Tone Stojko: Portreti / Portraits

PREŠERNOVI NAGRAJENCI
IN NAGRAJENCI PREŠERNOVEGA SKLADA

PREŠEREN AWARD AND PREŠEREN FUND AWARD RECIPIENTS

1996–2017

PORTRETI / PORTRAITS

TONE STOJKO

GALERIJA PREŠERNOVIH NAGRAJENCEV KRANJ

CIP - Kataložni zapis o publikaciji
Narodna in univerzitetna knjižnica, Ljubljana

77.04(497.4):929Stojko T.

STOJKO, Tone
Prešernovi nagrajenci in nagrajenci Prešernovega sklada =

Prešeren Award and Prešeren Fund Award recipients : 1996-2017 :
portreti : portraits / Tone Stojko ; [avtorji besedil Marko Arnež ...
[et al.] ; prevod v angleški jezik Katarina Ropret]. - Kranj :
Galerija Prešernovih nagrajencev za likovno umetnost Kranj :
Zavod za turizem in kulturo, 2017

ISBN 978-961-6815-12-3 (Zavod za turizem in kulturo)

290299904

PREŠERNOVI NAGRAJENCI
IN NAGRAJENCI PREŠERNOVEGA SKLADA

PREŠEREN AWARD AND PREŠEREN FUND AWARD RECIPIENTS

1996–2017

PORTRETI / PORTRAITS

TONE STOJKO



VSEBINA / CONTENT

Marko Arnež
6 PREŠERNOVI NAGRAJENCI V PREŠERNOVEM MESTU
10 PREŠEREN LAUREATES IN PREŠEREN'S TOWN

Jaroslav Skrušný
14 SE MAR SPODOBI, DA DRŽAVA POSVEČUJE UMETNIKE?
17 IS IT DECENT FOR THE STATE TO VENERATE ARTISTS?

Marija Skočir
20 OSVETLJEVANJE DUŠ
25 EXPOSING SOULS
31 PORTRETI NAGRAJENCEV / PORTRAITS OF LAUREATES
292 Upravni odbori Prešernovega sklada / Prešeren Fund Boards
293 Seznam Prešernovih nagrajencev in nagrajencev

Prešernovega sklada 1996–2017 / Prešeren Award
and Prešeren Fund Award Recipients 1996–2017

PREŠERNOVI NAGRAJENCI V PREŠERNOVEM MESTU

Marko Arnež

Galerija Prešernovih nagrajencev Kranj zbira in ohranja, predvsem pa predstavlja Prešernove nagrajence in
nagrajence Prešernovega sklada. Zamisel, ki se je porodila pred dobrimi dvajsetimi leti v ozkem krogu kranjskih
zaljubljencev v umetnost, da v Kranju zberemo najpomembnejše stvaritve (predvsem z likovnega področja),
s pričujočo monografijo, posvečeno Tonetu Stojku, dokončno utrjuje poslanstvo Galerije Prešernovih nagra-
jencev: da je Prešernovo mesto domovanje lavreatov, ki so dobili najvišja državna priznanja s področja kulture
in umetnosti.

S tem galerija nadaljuje tradicijo Gorenjskega muzeja, ki je že leta 1981 ob slovenskem kulturnem prazniku na
razstavah v Prešernovem spominskem muzeju začel predstavljati Prešernove nagrajence in nagrajence Prešer-
novega sklada. Kustosinja Gorenjskega muzeja Beba Jenčič je v muzejskih postavitvah do leta 1995 predstavljala
nagrajence za posamezna obdobja od leta 1947 dalje, ko so se te nagrade začele podeljevati. Od leta 1995 do
2010 pa je predstavila vsakokratne nagrajence preteklega leta. V skoraj tridesetletnem predstavljanju nagra-
jencev je Gorenjski muzej ustvaril arhiv dragocenega dokumentarnega gradiva in zbirko del z različnih nagrajenih
področij. Svoja dolgoletna prizadevanja pri oblikovanju zbirke »Prešerniana« je Gorenjski muzej v sodelovanju z
Upravnim odborom Prešernovega sklada zaokrožil z obsežno monografijo Petdeset let Prešernovih nagrad: 1947–
1996, izdano leta 1996.

Leta 2010 je Galerija Prešernovih nagrajencev po slovesni podelitvi Prešernovih nagrad in nagrad Prešernovega
sklada v Cankarjevem domu v Ljubljani na predvečer slovenskega kulturnega praznika v Kranj prvič povabila
vse takratne nagrajene umetnike. V dogovoru s predsednikom Upravnega odbora Prešernovega sklada, Jaro-
slavom Skrušnýjem, smo 8. februarja 2010 nagrajence predstavili na razstavi v Galeriji Prešernovih nagrajencev
Kranj in kasneje še na pogovornih večerih v renesančni dvorani Mestne hiše v Kranju. Na februarske dogodke
smo se začeli pripravljati že decembra, z obiski nagrajencev in v dogovoru z njimi smo izbirali predmete, ki smo
jih kasneje razstavili. Nekatera srečanja z nagrajenci in s predmeti iz njihovih domov ali pa iz arhivov so se nam
še posebej vtisnila v spomin. S prve razstave se še spomnim obleke baletne plesalke, Prešernove nagrajenke,
Mateje Rebolj. Kostja Gatnika, aktualnega nagrajenca za likovno področje, smo decembra 2010 predstavili na
samostojni razstavi, kot je že tradicionalno za Prešernov rojstni dan. Razstavo, na kateri so bili tudi notesnik pes-
nika Miklavža Komelja, note in dirigentska palica Alda Kumarja, rolke koreografinje Maje Delak je pripravil Janez
Suhadolc, ki je postal naš stalni sodelavec.

6

Leta 2011 je kranjsko druženje nagrajencev dobilo naslov Shod muz na kranjskem Parnasi. Naslov smo si izpo-
sodili iz uvodnika razstavne zloženke Jaroslava Skrušnýa. Pesniške zbirke Miroslava Košute, note in številni CD-
ji orkestrov z vseh celin, ki jim je dirigiral maestro Anton Nanut, kitajske palčke Emila Filipčiča, ilustracije Lile
Prap, obleka iz Offenbachove opere Renske nimfe, ki jo je nosil tenorist Branko Robinšak, so bili najbolj zanimivi
eksponati razstave. Prvič smo sredi februarja istočasno gostili tudi vse nagrajence v Kranju. V Ravnikarjevi ste-
briščni dvorani Mestne občine Kranj so v prijetnem klepetu s Sašo Pavček občinstvu razkrivali skrivnosti iz svojega
življenja, ki jih sicer javnosti ne zaupajo prav pogosto.

Leta 2012 smo zadnjič predstavili nagrajence z njihovimi osebno izbranimi predmeti. Plakati Matjaža Vipotnika
s Sterijinega pozorja in kultni plakat Marx na kolesu ter izbor knjig z Vipotnikovo opremo, zapiski romanov Jožeta
Snoja in izbrane fotografije iz družinskega albuma, trobenta Franca Kosma, maketa grajske pristave v Ormožu,
so samo nekateri predmeti iz vitrin takratne razstave. Na srečanju 15. februarja sta dogodku svoj čar dodala
Iztok Mlakar s Čikorjo an’ kafetom in Stojan Kuret s ČarniCami.

Na vseh predstavitvah so bili na ogled tudi portreti nagrajencev, ki jih je od leta 1996 za Upravni odbor Prešer-
novega sklada v fotografsko oko ujel Tone Stojko. Na prvih treh razstavah so bili portreti vpeti v predstavitvene
panoje, od leta 2013 pa se galerija na slovenski kulturni praznik nagrajenim umetnikom pokloni s fotografsko
razstavo nedvomno enega najbolj prepoznavnih slovenskih fotografov in s pogovori nagrajencev v Prešernovem
gledališču 8. februarja, ki ga vodi Patricija Maličev.

Utrip sodelovanja Galerije Prešernovih nagrajencev Kranj in Upravnega odbora Prešernovega sklada se razkriva
v uvodnikih, ki so jih ob odprtjih razstav pisali predsedniki Upravnega odbora Prešernovega sklada. Jaroslav Skru-
šný je leta 2010 v prvem uvodniku poudaril: »Vrba – Ljubljana – Kranj: tri ključne postaje na življenjski poti slo-
venskega pesnika, troje posvečenih znamenj na zemljevidu slovenske istovetnosti, trojica institucionalnih obeležij
v našem kolektivnem narodotvornem spominu. Tri uradno kanonizirana krajevna imena, ki pričajo – skupaj s himno
in Prešernovimi verzi na dvoevrskem kovancu –, da se tudi kot suverena nacija še vedno prepoznavamo v izročilu
pesniške besede, se pravi v tradiciji duhá in lepote, da smo še zmeraj zavezani resnici, ki prihaja na dan v obliki le-
pote. (Mogoče ne ravno vsak delovni dan, ko se nam glas in pogled v marnem pehanju za obstoj rada zgubita v
trušču in goščavju vsakršnega pragmatičnega – gospodarskega, političnega, znanstvenega, zabavljaškega – pod-
obja in besedja; ob prazničnih dnevih, kakršen je danes, pa zagotovo!) In kadar govorimo o očaranosti nad lepoto
– še posebej nad lepoto pesniške besede –, nam misel kar sama zaide k pravzorniku te čarne poetične moči, k
prvemu med pevci naše civilizacijske izkušnje: k Orfeju. In znano je, da je Orfej najlepše, najbolj pretresljivo in
najbolj zavezujoče zapel, ko se je ljubljena Evridika dokončno in nepreklicno vrnila v kraljestvo senc, ko jo je moral
za vselej prepustiti deželi mrtvih. Naš Francè je to misel upesnil takole:

Kar niso jih zatrle časov sile,
kar raste rož na mladem nam Parnasi,
izdíhljeji, solzé so jih rodile.«

7

Prof. dr. Jože Trontelj je kazal veliko naklonjenost Prešernovemu mestu. S tenkočutnim nagovorom ob odprtju
razstave Marlenke Stupica decembra 2013 se je dotaknil številnih obiskovalcev na njenem odprtju. V uvodniku
k februarski razstavi pa je zapisal: »Živimo v manj prijaznih časih. V takih dneh bolj kot sicer potrebujemo hrano
tiste posebne vrste, ki nam zmore povrniti dobro počutje, duševno ravnotežje, vero v vrednote. Ta hrana je visoka
kultura, so velike umetnine, ki nas s svojo očarljivo lepoto ali s svojimi globokimi sporočili, največkrat pa z obojim,
ganejo in prevzamejo. Te umetnine človeka bogatijo, so velik privilegij za tistega, ki se jim odpre. So dar posebnih
ljudi, ki so v dovršenost svojih del vložili ne samo svoj izjemni talent, ampak tudi desetletja trdega dela. Dela, ki
skoraj vedno daleč presega trud povprečnega Zemljana.

