewed as multidimensional intersections of various
axes, where combinations and degrees of integration vary. For instance, sometimes the
designer is also the photographer, or vice versa. Other times, existing photographs—whether by known or anonymous authors—are repurposed.
Another axis explores approaches to photography itself: from reproductions in their integral
form to radically transformed images through cropping, retouching, coloring, or converting
into high-contrast raster. In some cases, a single photograph is repeatedly used for a pop-art
effect, or sequential images create a cinematic narrative.
The exhibition showcases these dynamics through a variety of works—primarily posters, but
also magazines and books—created by artists and designers such as Ivan Picelj, Mihajlo
Arsovski, Boris Bućan, Boris Ljubičić, Mirko Ilić, Gorki Žuvela, Dalibor Martinis, Goran
Trbuljak, Sanja Iveković, and others. Photographers represented include Luka Mjeda, Ante
Verzotti, Slobodan Tadić Tec, Željko Stojanović - Žika, Boris Cvjetanović, Mario Krištofić,
among many others.
INTERFERENCE IN IMAGE RECEPTION: Photo Transfers in Design 1960–1990
Red History Museum
Sv. Križa Street 3, Dubrovnik
December 14, 2024 – February 15, 2025
Museum Opening Hours: Monday – Saturday: 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Organizers: Croatian Designers Association, Red History Museum
Exhibition Authors and Curators: Marko Golub & Dejan Kršić
Text and Exhibition Design Authors: Marko Golub & Dejan Kršić
Graphic Design:Dejan Kršić
Special Thanks to all institutions and individuals who contributed to the realization of this exhibition:Gallery of Fine Arts in Split, Gallery of the Student Center, Museum Documentation Center, Jasminka Babić, Ksenija Baronica, Zrinka Marković, Maja Kocijan, Tončika Cukrov, Boris Ljubičić, Miranda Veljačić and Dinko Peračić, Slavko Henigsman, Alira Hrabar Bekar, Duško Bekar, Sanja Iveković, Mirko Ilić, Goran Trbuljak
Organization:Marko Golub, Mirjana Jakušić / HDD; Kristina Mirošević and Krešimir Glavinić / Red History Museum
Technical Setup:Marin Glavinić
Printing Sponsors: Kerschoffset, Arskopija
The exhibition is funded by the Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia, the City Office for Culture and Civil Society of the City of Zagreb, the City of Dubrovnik, the Ministry of Culture and Media, the Dubrovnik Tourist Board, and the Croatian Tourist Board.The exhibition and discursive program of the HDD Gallery are co-financed by the Kultura Nova Foundation.
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