Photography is something that surrounds us, that captures life and its fragments.
Photography is a universal language and a phenomenon that is easy to share.
And it is an important part of the art world.
Social networks today are built on images and videos. In a world of sharing and communication, they are an essential element that is quickly understood, often without knowledge of the context, the same language or culture, which can also be a certain risk. In other words, critical thinking and the ability to read a photography will grow in importance in the digital information age. Being able to understand but also appreciate the artistic contribution of photography will be an integral part of this development.
The purchase of a fine art print can be a profitable investment as well as a significant gesture supporting the tradition of the finest artworks in Czech Republic. Abroad, they know very well why to buy fine art photography.
The acquisition of a artwork is not just an investment, but constitutes an important support for a developing culture. In the Czech environment, it is the last link in a chain that will strengthen the level of visual culture also in an international context. It is a paradox that many Czech photographers are much more represented in important collections abroad than at home. Can they better appreciate czech photography abroad? For now, yes, and they know probably why. An investment in photography at current prices can pay off several times over in the future.
The creation of high quality collections of artistically valuable photography is inevitable in the context of world art markets.
The phenomenon of photography collecting is lagging behind in our country compared to foreign markets. Art collectors in the Czech Republic are mostly fond of painting and, with a few exceptions, have not yet embraced the medium of photography. One of the reasons for this may be the fear of its easier reproducibility or the mistaken impression that it has less credit than other artistic artefacts such as paintings, drawings, sculptures, etc. It should be remembered that in the approach of both the professional and the general public, this unjustly lower status was previously given to drawing, graphics and even design, which has experienced a boom and deserved recognition in this country only in the last two decades. It is logical that the rehabilitation of the collection of artistically valuable photographs must take place if it has been happening since the 1970s in the United States or since the 1980s in Germany, England, France and other countries with more developed markets, which, moreover, have been growing rapidly recently. For these reasons, now is a perfect time to take an interest in the fine art photography market.
Buying fine art prints by renowned artists or rising stars of the photographic scene is not only an interesting investment in art, but also a proof of the buyer's good taste.
Compared to the painting of the history of Czech photography, there is another interesting perspective. None of our painters have gained such recognition in the world compared to the classics of Czech photography, such as Josef Sudek, František Drtikol, Jaromír Funke and many others who are truly renowned names on the global art market. We can rediscover this tradition by looking at photography, both historical photography (at adequate and relatively high prices) and contemporary photography that develops the high level of the Czechoslovak photography tradition while still being in the range of much more affordable prices.
Markéta Kinterová
(revised, published in Fotograf Magazine, Vol. 43 (2022), s. 53)