Zato, spoštovani, je narodova dolžnost, da se svojim vrhunskim umetnikom primerno zahvali. Nagrade, ki nosijo
ime našega največjega pesnika, so slovenskim umetnikom vrhovno priznanje. Kranjska galerija pa je njihov
spomenik.«

Prof. dr. Janez Bogataj je sodeloval pri treh srečanjih z nagrajenci v Kranju. O pomenu razstave Toneta Stojka je
med drugim povedal: »Razstave ne smemo razumeti zgolj kot eno od oblik dokumentacije oziroma vizualnega
zapisa, ampak kot pričevanje o najboljšem in najboljših, kar premore naša država vsako leto na kulturnem po-
dročju. Govorimo o presežkih, o vsem tistem in predvsem o vseh tistih, ki nas doma in tudi v drugih kulturnih okoljih
delajo razpoznavne. Kulturne ustvarjalnosti so namreč tista področja, ki niso podvržena cenenim banalnostim
resničnostnih “šovov”, tudi ne takim in drugačnim športnim dosežkom. Delujejo tudi takrat, ko je najbolj ogrožen
njihov finančni in še kakšen obstoj, ter sooblikujejo kakovosti človekovega bivanja, pomagajo pri razumevanju sveta
in kulturnih različnosti. Slednje so priložnost za duhovno bogatenje vsakega posameznika, družine, družbene sku-
pine, prebivalstva v celoti. Če je znal to razumeti Prešeren že v 19. stoletju, bi bil že skrajni čas, da začnemo ta
sporočila razumevati tudi njegovi dediči!«

V očeh Vinka Möderndorferja pa je dan podelitve Prešernovih nagrad: »Praznik kulture, Prešernov dan, kot so si
ga zamislili takoj po drugi svetovni vojni, ko smo si, to si lahko priznamo, izborili prvo obliko slovenske države, je
dan, ki ga moramo še naprej slaviti, in ko si moramo povedati tudi resnico. In resnica je, da na Slovenskem zadnjih
petindvajset let z umetnostjo ne delamo lepo. Moramo si priznati tudi to, da sta umetnost in kultura pravzaprav
vse, kar še imamo, in da je to edina garancija, da bo ta narod preživel.

Slovenski narod se je v težkih trenutkih zgodovinskih preizkušenj zavedal, kako dragocena je poezija, kako po-
membna je umetnost. Umetnost, slikarstvo, literatura, prevajalska umetnost, glasba, gledališče, arhitektura, strip
… stojijo na začetku naroda, so narodov obraz in njegova duša.«

Galerija Prešernovih nagrajencev Kranj k svoji izjemni stalni zbirki likovnih del z letošnjim letom dodaja še 171
portretnih fotografij Prešernovih nagrajencev in nagrajencev Prešernovega sklada Toneta Stojka, ki je leta 1984
tudi sam prejel nagrado Prešernovega sklada za fotografijo. Galerija skupaj z avtorjem portrete zadnja leta pred-
stavlja obiskovalcem skupaj s portretiranci in kustosinjo Muzeja in galerij mesta Ljubljane, Marijo Skočir. Stojkovi

8

portreti nagrajencev in utemeljitveni eseji strokovnjakov z izbranih področij iz Zbornikov Prešernovega sklada so
pomemben dokument časa. In da mojstrski portreti in utemeljitveni eseji ne bodo shranjeni le v fototeki Gorenj-
skega muzeja in arhivih Ministrstva za kulturo, je poskrbela pričujoča monografija, s katero dajemo na ogled tisto
najbolj žlahtno, kar premore slovenska kultura zadnjih 21 let.

9

PREŠEREN LAUREATES IN PREŠEREN’S TOWN

Marko Arnež

Prešeren Award Winners Gallery Kranj has been collecting, preserving, and most of all, presenting winners of both
Prešeren Awards and Prešeren Fund Awards for more than twenty years. The idea to collect their major creations,
mostly fine art, in Prešeren’s town came from a narrow circle of art lovers in Kranj, and together with this monograph
dedicated to Tone Stojko, it reinforces the mission of the Prešeren Award Winners Gallery, which is to make
Prešeren’s town a domicile of recipients of the highest state awards in the fields of culture and art.

The Gallery thus pursues the tradition of the Museum of Gorenjska which started presenting winners of Prešeren
Awards and Prešeren Fund Awards at exhibitions held in the Prešeren Memorial Museum at the National Day of
Culture already in 1981. By 1995, Beba Jenčič, curator at the Museum of Gorenjska, mounted exhibitions on Prešeren
laureates divided in periods starting from 1947 when the first awards were granted. From 1995 to 2010, she pre-
sented the respective winners of the previous year. Nearly thirty years of presenting laureates provided the Museum
of Gorenjska with a valuable documentary archive and a collection of awarded works from various fields. Long-
standing efforts of the Museum of Gorenjska in compiling the “Prešerniana” collection with the help of Prešeren
Fund Board have been recorded in an extensive monograph entitled Fifty Years of Conferring the Prešeren Awards,
1947–1996, published in 1996.

It was in 2010 that all the artists who were granted Prešeren Awards and Prešeren Fund Awards at the gala com-
memoration, which takes place in Ljubljana’s cultural and congress centre Cankarjev dom every year on the eve of
the National Day of Culture, were invited for the first time to Kranj by the Prešeren Award Winners Gallery. In agree-
ment with the President of the Prešeren Fund Board Jaroslav Skrušný, laureates were presented at the exhibition
in the Prešeren Award Winners Gallery Kranj on 8 February 2010 and later also in discussions which were held in
the renaissance hall of the Town Hall in Kranj. Preparation for the February events started already in December by
visiting laureates and selecting their personal items which were later displayed. Meeting some of these laureates
and discovering items from their homes or archives was particularly memorable. I still recall the costume of the
ballet dancer, Prešeren Award Winner Mateja Rebolj, which was on display at the first exhibition. Kostja Gatnik,
award winner in the field of fine arts of that year, was introduced in an independent exhibition in December 2010,
which became a traditional commemoration of Prešeren’s birthday. The exhibition which included a notepad of the
poet Miklavž Komelj, score and baton of Aldo Kumar and skateboard of the choreographer Maja Delak, was mounted
by Janez Suhadolc who was our permanent partner.

10

In 2011, socialising of laureates in Kranj came to be known as the Muse Gathering at the Parnassus of Kranj. This
title was borrowed from the foreword to the exhibition catalogue written by Jaroslav Skrušný. The most interesting
exhibition items of that year were poetry collections by Miroslav Košuta, score and numerous CDs of orchestras
from all continents, who were conducted by maestro Anton Nanut, Chinese chopsticks by Emil Filipčič, illustrations
by Lila Prap and the costume from Offenbach’s The Rhine Nixies worn by the tenor Branko Robinšak. In the middle
of February, we hosted all laureates in Kranj simultaneously for the first time. In Ravnikar’s Pillar hall of the Town
Hall in Kranj they had a pleasant discussion facilitated by Saša Pavček, where they revealed the audience little
secrets from their lives.

In 2012, laureates were presented for the last time with their own selection of personal items. Among others, the
exhibition included Matjaž Vipotnik’s posters from Sterijino pozorje Festival, his cult poster Karl Marx on the Bicycle,
and a selection of books designed by Vipotnik, Jože Snoj’s notes for various novels and a selection of his family
photos, Franc Kosem’s trumpet and a model of Ormož manor house. The audience of the evening with laureates
on 15 February was enchanted also by performances of singer-songwriter Iztok Mlakar and Stojan Kuret with his
choir ČarniCe.

At the commission of the Prešeren Fund Board, Tone Stojko photographed the laureates ever since 1996, making
their portraits a part of all presentations. In the first three exhibitions, portraits were mounted in presentation boards,
while from 2013 onwards, the gallery pays homage to the awarded artists with the exhibition of photographs by
Tone Stojko, who is undoubtedly one of the most recognizable Slovenian photographers, and with discussions with
the laureates in the Prešeren Theatre which is held on the National Day of Culture, on 8 February, and facilitated by
Patricija Maličev.

Prešeren Award Winners Gallery Kranj and Prešeren Fund Board have always collaborated closely, as is clear from
the introductions written for the openings of exhibitions by the Prešeren Fund Board presidents. In his first introduc-
tion in 2010, Jaroslav Skrušný pointed out: “Vrba – Ljubljana – Kranj: three key stops in life’s journey of the Slovenian
poet, three sacred signs on the map of Slovenian identity, three institutional memorials in our nation-building collective
memory. Three officially canonized geographical names that bear witness, along with the national anthem and
Prešeren’s verses on the 2-euro coin, that also as a sovereign nation we still recognize the tradition of poetry, that is
to say, the tradition of spirit and beauty, that we are still committed to the truth that reveals itself in the form of
beauty. (Maybe not exactly every working day when our voices and views often get lost in the existential pursuit, in
the tumult and thicket of all pragmatic imagery and vocabulary – be it economic, political, scientific or entertaining –
but surely, on festive days like today, that is the case!) When one is enchanted with beauty, particularly the beauty of
poetic expression, they think spontaneously about the first role model of this magic poetic vigour, the first musician of
our civilisation, Orpheus. Orpheus is known to have sang the most beautiful, heartbreaking and binding song, when
his beloved Eurydice returned to the kingdom of shadows finally and irrevocably, when he had to let go of her in the
land of the dead. Our poet France Prešeren described this reflection with the following verse:

11

The flowers on our Parnassus shyly rear
Their heads - the flowers that have been spared by fate:
They were all fed on many a plaint and tear.” (Verse translated by V. de Sola Pinto)

Professor Dr Jože Trontelj was genuinely fond of Prešeren’s Town. Numerous visitors of the opening of Marlenka
Stupica’s exhibition in December 2013 were moved by his stirring speech. In his introduction to the February exhibition
he wrote: “The times we live in are not very kind at all. More than ever we need that special nutrition that can restore
our well-being, our mental balance, our faith in values. This nutrition is made of high culture, of great works of art
which move and beguile us with their enchanting beauty or with their deep messages, most often with both. Cultivating
in their essence, these artworks are a great privilege for those who are open to them, a gift from special people who
achieved the perfection of their works not only with their exceptional talent, but also with decades of hard work. Work
which exceeds the efforts of an average mortal by far in almost all cases.

