Tone Stojko, Theatre Photography, Novo Mesto staging of the traveling exhibition

Razstava bo v dvorani Bertolda Brechta v Anton Podbevšek Teatru v Novem mestu na ogled do 20. decembra. Odprli smo jo na Ta veseli dan kulture, v torek, 3. decembra 2024.

One thousand and one nights, Tone Stojko - as Scheherazade's brother - passed through the theater and stared at the continuous flow of images brought to life by the sweat, blood and tears of the actors, and with his Polyphemus eye caught light and shadows, art and life, theater and play; to overflow this, he stores boundless wealth in the depth of his gaze, where he will imprint on photographic paper, washed with diluted acid - like an old sculptor in a white working stone - the images of the only real life: the life of human dreams, which came to life in the theater, which revived the theater. (Ivo Svetina, 2002)

I am sure of one thing: if a good photographer has nothing to show, then the show has nothing to show either. Nemara was just babbling. Theater should learn from photography. She reveals the truth and bares the matter to the bone. Stojko's photography does not seduce or obscure, does not hide, does not mystify, but mercilessly reveals. She follows the advice that Gertrude gives to Polonius: "More real, less embellishment!" (Dušan Jovanović, 2002)

The stage as a scene for a photographic frame fascinated him, and the freedom of movement and play marked the creation of his own artistic vision. For Stojko, theater and artistic photography are inextricably linked, mainly because the documentation of emotionally charged events on stage, in which gestures are condensed and the atmosphere of the event can be felt in the air, represents for him much more than just material for an authentic record of the event - it offers him the possibility recreating a work of art, which takes place almost unrepeatably on stage, with its own tool – a photographic or film camera. (Dr. Marija Skočir, 2024)

Tone Stojko (b. 1947) is undoubtedly one of the most important Slovenian (and formerly Yugoslav) photographers of the last half-century. Among others, he has taken portraits of Alfred Hitchcock, John Lennon, and Yoko Ono, concert photos of Tina Turner, and since 1996, he has been photographing all recipients of the Prešeren Award and the Prešeren Fund Award (he himself is among the latter).

Next to documentary and portrait photography, one of his core interests has always been theatre. His theatre oeuvre includes over 310 000 photos which all contain his recognisable artistic signature.

The exhibition Tone Stojko, Theater Photography accompanied the release of the book of the same name e-bookof the same name. Curator Tea Rogelj, MA made a selection of photographs from the period from 1969 to 2016 from the photographic material published in the book. It was designed by Nina Šturm.

Tone Stojko dedicates the book and the exhibition to Dušan Jovanović, with whom he began his theatrical journey.

S potujočo razstavo – prvič je bila na ogled v okviru Festivala Borštnikovo srečanje junija letos v SNG v Mariboru, oktobra in novembra pa so si jo obiskovalci lahko ogledali v Slovenskem gledališkem inštitutu – bomo počastili Ta veseli dan kulture; v Anton Podbevšek Teatru v Novem mestu jo bomo odprli v torek, 3. decembra 2024, ob 19. uri. Po uradnem odprtju nas bosta po razstavi popeljala Tone Stojko and Tea Rogelj, MA.

Odprtje razstave, 3. decembra 2024 v Anton Podbevšek Teatru. Foto: Boštjan Pucelj / Anton Podbevšek Teater.

From the media (in Slovenian)

V novomeškem Anton Podbevšek Teatru odpirajo fotografsko razstavo Toneta Stojka, STA, 3. 12. 2024

V novomeškem Anton Podbevšek Teatru odpirajo fotografsko razstavo Toneta Stojka Novo mesto, Gorenjski Glas, 3. 12. 2024

Touring Exhibition Tone Stojko, Theatre Photography

Author: Tone Stojko * Curator: Tea Rogelj, MA * Design: Nina Šturm
Translation: Barbara Skubic * Proofreading: Andraž Polončič Ruparčič * Proofreader for English language: Jana Renée Wilcoxen
Produced by the Slovenian Theater Institute (SLOGI, represented by: Dr. Gašper Troha), co-producer: Prodok, doo (represented by: Simon Stojko Falk), 2024. SLOGI is financed by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia.
Photo editing: Tone Stojko * Printing: OKVIR doo

In the cover photo: Dušan Jovanović, Who Sings Sisyphus, SNT Drama Ljubljana, premiere on January 12, 1997. Photo: Tone Stojko; source: SLOGI.