Annie Millman
Select Work
Editorial/ Portraits
Archive
Karel Kameník
Bio/Contact
Born in Ostrava in 1959, Karel Kameník is a representative yet wholly original figure in 1980s-1990s Central European photography. Kameník worked as an architect and as a professor of photojournalism at Charles University in Prague. He died in 1997, at age 38. Today, Kameník’s work, respected and shown and garnering awards during his lifetime, is nearly dormant. He produced an extensive body of work during his short life, including documenting the 1989 Velvet Revolution, commercial architecture assignments, and a series from his first-ever trip to the United States (titled “The Americans”) in 1992.
Nearly three decades after his death, I am processing, organizing, and digitizing Karel Kameník’s archive with an aim to make his work accessible and ultimately solidify his legacy in the history of Czech Photography. This archive will provide audiences with rich imagery and examples of life during the period of hard-line Communism known as “normalization,” a time historically underrepresented due to the regime’s suppression of free press and creative arts. Kamenik’s images, often abstract, evoke the emotional and intellectual struggles of attempting to live and create during a period of widespread censorship and political apathy. It is essential to preserve and share these images to fill gaps in history and provide an opportunity for new generations to learn about this era.
Additional information and work samples available upon request: anna.karina.m@gmail.com