Dear Sirs and Madams, it is therefore the duty of our nation to express sincere gratitude to our outstanding artists.
Awards bearing the name of our greatest poet are the supreme recognition for the Slovenian artists. And the Gallery
in Kranj is their monument.”

Professor Dr Janez Bogataj participated in three gatherings of the award winners in Kranj. Among other, he described
the importance of Tone Stojko’s exhibition: “This exhibition should not be perceived merely as a form of documentation
or visual record, but rather as a testimony of the best that our country has to offer in the cultural field every year.
Here we speak about surpluses, about all artworks and particularly all artists that make us recognisable at home
and in other cultural landscapes. Being creative in culture is never subject to the cheap banality of reality shows, nor
to sports achievements of any kind. Even when their financial existence or any other existence is most at risk, artists
continue to work and impact the quality of human existence, they help us understand the world and cultural diversity
which is an opportunity for spiritual improvement of each individual, family, social group, or the population as a whole.
If Prešeren was able to understand that in the 19th century, it is high time that we, as his heirs, begin to understand
that message, too!”

For Vinko Möderndorfer the day of conferring Prešeren Awards is “The Day of Culture, Prešeren’s Day, as it was in-
vented right after World War II when we have won the first form of the Slovenian state, as we can all agree. This is
the day that we have to go on celebrating, the day when we have to tell each other the truth. And the truth is that art
in Slovenia has not been treated kindly in the last twenty-five years. We also have to admit that art and culture are
actually the only thing we have left, and the only guarantee that this nation will survive.

In difficult moments of historical ordeals, the Slovenian nation realised the great value of poetry, the immense im-
portance of art. Art, painting, literature, translation, music, theatre, architecture, comic, … all stand in the vanguard
of the nation. They are the face and the soul of the nation.”

12

This year, the exceptional permanent collection of artworks in the Prešeren Award Winners Gallery Kranj will be
enriched with 171 portrait photographs of Prešeren Award Winners and Prešeren Fund Award Winners taken by
Tone Stojko, who himself received the Prešeren Fund Award for photography in 1984. In recent years, the portraits
have been presented to visitors by the Gallery and their author, joined by the laureates and the curator of the City
Museum and Galleries of Ljubljana Marija Skočir. Stojko’s portraits of laureates and expert justification essays from
selected areas compiled in the Prešeren Fund Yearbook are an important document of time. Offering the perspective
of the most precious contents of the Slovenian culture in the last 21 years, this monograph keeps these excellent
portraits and justification essays from being stored only in the photography department of the Museum of Gorenjska
and archives of the Ministry of Culture.

13

SE MAR SPODOBI, DA DRŽAVA POSVEČUJE UMETNIKE?

Jaroslav Skrušný

Ko sem pred devetimi leti prevzel funkcijo predsednika Upravnega odbora Prešernovega sklada in mi je 7. fe-
bruarja 2009, na predvečer slovenskega kulturnega praznika, pripadla čast, da v imenu ministrstva za kulturo,
se pravi najvišjega nacionalnega instituta, pristojnega za vprašanja umetnosti, z osrednjega odra slovenskega
kulturnega hrama, Cankarjevega doma v Ljubljani, na osrednji državni proslavi in vpričo najvišjih predstavnikov
političnega in javnega življenja, podelim najodličnejša državna priznanja – dve Prešernovi in šest nagrad Prešer-
novega sklada – osmerici vrhunskih umetniških ustvarjalcev, se mi je kajpak že v izhodišču zastavilo nekoliko
sitno in protislovno vprašanje: Ali ni podeljevanje najvišjih nacionalnih, državnih, tako rekoč režimsko institucio-
naliziranih nagrad za umetniške dosežke neke vrste anahronizem, relikt nekih prejšnjih etatističnih in enoumnih
časov, dediščina nekdanje socialistične ureditve, ki je svoje najbolj vzorne in vzorčne – tudi »zaslužni« imenovane
– umetnike nagrajevala z lovorjevimi venci za zasluge za narod? Mar ni z državno osamosvojitvijo in vzpostavitvijo
parlamentarne demokracije napočil čas in so v moderni državi slovenske nacije dozoreli pogoji, da se sumljivo
tesna naveza med umetnostjo in oblastjo, ta malone incestuozna vez med politiko in ustvarjalno domišljijo, na-
posled razklene, da se država neha vtikati v zadeve lepote in duha ter prepusti »slavcem, da pojó, kakor jim je
stvarnik grla ustvaril«?

Vprašanje nikakor ni naključno ali zgolj retorično, tudi ni šele od včeraj in še najmanj je zraslo izključno na mojem
zelniku. Zastavljali so mi ga radovedni novinarji takoj ob nastopu mandata Upravnega odbora Prešernovega
sklada, še posebej vztrajno so vrtali vame prav pred prvo slovesno podelitvijo najvišjih nacionalnih priznanj za
umetniško ustvarjalnost, ki sem jih na odru Gallusove dvorane delil izbranim lavreatom. Glasilo pa se je nekako
takole: Kakšen smisel še ima podeljevati državne nagrade za kulturo in umetnost v času, ko so Slovenci z državno
osamosvojitvijo pridobili vse atribute suverene nacije, ko so, tako kot vsi moderni evropski sosedje, prepustili
vzvode upravljanja javnih zadev – rei publicae – politiki, znanosti in ekonomiji, ko sta se torej kultura in umetnost
bolj ali manj hoté in zavestno odpovedali svoji narodotvorni – in še toliko bolj – državotvorni vlogi in pomenu?

Vprašanju dajeta dodatno legitimiteto tudi večinsko mnenje in prevladujoča drža kulturnih in umetniških ustvar-
jalcev samih, zlasti v prvih poosamosvojitvenih letih: kultura in umetnost sta svojo večstoletno službo narodu in
državi opravili, napočil je čas, da se iz javne arene politične debate vrneta v intimni prostor, ki mu imanentno pri-
padata – v okrožje srca in obzorje duha. Ali, z drugimi besedami: cesarju, kar je cesarjevega, in muzam, kar je
svétega in posvečenega! Država naj s svojimi institucijami in mehanizmi poskrbi za kar najbolj nemoteno in za-

14

konito delovanje javnih zadev, saj zato se tudi imenuje res publica, umetniki pa se bomo vrnili k vprašanjem, za
katera se čutimo najbolj poklicani, se pravi, pod obnebje lepote in resnice, pesništva in mišljenja. Le čemu bi se
v ta posvečeni prostor vtikala država, pa čeprav v še tako nedolžni in dobrohotni obliki, kot je podeljevanje najvišjih
nacionalnih priznanj za predano in navdahnjeno služenje muzam?

Sliši se logično in utemeljeno v sami naravi upravljanja s polisom na eni in izvorne zavezanosti umetniške ustvar-
jalnosti človeku kot posamezniku na drugi strani. Priznam, tudi sam sem se nemalokrat zaklinjal – in se zaklinjam
še danes – na striktno ločevanje raznorodnih ravni v razumevanju in delovanju moderne, pluralno strukturirane
družbene skupnosti in, tako kot nekdaj, še danes brez oklevanja dajem roko v ogenj za absolutno avtonomijo in
suverenost umetniškega ustvarjanja in za njegovo popolno sproščenost in zaščito pred vsakršno državno kuratelo.
Zatorej se mi je takrat, na odru Cankarjevega doma, zdelo na moč paradoksalno – in se mi nekoliko zagatno vidi
tudi danes –, da sodelujem pri neke vrste če že ne krvoskrunskem, pa vsekakor malce nespodobnem obredju
kanonizacije umetniške domišljije, da ministriram pri državni maši narodove kulture tako rekoč, maši, s katero
država časti in posvečuje svoje najodličnejše pesnike, godce, glumače, pevce, oblikovalce, slikarje, pisatelje,
skratka – umetnike.

Pa je paradoks v resnici tako hudo protisloven? Sta si moderna država – katerakoli, slovenska pa še posebej – in
umetniško snovanje zares lahko tako nepreklicno in daleč vsaksebi? Se upravljanje in reguliranje javnih zadev za
obči blagor (kar eminentno pripada državi) res lahko godi povsem neodvisno in brez živega stika, občega posluha
in javne občutljivosti za intimne stiske, radosti, hrepenenja in potrebe posameznega človeškega bitja (kar je odliko-
vano torišče umetnosti)? In če se – kakor se čedalje bolj zdi, da se dogaja v slovenskem polisu – ta razkol začne vse
radikalneje poglabljati, če postajata javni diskurz države in intimna govorica umetnosti vse bolj mimobežna, kakšne
posledice ima to za občestvo na eni in za posameznika na drugi strani? Država si svojo pot umerja sama, po nareku
gospodarskih, političnih, socialnih, mednarodnih interesov, v skladu z logiko razumnega urejanja odnosov in razmerij
med posamezniki in družbenimi skupinami, po načelu optimalne skladnosti med raznovrstnimi podsistemi družbene
skupnosti, pred seboj ima vizijo harmoničnega razvoja vseh svojih parcialnih delov in kajpak državnega ustroja kot
celote. In zato včasih nima prav tankega posluha za krhko govorico umetnosti, kdaj pa kdaj se celo zazdi, da malce
pozablja na to, da je nastala tudi iz kulturne potrebe in umetniških snovanj naroda, ki je prav z državno institucijo
hotel zavarovati in ohraniti svojo samobitnost, posebnost in suverenost v družbi drugih svetovnih nacij. Takrat se
vede in govori kot brezdušna upravna in represivna institucija, takrat ni več naša skupna domovina, ampak samo še
bleda mati, ki je po svojem bistvu in naravi pač način in instrument udejanjanja močí, ki deluje zgolj po svojih ima-
nentnih zakonitostih funkcionalnega in učinkovitega poslovanja in se radikalno raz-loči in zapre pred vrednostno-
etičnimi razsežnostmi so-bivanja vseh svojih sinov, med seboj različnih posameznikov. Tako arogantno in brez
so-čutja se vêde družbena skupnost, če in kadar ogluši za presežno govorico »smislotvorne vertikale« (kot bi rekel
pokojni pisatelj in Prešernov nagrajenec Rudi Šeligo). Tako etično in intelektualno zataji homo faber, če in kadar
oslepi za lepoto postave, zapisane globoko v duši in na nebesnem firmamentu (kot bi rekel stari dobri Kant).

