E-book Tone Stojko, Theatre Photography 1.1. & 1.2.

Tone Stojko (1947) is undoubtedly one of the most important Slovenian (and formerly Yugoslav) photographers of the last half century.

He is best known to the general public for his photojournalistic achievements, he is also known for his portraits (among others, he has photographed the Prešeren Award winners (the highest recognition in the Republic of Slovenia for achievements in the field of artistic creation) for the last 21 years), and in the theatre he is renowned as a master of theatre photography – there is not a theatregoer in Slovenia who has not (at least) heard of Tone Stojko.

Tone Stojko’s theatre oeuvre is extremely extensive – more than 310,000 images. He has photographed productions of repertory theatres as well as numerous productions of non-institutional groups – often for free or almost free, because he wanted them to be recorded, but undoubtedly also out of love, indeed passion, for theatre in all its diversity and vividness.

His bilingual monograph Theatre Photography was published in 2002. It was published by Prodok d.o.o. (in 1997, together with his son Simon Stojko Falk, he founded the theatre documentation centre Prodok teater TV), and the Slovenian Theatre Museum (the predecessor of today’s Slovenian Theatre Institute) helped with the publication.

It comprised the photographer’s oeuvre from 1969 to 2002 and was therefore subtitled From Pupilia to Juliet.  Tone Stojko, the Slovenian Theatre Institute (the iconotheque collection holds Stojko’s theatre oeuvre) and Prodok, d.o.o. have agreed to publish a digital upgrade of this monograph.

The result is the e-book Theatre Photography 1.1. & 1.2., which covers a selection of Stojko’s theatre photographs from 1969, when he took his first theatre photograph, to 2016; it comprises two chapters – the original, printed edition of the book (which has been slightly modified in the electronic edition) has been supplemented by a set of photographs titled From The Naked Pianist to The Dog, the Night and the Night and the Knife. It is largely composed of colour photographs taken over the period from 2001 to 2016. Alongside contributions by Ivo Svetina and Dušan Jovanović from 2002, the book also includes an academic article on the photographic oeuvre of Tonet Stojko, written for the e-book by Marija Skočir, PhD. The book has been edited by Tea Rogelj, MA and Simon Stojko Falk.

The Slovenian Theatre Institute accompanied the publication of the e-book with a travelling exhibition Tone Stojko, Theatre Photography. Together with Tone Stojko, it was designed by curator mag. Tea Rogelj and opened on 7 June 2024 at the Maribor National Theatre as part of the Maribor Theatre Festival. In a slightly modified form, it will also be on display this year at the Slovenian Theatre Institute in Ljubljana (opening on 1 October) and at the Anton Podbevšek Theatre in Novo mesto.

Tone Stojko has dedicated the e-book and the exhibition to the playwright and director Dušan Jovanović, with whom he began his theatrical journey.

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Tone Stojko, Theatre Photography 1.1. & 1.2.

Authors of the texts: Ivo Svetina, Dušan Jovanović, dr. Marija Skočir
Documented by:  Mojca Kranjc, mag. Mojca Kranjska, Mojca Kranjska, Mojca Kranjska, Mojca Kranjska
Translators: Alan McConnell Duff (contributions by Ivo Svetina and Dušan Jovanović), Jaka Andrej Vojevec (contribution by Marija Skočir, PhD)
Slovenian language Editing: Andraž Polončič Ruparčič
English language Editing: Jana Renée Wilcoxen
Designers: Mina Žabnikar, Mateja Podmenik Osole

Editors. Tea Rogelj, Simon Stojko Falk

Photo on the cover: Dušan Jovanović, Who Sings Sisyphus, SNT Drama Ljubljana, premiere 12.1.1997. Photo by Tone Stojko; source: Slovenian Theatre Institute.