15

In takrat se vsi skupaj, pesniki, sanjači in navadni državljani, znajdemo v krizi, ko se nam je v skladu z izvornim
starogrškim pomenom besede krisis odločiti na razpotju, ko nam je naloženo izbrati med številnimi možnostmi,
ko smo povabljeni prisluhniti najrazličnejšim glasovom in nam ni treba slediti le prevladujočemu nareku močí.
Takrat napoči čas, da ne le kot ranljivi, krhki, nemočni posamezniki, ampak tudi kot državna skupnost, kot sou-
deleženci v zadevah rei publicae med neštevilnimi sirenskimi vabili k razvoju in napredku, prisluhnemo tudi glasu
umetnosti. Zakaj, kot pravi slovenski pesnik, prav tako eden Prešernovih nagrajencev, Milan Dekleva, »govorica
literature je govorica nemoči. /…/ Umetnost je govorica človeške ranljivosti, govorica smrtnosti. Pripoveduje nam
zgodbo naše krhkosti, ki se ji ne smemo izogniti. Le iz občutja svoje krhkosti se lahko razpremo k drugemu, razu-
memo stisko drugih.« Pesnikove besede ne potrebujejo komentarja, več in tehtneje se o vlogi umetnosti v družbi
preprosto ne da povedati. Preostane mi le, da si v svojem protislovnem položaju in kljuvajoči dilemi zastavim še
zadnje vprašanje:
Mar ni v môči (da ne rečem kar dolžnost) države – prav zato, ker za razliko od umetnosti razpolaga z močjo – da,
ne le v kriznem času, ampak sistematično in permanentno, nekaj te svoje močí vsaj simbolno zastavi za stvar
umetnosti in kulture? Da se zave svojega dolga do svojih krhkih in nemočnih, ponižanih in razžaljenih, ranljivih
posameznikov, kulturnikov in umetnikov, in v agori slovenskega polisa – recimo v osrednjem hramu slovenske
kulture v Ljubljani ali v galeriji Prešernovih nagrajencev v Prešernovem Kranju – pripusti k besedi in svečano pri-
sluhne govorici umetnosti in se ji hvaležno pokloni s priznanji, posvečenimi s pesnikovim imenom, ali jih ponosno
postavi na ogled v podobah umetniške fotografije?
Moj odgovor na gornja vprašanja je vsekakor pritrdilen, zato z veseljem pozdravljam pobudo, da se podobe Pre-
šernovih nagrajencev zadnjih dveh desetletij – od ustanovitve njim posvečene galerije pa do danes – ponosno in
obredno na ogled postavijo.

16

IS IT DECENT FOR THE STATE TO VENERATE ARTISTS?

Jaroslav Skrušný

As I assumed the role of the President of the Prešeren Fund Board nine years ago, and had the honour of award-
ing on 7 February 2009, on the eve of the Slovenian national cultural holiday, the highest national recognition –
two Prešeren Awards and six Prešeren Fund Awards – to eight outstanding individuals in the field of arts on be-
half of the Ministry of Culture, the highest national institution responsible for matters relating to arts, at the
main state commemoration on stage at Slovenia’s chief house of culture, Cankarjev dom in Ljubljana, in the
presence of the leading representatives of political and public life, I was faced, from the very beginning, with a
somewhat bothersome and contradictory question: Is giving the highest national, state awards for achievements
in arts, awards that have so to speak been institutionalised by the regime, not an anachronistic practice, a relic
of some former étatist and restrictive times, a legacy of the former Socialist system that used to present its
most exemplary artists – also referred to as emeriti – with laurel wreaths, recognising their significance for the
nation? Was Slovenia’s declaration of independence and its introduction of parliamentary democracy not a time
when the modern state of the Slovenian nation was mature enough to finally dissolve the suspiciously strong
ties between arts and those in power, this almost incestuous bond between politics and creative imagination;
was this not the time for the state to stop interfering with the matters of aesthetic and spiritual merit and let
“the nightingales to sing as the Creator has designated them to”?

This is by no means a coincidental or merely rhetorical question, nor is it new, and it is most certainly not an ex-
clusive product of my thought. It was asked time and again by curious journalists just after the current Prešeren
Fund Board started its term in office, and most persistently before my first gala awards ceremony to celebrate
the laureates’ achievements in arts in the Gallus Hall. Loosely, the wording was: What purpose does it still serve
to give national awards for achievements in culture and arts at a time when the declaration of independence
has just bestowed on Slovenians all attributes of a sovereign nation, when as in other modern European nations
the levers to manage public affairs – rei publicae – have been transferred to politics, science and economics, i.e.
when culture and arts more or less willingly and consciously surrendered their role and significance in nation-
building and, even more so, in state-building?

The question was made additionally legitimate by the prevailing public sentiment and the dominant attitude of
culture and arts professionals themselves, at least in the first years of independence: Culture and arts are done
with their hundreds of years of service to the nation and the state; the time has come for them to retire from

17

this public arena of political debate, back into a place of intimacy to which they immanently belong – to the land-
scapes of the heart and the horizons of the mind. In other words: give the emperor what belongs to the emperor,
and give the muses what is sacred and holy! The state with its institutions and mechanisms should ensure a
smooth, lawful management of public affairs – after all, it is called res publica – while us artists can return to
the matters we feel most confident in, under the firmament of beauty and truth, poetry and thinking. Why indeed
should the state interfere with this sacred space, however innocent and well-intentioned its ways, for instance
by giving out the highest national awards for a committed, inspired service to the muses?

This sounds logical, substantiated by the sheer nature of managing a polis on the one hand and on the other
hand by the primary commitment of artistic creativity to a human being as an individual. I admit to having often
sworn – and I swear still – to strictly separate disparate levels in understanding and functioning of a modern,
pluralistically structured community, and I have never hesitated, and never would, to go to the stake for absolute
autonomy and independence of arts, their utmost freedom from any pressures, and protection against any kind
of state guardianship. I therefore found it most contradictory as I was standing on stage in Cankarjev dom – and
I still find it somewhat knotty today – to be part of some, if perhaps not wholly incestuous, certainly slightly in-
decent ceremony to canonise creative imagination, to serve as an altar boy at a state mass for nation’s culture,
a mass held by the state to honour and consecrate its finest poets, musicians, actors, singers, designers, painters,
writers, in short: artists. Is this truly such a contradictory paradox? Can the modern state – any state, but par-
ticularly Slovenian – and artistic endeavours, in fact, be this irrevocably and far apart? Can public affairs truly
be managed and regulated for the common good (an eminent duty of the state) independently of and with ab-
solutely no real contact with, no general understanding for and no public sensitivity to the intimate predicaments,
joys, longings and needs of an individual (the recognised domain of arts)? And if this divide starts to deepen rad-
ically – as it increasingly seems to in the Slovenian polis –, if the public discourse of the state and the intimate
language of art start to diverge into wholly separate worlds, what implications does this have for the community
on the one hand and an individual on the other? The state charts its course by itself, dictated by economic, po-
litical, social and international interests, in accordance with the logic of governing relations between individuals
and social groups in a reasonable manner, based on the principles of the highest possible harmony between
varying subsystems of the community, following a vision of proportionate development of all its individual parts
as well as the state structure as a whole. This is why it sometimes lacks the understanding for the fragile lan-
guage of arts; at times it may even seem to forget that it was born, together with other stimuli, out of cultural
needs and artistic endeavours of the nation that wanted to protect and preserve its nationhood, distinctiveness
and independence in the face of other nations of the world through the state. At that moment, it acts and speaks
as a soulless administrative, repressive institution, turning from our common homeland to a mere shadow of
the former mother, an entity which in essence and nature is a way and instrument of exercising power, operating
exclusively according to its inherent principles of functional, efficient performance, radically shutting itself off
to any qualitative and ethical dimensions of co-existence of all its sons, a community of diverse individuals. This

18

is the arrogance and lack of compassion of a community if and when it refuses to hear the transcendent language
of (in the words of the late writer and Prešeren laureate Rudi Šeligo) “a sense-building vertical”. This is the
ethical and intellectual failure of homo faber if and when they refuse to see (in the words of good old Kant) the
beauty of law, inscribed deep in the soul and on the vault of heaven.
And this is when all of us, poets, dreamers and ordinary citizens, find ourselves in times of crisis, at a crossroads
where we need to make a decision, in line with the original Ancient Greek meaning of the word krisis, where we
are bound to choose one of the numerous options, where we are invited to hear the variety of voices and where
we do not have to follow only the prevailing dictate of power. This is when it is time for all of us, not only the vul-
nerable, fragile and helpless individuals, but also the community of citizens, the participants of rei publicae, to
discern the voice of art among numerous mermaid voices luring us to progress and development. For, in words
of the Slovenian poet and Prešeren laureate Milan Dekleva: “/.../ The language of literature is the language of
the helpless. /…/ The language of art is the language of human vulnerability, the language of mortality, telling us
the story of our fragility we should not hide from. Only the perception of our fragility makes us sympathetic to
others, sensitive to the distress of others.” These words need no explanation, the role of art in society simply can-
not be explained any better. There is only one last question I can ask myself in this contradictory position and
acute dilemma:
Isn’t it in the power (not to say the duty) of the state – precisely because it has power at its disposal, unlike art
– to wield some of this power at least symbolically for the purpose of arts and culture, not merely in times of
crisis, but in a systematic and permanent manner? To realise the debt it owes to its fragile and helpless, humil-
iated and insulted, vulnerable individuals, cultural workers and artists, and solemnly listens to the language of
art in the agora of the Slovenian polis – for example in the central Slovenian house of culture in Ljubljana or in
the Prešeren Award Winners of Fine Arts Gallery in Kranj – and gratefully salutes it with awards honoured by
the name of the poet, or proudly presents its members in the form of artistic photography?
My answer to these questions is a definite yes, and I am delighted to welcome the initiative of displaying the im-
ages of Prešeren Award Winners of the last two decades – from the establishment of the gallery dedicated to
them to this day – with pride and ceremony.

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OSVETLJEVANJE DUŠ

Marija Skočir

Fotografiranje … osvetljevanje duš. Razgaljanje najbolj ranljivih globin človeka.
Z njimi je treba ravnati previdno in spoštljivo …1
»Pred kratkim sem v ljubljanski Drami snemal predstavo Razglednice ali Strah je od znotraj votel, od zunaj pa
ga nič ni, katere glavni lik je fotografinja. Obnemel sem ob teh besedah, ki jih je na odru izrekla Polona Juh.
Simona Hamer je zapisala to, kar sem sam nosil v sebi, pa nikoli zapisal.«2
Fotografov jezik navadno ni pisana beseda. Tone Stojko je v tem smislu svojstven fotograf, ki je tok svojega nav-
diha po mladostnih literarnih ubeseditvah preusmeril v jezik podobe. Ni naključje, da ga je atmosfera gledališkega
odra, polja prefinjenega sožitja literarne in vizualne umetnosti, od nekdaj privlačila. Pisana beseda je zanj najbolj
izrazna takrat, ko jo nekdo z občutenjem izgovori.
Zanimanje za ljudi je prinesel tako rekoč z domačega dvorišča na podeželju v Prlekiji, kjer je preživel zgodnje otro-
štvo, in kasneje v Mariboru, kjer je hodil v šolo. Zgodaj je ugotovil, da je svet, ki ga obdaja, kakor koli boleče preprost
že je, dovolj bogat, da postane njegov motivni univerzum – kot bi že imel v sebi moto, ki si ga je kasneje zadal: »/…/
Kaj je lepšega, kot če lahko rečeš, da je cel svet tvoj studio in vsi ljudje na njem tvoji modeli.«3 Kot dečka sta z bra-
tom v portretiranju drug drugega preizkušala prvi fotoaparat, ki mu ga je oče pri trinajstih poslal iz Nemčije. »Moj
prvi fotografski projekt so bili pravzaprav skupinski portreti; v sedmem razredu osnovne šole sem pofotografiral
vse razrede na šoli, da smo s sošolci zaslužili nekaj denarja za končni izlet.«4 Mladi fotograf je deloval zgolj iz sebe
v svojem danem okolju, a že tedaj z močnim zanimanjem za tisto, kar se za človekovim obrazom, ki ga kaže svetu,
v resnici skriva in kako je to mogoče ubesediti s fotografijo. Da so njegove novele lucidne in poglobljene psihološke
študije ljudi, ki jih, tudi kadar jih opisuje, v resnici slika, da živi stopajo pred bralčevo obličje, se je morda zavedel
šele ob snemanju svojega kar se da boemskega avtoportreta leta 1971, ob izidu svojega prvenca Zadnja molitev
– nekje na Lentu, kjer sta z Andrejem Brvarjem stikala glavi v iskanju literarnega navdiha. Takrat si verjetno nista
predstavljala, da bo štiri desetletja in pol kasneje Brvar sedel pred Stojkov objektiv kot Prešernov nagrajenec in
da bosta lahko drug drugemu priznala, da sta svoje mladostne talente razvila do popolnosti.
Tone Stojko je v slovenskem prostoru svojevrsten fotografski ustvarjalec tudi zato, ker je enako močno zazna-
moval številne različne žanre. Ambicija poklicnega fotoreporterja, da istočasno snuje opus umetniških fotografij,
je skorajda nepredstavljiva. Kljub temu jo je iz svoje izredno močne želje po fotografskem ustvarjanju uresničil,

20

v obeh zvrsteh na izredno visoki ravni. »Vmesna« področja, kot so gledališka fotografija, zapis dogajanja na odru,
ki je hkrati ponovno bolj kot beleženje poustvarjanje vizualnega izraza, in na drugi strani socialno-dokumentarna
fotografija, pri kateri je bolj kot umetniški vtis pomembna psihološka slika prizora, so mu na tej poti vzporedno,
a enako resno in z odličnimi dosežki uspevala skozi več kot pet desetletij, ki so pretekla od njegovega prvega pri-
tiska na sprožilec. Skozi vse te raznolike načine fotografskega ustvarjanja pa je prav portret tisti žanr, ki kot rdeča
nit veže celoten razpon njegovega opusa.

Njegove manj znane, zgodnje socialno-dokumentarne fotografije, denimo cikel, ki ga je posnel v Halozah leta
1969, so presunljive pripovedi o ljudeh, ki poznajo le trdo delo in boj za preživetje, a v sebi nosijo veliko resnico o
življenju samem, ki se razgalja na njihovih neolepšanih obrazih. Svinjak, poljska cesta, klop pred kmečko hišo,
vaška gostilna so njihovi odri, na katerih iz dneva v dan ponavljajo uprizoritve dram lastnega življenja. Malce po-
dobni so Tonetovi stari mami, ki jo je rad obiskoval v rodni Strezetini. Fotografiral jo je čisto od blizu in pod portret
njenih gub s svinčnikom zapisal lirično izpoved – fotografija in beseda skupaj ustvarjata celostno podobo bridkosti,
modrosti in hkrati lepote življenja.

Po študiju novinarstva v Ljubljani in ob začetku sodelovanja s Tribuno leta 1968 se je začela Stojkova fotorepor-
terska pot, ki portretne fotografije nikakor ni izključevala. Portret Rudija Rizmana iz tega zgodnjega časa Toneta
Stojka še danes spominja na razsodnost človeka, ki mu je preprečil pot v Vietnam, kamor se je prepogumni mla-
denič nameril brez vsakega pomisleka. Kako tudi ne, navdih neznanega češkega fotografa, ki je leta 1968 posnel
okupacijo Prage, ga je gnal v izkušnjo vojne, najvznemirljivejšo željo vsakega mladega fotoreporterja. Ko sta si
pred tremi leti s taistim Čehom Josefom Koudelko v Ljubljani segla v roko, se je zavedel, da je to eden redkih
velikih fotografov, ki so ga v njegovi karieri zares navdihovali. Na svojo izkušnjo vojne je počakal do razpada Ju-
goslavije – ne le ikonični dokumentarni zapisi političnega in vojnega dogajanja, temveč številni izjemni portreti
akterjev tega časa pišejo zgodovino o nastanku samostojne Slovenije.

Med Stojkovimi portreti najdemo številne tuje zvezdnike: znane fotografije Alfreda Hitchcocka, Johna Lennona
in Yoko Ono poznamo kot ene njegovih najbolj ikoničnih fotografij. »Na filmskih festivalih snemaš predvsem por-
trete, tu gre za lov na znane obraze.«5 V Cannes in na druge festivale se je v sedemdesetih letih odpravljal kot
Mladinin fotoreporter; v njenem uredništvu je kot urednik fotografije deloval več kot 25 let in bistveno pripomogel
k prevrednotenju časopisne fotografije, ki mora presegati ilustracijo dogodkov in zgolj vizualno orisovanje zapi-
sanih novinarskih prispevkov. Zdelo se je, da že poznamo najbolj razvpite Stojkove portretirance, a je lani na Gross-
mannovem filmskem festivalu v Ljutomeru presenetil z razstavo, na kateri je med drugimi izobesil tudi najboljšim
poznavalcem njegovega dela neznani portret Fidela Castra. Ob taki fotografiji, ki bi jo zlahka zamenjali za izdelek
kakšnega svetovno znanega fotografa, se sprašujemo, ali ni to ena najbolj simboličnih, a likovno izčiščenih upo-
dobitev tega kontroverznega kubanskega voditelja, ki ga je Stojko posnel na srečanju mladih iz držav neuvrščenih
leta 1978.

21

Kljub izdelkom, ki bi zlahka posegli na naslovnice tujih revij, in privlačnosti evropskih prestolnic, ki jih je prepotoval
z namenom fotografiranja svojih umetniških projektov v sedemdesetih in osemdesetih letih, kot so bili Okus po
prahu, Telo v igri in Empty Rooms, se je Tone Stojko zavestno odločil vtisniti prispevek in zapise časa v svoj
kulturni prostor. Kljub performativnim in plesnim elementom, konstelacijam, ki jih telesa tvorijo v specifičnih in-
terierjih in eksterierjih, o fotografiranju plesalk, ki vedno ohranjajo svoj individualni izraz in osebnost, Stojko govori
kot o portretiranju – morda bolj portretiranju esence, duše, telesa v eterični bolj kot fizični obliki.

Zato je zgodba Stojkovega portreta pravzaprav zgodba celotne njegove ustvarjalne kariere. Kot tih, a spreten in
prodoren sopotnik slovenske kulture se je v skoraj petih desetletjih tako ali drugače srečal domala z vsakim
ustvarjalcem, ki je pustil v našem prostoru umetniški pečat. Tukaj predstavljeni portreti so samo tisti najbolj
prepoznani, institucionalno priznani posamezniki, ki iz množice ustvarjalcev, s katerimi se je Stojko preko svojega
fotoaparata soočil v teh letih, najbolj izstopajo. Nekatere, denimo Svetlano Makarovič (1979), Tomaža Šalamuna
(1990) in Radka Poliča (1991), je fotografiral že preden so prejeli nagrado, pri čemer se je brez težav odločil, da
je najboljši portret že posnel. To kaže na njegovo avtorsko vodilo, ki naročila fotografij nikoli ni postavljalo pred
kakovost fotografije ali odločitev o tem, ali fotografirati ali ne.

Pričujoča publikacija je do neke mere lep primer kontinuitete v zapisu pomembnih dogodkov slovenske kulture;
z letom 1996 se je končal pregled prvih petdesetih let Prešernovih nagrajencev, zadnji letnik pa je z že objavlje-
nimi Stojkovimi portreti (tedaj v majhnih sličicah) napovedal nov čas, ki ga zaokrožamo danes. Idejna zasluga za
premišljeno zastavljene vsakoletne predstavitve Prešernovih nagrajencev gre predvsem avtorju vizualne podobe,
ki se uporablja še danes: Miljenko Licul je zasnoval celostno grafično zasnovo in za tiskani almanah predvidel po
svojem mnenju najboljše možne portrete, katerih avtor naj bo Tone Stojko. Četudi je bila leta 2016 ta kontinuiteta
prekinjena in so v almanahu portreti prvič po dvajsetih letih umanjkali, grafična podoba pa je doživela dokaj ne-
primerno poenostavitev, je razsodnost novega upravnega odbora v letu 2017 predstavitvi vrnila prvotno podobo.
Stojko v letu 2016 ni bil povabljen k sodelovanju, vendarle mu njegov preudarni sistematični čut za popolnost
fotografskega zapisa ni dovoljeval, da bi zgolj zato, ker ni dobil naročila, opustil ali izpustil portretiranje nagra-
jencev tega leta. Za Galerijo Prešernovih nagrajencev je zato vseeno pripravil razstavo (kot že tri leta pred tem),
portreti iz leta 2016 pa svojo premierno tiskano predstavitev dobivajo s pričujočo knjigo. »Nikoli nisem premi-
šljeval o knjigi ali razstavi. K sreči vedno naredim več dobrih portretov, saj je pri vsaki osebi mogoče pokazati več
obrazov; ti mi zdaj omogočajo različne izbore. Nekateri nagrajenci živijo daleč proč, včasih smo morali za almanah
uporabiti fotografijo, ki so jo poslali sami – kljub temu sem jih naknadno povabil na portretiranje, da je zdaj tudi
njihov portret v tej zbirki.«6

Najstarejši portreti v tej knjigi so nastali v formatu 6 x 6 centimetrov, na črno-belem filmu formata 120, skoraj
dosledno osvetljeni skupaj z robom filma, ki je tudi preko procesa digitalizacije tu ostal vse do danes. Še več, fo-
tografu je misel na celoto posnetka, ki nastane brez naknadnega kadriranja, ostala tudi v digitalni tehniki, ko je
okvir naknadno dodan kot povsem likovni in formalni element. Stojko je namreč fotograf, ki ga je digitalna tehnika

22

osvojila ravno toliko, da se ji prepušča brez poglabljanja v prezapletene tehnične detajle in da ga neomejene
možnosti strojne ter programske opreme, ki jo uporablja pri svojem delu, niso pretirano fascinirale, da bi zašel v
tehnikalizacijo svojega dela. Stojko digitalni svet dojema kot likovno in ustvarjalno polje, enako intuitivno kot
nekoč osvetljevalnik fotografij v temnici, ki z ročnim dosvetljevanjem pripelje do učinkov mehčanja, senčenja,
zabrisovanja. Zato se danih orodij digitalne tehnike vedno poslužuje v iskanju končnega rezultata, ki je likovni iz-
delek, vizualizacija resnične pojavnosti, transformirana skozi fotografovo videnje.

»Portretiranje je za nekatere neskončna muka. Zato je izredno pomembno, da se skozi pogovor sprostijo, da naj-
demo skupni imenovalec. Proces je isti, ne glede na to, ali portretiranca poznam ali ne – vsak ima svojo zgodbo,
z vsakim človekom se da vzpostaviti komunikacijo.«7 Kljub temu da pogosto opozarjamo, da so slovenski umetniki
bolj ali manj ves čas na robu preživetja, Stojkovi portreti prikazujejo našo kulturo v najboljši podobi, vrhunski
formi, zdravi ustvarjalnosti. To mu uspeva brez predhodne priprave, zahtevne maske ali stajlinga tudi takrat, ko
je postavljen pred dejstvo, da je nekdo prejel Prešernovo nagrado morda kakšno leto prepozno, ko se zdravje
morda ne zrcali najbolj na njegovem ali njenem obrazu. Veščina uporabe studijskih luči, večinoma temna ozadja,
iz katerih izstopa avrična podoba portretiranca, postavitve, zasuki, geste in atributi Stojku pomagajo pri ujetju
odločilnega odbleska svetlobe, ko ta uspe osvetliti bistvo človeka. Kot kipar, ki vihti kladivo in kleše kamen, ali
slikar, ki vleče barvne poteze po platnu, je fotograf ujet v močan proces intenzivnega dialoga fotoaparata in sub-
jekta, kar pomeni, da morata fotograf in aparat postati pravzaprav eno, v to simbiozo pa vključiti še portretiranca
– ali kot je zapisal Henri Cartier-Bresson: »Portret je zame najtežja zvrst. Poskusiti moraš spraviti fotoaparat v
prostor med kožo človeka in njegovo srajco.«8

Ne le prostor, odločilna dimenzija pri portretu je tudi čas: »Portretiranje je počasen posel: ne smeš hiteti in moraš
imeti časa v izobilju. Navadno so moji portretiranci v nekem nedefiniranem prostoru, kot bi potovali po vesolju
skozi čas; vidijo se obrazi, vidijo se roke, preostalo je po navadi nepomembno. Včasih se sicer pojavi zraven kakšen
njihov izdelek, ki je videti kot kaka arheološka najdba današnjega časa. Portreti so posneti danes, gledajo pa se
iz jutri … vedno so dokument preteklosti. Kaj smo mislili, kaj postorili, kaj zapustili? Vsakič vem, da začenjam na
začetku, da vstopam v nov svet, v nova občutja: kako vse to zabeležiti z na svetlobo občutljivo napravo, da bo
zapis odzvanjal v nekih drugih, meni neznanih časih?«9 Ravno s časom je torej pri portretiranju treba ravnati pre-
vidno. Njegovih sledi v resnici nihče ne želi videti na svojem obrazu, torej tudi ne na reprezentativni fotografiji, ki
bo pisala zgodovino o našem delu. Stojko se nikoli ni in se očitno ne bo odpovedal iskanju lepote. Lepote, ki ni na-
ključje, lepote, ki jo morda zastira površinska maska obraza, lepote, ki jo je zagotovo mogoče iskati na vsakem
človeškem obličju, četudi se pojavi šele na fotografiji. Navdihujoče ga je opazovati pri njegovem delu, ko ga po
toliko letih še vedno in vsakič znova očara določena oseba na fotografiji, kajti zaveda se, da čas nima moči proti
osvetljeni tisočinki sekunde in da bo podoba, ki jo je zabeležil v danem trenutku, vedno zmagala.

A Stojkova alkimistična formula za dober portret nikakor ni univerzalna. Vsak portret je neke vrste nova rešitev
vsebinskega in likovnega problema – katerega največji izziv morda ni poza, obraz ali osvetlitev, temveč položaj

23

in gestikulacija rok. Opazujemo lahko številne raznolike rešitve »uporabe« rok, pogosto drzne in dramatične,
spet drugič sramežljive ali strumne: »Roke, večni problem! Rešitev iščem vsakokrat skupaj s portretirancem.
Nemogoče jo je vnaprej napovedati. Ko razum reče, da se rešitev skriva v občutju enega v množici posnetkov, ta-
krat šele lahko preneham in si rečem: izbiral bom jutri, pojutrišnjem, ko bo ta dogodek že daljna preteklost …«10

Pregled Prešernovih nagrajencev tako prvih petdesetih kot zadnjih dvajsetih let daje določeno izjavo tudi o tem,
kam se fotografija umešča znotraj slovenskega ustvarjalnega univerzuma. V sedmih desetletjih poleg Toneta
Stojka na seznamu nagrajencev Prešernovega sklada najdemo le še Joca Žnidaršiča, Stojana Kerblerja in Milana
Pajka, medtem ko je Janez Kališnik davnega leta 1963 prejel Prešernovo nagrado za fotografijo v filmu. Foto-
grafija je pravzaprav od vseh zvrsti vizualnega izražanja najmanj opažena; arhitektura, grafično oblikovanje in in-
dustrijsko oblikovanje so jo po številu nagrajencev davno prekašali. Ker pri nas nimamo dobrih fotografov? Nikakor
ne. Ker fotografija v vsem tem času zaradi svoje usodne povezanosti z množičnim reproduciranjem in prežetosti
svojih motivov z vsakdanjim življenjem v zavesti našega kulturnega prostora nikoli ni bila zares ponotranjena kot
samostojna umetniška zvrst s svojimi številnimi podzvrstmi in žanri? Bolj verjetno. Tone Stojko je eden tistih
slovenskih fotografov, čigar fotografija v katerem koli delu njegovega vrhunskega opusa izkazuje nujnost in upra-
vičenost prevrednotenja našega dojemanja tega vizualnega medija – hkrati pa ne le omogočanja najboljše iz-
obrazbe in pogojev za avtorsko delo fotografom, temveč tu in tam tudi primernega, celo najvišjega priznanja
njihovemu mojstrstvu.

V trenutku ko nastaja to besedilo in ko se pred očmi avtorjev pričujočega projekta rojeva knjiga Stojkovih portre-
tov, se sama pri sebi zavem trenutka, ko ne zmorem ponovnega pogleda na te fotografije. Zdi se, kot da vsakič
znova vstopam v množico ljudi, tako zelo intenzivnih v svoji energiji, vsak s svojim izrazito poudarjenim značajem
– zdi se, kot bi stopila v sobo, kjer so vsi zbrani in me hkrati nagovarjajo. Ali obstaja boljši dokaz mojstrstva v
upodabljanju človekove podobe in skoznjo izražene njegove ali njene osebnosti, poslanstva, energije? Interakcija,
v katero vstopa fotograf v procesu fotografiranja, je intenzivna, preko posnete fotografije se prenaša na gledalca,
novega sogovornika v dialogu portretiranca s svetom. In prav vzpostavitev dialoga portretiranca s svetom je kon-
čni cilj fotografovega početja.

1 Simona HAMER, Razglednice ali Strah je od znotraj votel, od zunaj pa ga nič ni (premiera v Drami 12. 4. 2017, režija Ajda Valcl), Ljubljana 2017.
2 Intervju s Tonetom STOJKOM, Ljubljana, maj 2017.
3 Tone STOJKO, Dogodki včerajšnjega popoldneva / Yesterday’s Afternoon Event, Ljubljana 2002, p. 9.
4 STOJKO 2017, cit. n. 2.
5 Ibidem.
6 Ibidem.
7 Ibidem.
8 Life Library of Photography: Year 1980, New York 1980, p. 27.
9 STOJKO 2017, cit. n. 2.
10 Ibidem.

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EXPOSING SOULS

Marija Skočir

Photography … exposing souls. Revealing the most vulnerable human depths
which need to be treated with care and respect …1
“Not long ago, I have been shooting Postcards or Fear is Hollow Inside and Empty Outside in SNT Drama, Ljubl-
jana, with a photographer as the main character. I was left numb when actress Polona Juh uttered these words
on stage. Simona Hamer wrote what I have always felt deep inside, but never wrote down.”2
Language of a photographer is usually not made of written words, which makes Tone Stojko a unique represen-
tative of his profession. As a young man, he wrote poetry and novels, and then diverted his creative inspiration
into the language of image. It is no coincidence that he has always been attracted by the atmosphere of the the-
atre stage where literary and visual arts coexist most delicately. To him, written word is at the peak of its ex-
pressiveness when interpreted subtly.
Stojko has been absorbed in people around him ever since his early childhood in the countryside of Prlekija and
his school years in Maribor. He discovered early on that the world around him, no matter how painfully plain, is
fascinating enough to become his motif universe. His motto, expressed only later on, has always seemed to be
inside him: “/…/ What better than to be able to say that the whole world is your studio and all the people in it
your models.” 3 As young boys, Tone Stojko and his brother shot portraits of each other and tried the first camera
his father sent him from Germany when Tone was thirteen. “Group portrait was actually my first photography
project. In seventh grade of primary school I took photos of all school classes to earn some money for the ex-
cursion of our class at the end of school year.”4 Acting naturally in his environment, the young photographer had
already been searching passionately for the real human face hidden behind masks, and the possibilities of re-
vealing it through photography. Also when describing people in novels, which were shrewd and astute character
studies, he was in fact making photographs of them, bringing them to readers in flesh and blood, which he re-
alised perhaps only when shooting his self-portrait, bohemian for sure, someplace at Lent in 1971, when his first
novel Zadnja molitev (The Last Prayer) was published and he was searching for literary inspiration in the com-
pany of Andrej Brvar. Most likely they could not imagine back then that four decades and a half later Brvar would
pose for Stojko as a Prešeren laureate, and that the two friends would be able to admit they both made the
most out of their youth talents.

25

What makes Tone Stojko a unique Slovenian photography artist is the variety of genres he marked with the same
potency. The ambition of a professional photojournalist to create his art photography oeuvre simultaneously, is on
the brink of imaginable. Motivated by a burning desire for photographing, he realised it at an extremely prominent
level in both genres. For more than five decades since he first pressed the shutter button, he has been active, with
the same intensity and excellent results, also in “in-between” fields such as theatre photography, a record of stage
events, which is not a mere record, but rather an interpretation of the visual expression, and on the other hand, the
social-documentary photography, where psychological picture of the scene prevails over its artistic impression. In
all these various photography genres, portrait has always been the common thread of his entire oeuvre.

His less known early social-documentary photographs, such as the cycle he made in Haloze in 1969, convey
distressing stories of people who know only hard work and struggle for survival, yet their unadorned faces reveal
the great truth of life itself. Pigsty, field path, a bench in front of a farm house, village inn – these are the stages
where dramas of their own lives repeat day after day. They look a bit like Tone’s grandmother whom he liked to
visit in his native Strezetina – he photographed her quite close and wrote a lyric confession under the portrait of
her wrinkles with a pencil – together, the photograph and text make a comprehensive expression of misery, wis-
dom and beauty of life at the same time.

After he studied journalism in Ljubljana, Stojko started working for Tribuna magazine in 1968 as a photojournalist,
a career which never excluded portrait photography. A portrait of Rudi Rizman from that early time still reminds
Tone Stojko of the wise man who stopped him in his bold and reckless intention of going to Vietnam. Inspired by
an unknown Czech photographer who shot the occupation of Prague in 1968, Stojko thirsted for the experience
of war, the most exciting desire of any young photojournalist. Three years ago, when this same Czech Josef
Koudelka shook his hand in Ljubljana, he realised that this was one of the few great photographers who have
truly inspired him in his career. Stojko experienced his share of war when Yugoslavia fell apart. He made a number
of iconic documentary records of political and military events then, as well as numerous outstanding portraits,
which now make history of the beginnings of independent Slovenia.

Stojko’s portraits include numerous foreign celebrities: Alfred Hitchcock, John Lennon and Yoko Ono are among
his most iconic photographs. “At film festivals, you shoot mostly portraits. The hunt for famous faces is on.”5 He
attended Cannes and other festivals in 1970s as the photojournalist of Mladina magazine where he worked as
a photo editor for more than 25 years, contributing significantly to the revaluation of press photography, which
has to surpass mere illustration of events and provide visual emphasis of written articles. Even though we
seemed to have known all the most notorious portraits made by Stojko, he surprised everyone with his exhibition
at Grossmann Film Festival in Ljutomer last year, where he presented a portrait of Fidel Castro, unknown also
to the greatest connoisseurs of his work. Taken at the Non-Aligned Movement Youth Assembly in 1978, this
photograph might just as well be taken by some world-known photographer, and is perhaps one of the most
symbolic, artistically pure images of the controversial Cuban leader.

26

Tone Stojko travelled numerous European capitals in 1970s and 1980s as part of his art photography projects such
as Taste of Dust (Okus po prahu), The Body in Play (Telo v igri) and Empty Rooms, and created numerous photographs
which could easily find their way to the covers of foreign magazines, yet he decided deliberately to make a contribution
in his own cultural landscape and capture time there. Photography of dancers who always keep their own expression
and personality is to Tone Stojko always portrait photography – a portrait of the essence, of soul, of body in its
ethereal and not so much in its physical form – in spite of all the performance and dance elements and bodies
forming constellations in specific interiors and exteriors.

The story of Stojko’s portrait is, in fact, the story of his entire artistic career. A placid, yet skilled and shrewd com-
panion of Slovenian culture, Stojko encountered one way or the other nearly every artist, who left any artistic mark
in our culture, in nearly five decades of his work. The portraits presented here are only the portraits of the most ac-
knowledged, institutionally awarded artists standing out most distinctively in Stojko’s complete portrait oeuvre.
Stojko had photographed some of these artists, for example Svetlana Makarovič (1979), Tomaž Šalamun (1990)
and Radko Polič (1991), much earlier than they received the award, yet he had no problem deciding that the best
portrait had already been shot. Stojko’s creative imperative has never placed photography orders ahead of photo-
graphy quality or ahead of his decision whether to shoot or not.

To a certain extent, this monograph is a fine example of recording significant cultural events in Slovenia continuously:
the review of the first 50 years of Prešeren Laureates ended in 1996, and the last volume, already containing Stojko’s
portraits (in very small format), announced a new era which is rounded up today. The conceptual credit for the thought-
fully planned annual presentation of Prešeren Laureates goes primarily to the author of the visual design which is
still in use today: Miljenko Licul authored the graphic design and predicted the best possible portraits for the printed
yearbook, which in his opinion could be made only by Tone Stojko. In 2016, this continuity was shortly interrupted and
the portraits were omitted from the yearbook for the first time in twenty years while the graphic design has undergone
quite an inappropriate simplification. The newly elected Prešeren Fund Board in 2017 was wise enough to turn back
to the original design of the presentation. Stojko was not invited to participate in 2016, yet his prudent and systematic
sense of photography perfection would not let him omit portraying award winners of that year simply because he
had not received the order. He prepared an exhibition for the Prešeren Award Winners Gallery the same way he had
done it for three years in a row, and with this monograph his portraits from 2016 are now printed for the first time. “I
never thought about the book or the exhibition. Luckily, I always make more than one good shot, because each person
can be portrayed with more than one face, and this is what provides the freedom of choice today. Due to the remote-
ness of some award winners, a photo from their personal archives had to be used for the yearbook, occasionally. Later
on, I invited all of them to sit for portrait, so now their portraits are part of this collection, too.”6

The oldest portraits in this book have been shot using the 6 x 6 cm format, with 120 black & white film, the edges of
the film nearly always exposed as well, which is his distinctive feature also today in the era of digitalisation. The pho-
tographer always considers a shot as a whole, with no subsequent framing, and this is the case also in digital technique

27

when frameworks are added to his portraits purely as elements of art and form. Digital photography technique has
convinced Stojko to the extent that he uses it without getting lost in overly complicated technical details and without
letting the fascination with the unlimited possibilities of the hardware and software in use make his work too technical.
Stojko perceives the digital world as the field of fine art and creativity, and manipulates it as intuitively as he used to
manipulate his darkroom enlarger which enabled the effects of softening, exposing and blurring through the technique
of burning. Digital techniques are therefore merely tools he uses in his search for the final result, which is a work of
art, visual representation of a real appearance, transformed through the perception of the photographer.

“For some people, sitting for portrait is really a torture. It is extremely important to make them relax through con-
versation, to find something we have in common. It doesn’t matter whether I know the portrayed person or not:
everyone has their own story, everyone can be engaged in communication.”7 Despite frequent alerts on the fact that
Slovenian artists live on the brink of survival more or less constantly, Stojko portrays our culture at its best: in top
shape and full of flourishing creativity. With no prior arrangement, elaborate make-up and styling, he always presents
a face in the best light, even when perhaps some artist received the Prešeren Award a year too late, and is not in his
or her best condition anymore. Skilled control of studio lights, mostly dark backgrounds to contrast the aura of the
portrayed person, compositions, posing, gestures and attributes is what helps Stojko capture that decisive reflection
of light which illuminates the essence of a man. Like a sculptor swinging his hammer and carving a stone, or a
painter drawing colour lines on his canvas, a photographer is part of an intense dialogue between the camera and
the subject. The photographer and camera must become one, and include the portrayed person in this symbiosis as
well, or, as Henri Cartier-Bresson put it: »The most difficult thing for me is a portrait. You have to try and put your
camera between the skin of a person and his shirt.” 8

Not only space, time is also a decisive dimension in portrait: “Shooting portraits is a ponderous business: one needs
plenty of time, there should be no hurry. The people I portray are usually set in some undefined space, as if travelling
through time; you can see their faces, their hands, the rest is usually of no importance. At times, an item they use
may be added, like an archaeological find of present time. Portraits are shot today, but will be observed tomorrow…
Always documenting the past… What did we think, what did we do, what did we leave behind? … I know that each
time is a new beginning, entry to a new world, to new feelings: how to record all of this with a device sensitive to
light so that this record will resound in another time, unknown to me?” 9 Time thus needs to be handled with par-
ticular care in portraying. The track of time is what no one wants to see on their face, even more so when this is a
representative photograph intended to write history about our work. Yet Stojko has never renounced the search for
beauty, and obviously never will. That is the beauty which is not coincidental, the beauty which might be hidden by
the mask on the surface of the face, the beauty which can definitely be found in every human face, even if it appears
only on a photograph. It is inspiring to observe Stojko at work, when after all these years he is still always fascinated
by the person he photographs. He knows that time will never beat the exposed thousandth of a second and that his
recorded image will always win.

28

For all that, Stojko’s alchemist formula for shooting a great portrait is far from being universal. Every portrait he
makes is a new solution to a problem of content and art, the greatest challenge of which might not be a pose, a face
or issue of light, but the position of hands and gesticulation. Stojko addresses the issue of hands in countless ways,
often bold and dramatic, at times shy and strained: “This constant problem with hands! I haven’t found any universal
formula yet. My search for the solution is always in cooperation with the person I am portraying. It is impossible to
predict it. Only when I make up my mind that the solution is hidden in the atmosphere of one of the many shots, I
can stop and say: I will choose tomorrow, or the day after, when this event is dim and distant past …”10

Review of Prešeren Laureates in the first fifty years as well as in the last twenty years also makes a specific state-
ment about photography and its position in the Slovenian universe of creativity. Next to Tone Stojko, the only pho-
tographers on the list of Prešeren Fund Award winners of these seven decades are Joco Žnidaršič, Stojan Kerbler
and Milan Pajk, while Janez Kališnik received the Prešeren Award for film photography back in 1963. Out of all forms
of visual expression, photography is actually the most unnoticed: architecture, graphic design and industrial design
have outperformed it by the number of laureates long ago. Because we have no good photographers? Most certainly
not. Because photography in its fatal relation to mass reproduction and motifs permeated by ordinary life has never
in all this time been entirely recognised as an independent art genre with its numerous subgenres? More likely. Tone
Stojko is one of those Slovenian photographers whose photography, any part of his outstanding oeuvre, indicates
that revaluation of our perception of this visual medium is pressing and justified, and so is providing the best education
and work conditions for photographers, and occasional awarding, also of the highest awards, of their mastery.

The moment of writing this text and the moment of Stojko’s portrait book coming out of this project authors’ arms
is the moment I realise I cannot bare another look at these photographs. It seems as if I was entering a crowd of
people, each with his or her intensive energy and distinctive character, again and again. It seems as if I entered a
room where all of them were gathered and speaking at me simultaneously. Is there any better proof that he who is
depicting a man and his image: his personality, his mission, his energy is a true master? When taking a photograph,
photographer is entering an intense interaction, which is later transferred on to observer, a new participant in this
dialogue between the person portrayed and the world. And opening a dialogue between the person portrayed and
the world is what is the final objective of any photographer.

1 Simona HAMER, Postcards or Fear is Hollow Inside and Empty Outside (premiere in SNT Drama, 12 April 2017, directed by Ajda Valcl), Ljubljana 2017.
2 Interview with Tone STOJKO, Ljubljana, May 2017.
3 Dogodki včerjašnjega popoldneva (Yesterday’s Afternoon Events), Ljubljana 2002, p. 9.
4 STOJKO 2017, cit. n. 2.
5 Ibidem.
6 Ibidem.
7 Ibidem.
8 Life Library of Photography: Year 1980, New York 1980, p. 27.
9 STOJKO 2017, cit. n. 2.
10 Ibidem.

29



PORTRETI NAGRAJENCEV / PORTRAITS OF LAUREATES

PREŠERNOVA NAGRADA / PREŠEREN AWARD, 1996

Prerez skozi deset izvirnih pesniških zbirk Vena Tauferja kaže, da gre za pesnika, ki scela pripada tako
otroški kot zreli dobi slovenskega pesniškega modernizma. Od prvenca Svinčene zvezde iz leta 1958 pa
do doslej zadnje zbirke z naslovom Še ode, ki je izšla prav pred nekaj dnevi, razkriva Taufer paradoksalno
naravo človekovega bivanja, kjer se v ljubezni napoveduje smrt. Tauferjeva poezija izpričuje globoko in
zanosno vero v dopolnitev človekovega bivanja skozi pesniško izrekanje vrednot in skrivnosti, ki jih hrani
pesniška govorica. Ta poezija se zavzeto in notranje občuteno bojuje za večjo človeškost sveta, zato
ni čudno, da je njen poetični naboj brezkompromisno odpiral prostor civilne družbe in prostor brez
ideoloških obremenitev. Samokritičnost in radikalnost Tauferjeve pesniške govorice se obenem razkriva
v uporabi različnih pesniških postopkov, od eksperimenta, montaže, jezikovnih konstrukcij, mešanja
različnih jezikovnih ravni do citatov in stilizacij starejših pesemskih oblik. Prešernova nagrada pesniku –
pa tudi dramatiku in pomembnemu pesniškemu prevajalcu – je priznanje svobodomiselni, estetsko
prodorni in umetniško pretresljivi ustvarjalnosti, ki že skoraj štiri desetletja bogati slovensko književnost
s premišljenimi, vztrajnimi in globokimi zarezami.

Povzeto po besedilu v zborniku Prešernov sklad 1996. Ljubljana: Upravni odbor Prešernovega sklada, 1996.

A breakdown of ten poetry collections by Veno Taufer shows that this is a poet whose entire body of
work is an expression of either the early or mature stages of Slovenian modernist poetry. Since his 1958
debut Lead Stars (Svinčene zvezde) through the release of his latest collection Still Odes (Še ode) just
days ago, Taufer has continued to explore the contradictory nature of human existence, in which love
evokes a sense of death. Taufer’s poetry attests to a profound, passionate faith in complementing
human existence with poetic articulation of values and secrets that feed on the language of poetry.
In an intent and heartfelt manner, this poetry strives to make the world more humane; it is therefore no
wonder that its poetic charge has uncompromisingly helped give rise to civil society and do away with
ideological load. At the same time, the self-criticism and radicalism of Taufer’s poetic language can
be discerned from the use of various techniques, from experimentation, montage, rhetoric figures,
the mixing of varying registers, to citation and stylisation of older forms of poems. A Prešeren Award
for this poet – who is also a playwright and an eminent translator of poetry – is a tribute to a free-
spirited, aesthetically bold and artistically poignant creativity that has been leaving deep, thoughtful,
persistent impressions in Slovenia’s literary landscape for nearly four decades.

From the publication Prešeren Fund 1996. Ljubljana: Prešeren Fund Board, 1996.

32

VENO TAUFER

pesnik / poet

33

PREŠERNOVA NAGRADA / PREŠEREN AWARD, 1996

Vrhunski baletni plesalec Vojko Vidmar živi in dela v baletni umetnosti že tri desetletja. Je zadnji iz
generacije, ki sta jo na to pot pospremila nestorja slovenskega baleta, Pia in Pino Mlakar. Odlična
klasična tehnika mu je odprla dostop do velikih vlog klasičnega in modernega repertoarja. Njegova
izjemna občutljivost za človečnost in toplino, posebnosti in izjemna gibalna domišljija, povezana z
inteligentnim premislekom, so njegov diapazon razširile, da je lahko ustvaril celo plejado izjemnih likov,
kot so: Vrag v baletu Vrag na vasi, Rothbart v Labodjem jezeru, Vojak v Zgodbi o vojaku, Tybalt v Romeu
in Juliji, Zamorec v Lepi Vidi, Jean v Gospodični Juliji, Poveljnik v Žici, Chopiniana itd. Gostoval je na vseh
baletnih odrih nekdanje Jugoslavije, po Evropi in v Združenih državah Amerike. Kot iz revolta proti
večkrat pretiranemu poveličevanju tujine je svoje znanje in umetnost razvijal doma in ostal zvest
domačemu občinstvu. Z izrazno močjo, ki se je z življenjskimi izkušnjami stopnjevala in ga oblikovala
v prvovrstnega dramskega igralca, s fluidom in energijo, ki jo čutijo tudi gledalci pred televizijskimi
sprejemniki, je obogatil in plemenitil program TV Slovenija. Spoznali smo jo tudi v televizijski oddaji
Objem, posneti kot obeležje njegove 30-letne ustvarjalne poti. Ogromen opus, prepojen z izjemno
umetniško vztrajnostjo in nenehnim iskanjem, ga uvršča v vrh slovenskih gledaliških umetnikov.

Povzeto po besedilu v zborniku Prešernov sklad 1996. Ljubljana: Upravni odbor Prešernovega sklada, 1996.

Ballet virtuoso Vojko Vidmar has resided and worked in this field of art for no less than three decades.
He is the last of the generation that was guided along this path by the doyens of Slovenian ballet, Pia
and Pino Mlakar. His brilliant classical technique has paved the way to big roles from classical as well
as contemporary works. His remarkable sensibility, compassion and warmth, his signature style and an
extraordinary imagination for movement, combined with intelligent foresight, have broadened his range
further still, enabling him to craft a wide array of outstanding roles such as Devil in The Devil in the
Village, Rothbart in The Swan Lake, Soldier in The Soldier’s Tale, Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet, Negro in
The Beautiful Vida (Lepa Vida), Jean in Miss Julie, Commander in Wire (Žica), Chopiniana, etc. He has
appeared on all stages of the former Yugoslavia, across Europe and the USA. As if to rebel against
the often exaggerated praise for anything foreign, he has chosen to further his knowledge and talents
at home, remaining faithful to his local audience. With his expressive potency, which has grown
proportionately with his life experience and moulded him into a prime character actor, with his aura and
energy, which can be felt even through TV screens, he has made a valuable contribution to programmes
of the Slovenian National Television, as could be seen in the programme Embrace (Objem), made to
mark 30 years of his career in ballet. Imbued with outstanding creative persistence and continuous
exploration, his magnificent body of work makes him one of the leading performing artists in Slovenia.

From the publication Prešeren Fund 1996. Ljubljana: Prešeren Fund Board, 1996.

34

VOJKO VIDMAR

baletni plesalec / ballet dancer

35

NAGRADA PREŠERNOVEGA SKLADA / PREŠEREN FUND AWARD, 1996

MILENA MORAČA ZDRAVKO PAPIČ BRANE ŠTURBEJ

Sopranistka Milena Morača je že od leta 1981 /.../ Papič je odličen ilustrator, zato nas /.../ Kot Ludvik XIII. v Dumasovih Treh
solistka ljubljanske Opere. V tem času je največkrat nagovarja z znakovno izpeljano in mušketirjih je Šturbej sprostil vso svojo
poustvarila vrsto vlog izredno širokega duhovno prekvašeno risbo, ki jo funkcionalno igralsko energijo in z briljantno minucioznostjo
razpona, ki po glasbeni plati segajo od združuje z mojstrskim oblikovanjem oblikoval nepozabno, humorno in hkrati
dramsko koloraturnih preko liričnih do tipografskih rešitev. Takšne so bile njegove tragično figuro nesrečnega francoskega kralja.
mladodramskih, po igralski pa od komičnih naslovnice revije Mladina in v zadnjem času Vrhunec Šturbejeve intenzivne igralske rasti
in karakternih do tragičnih likov. /.../ grafična podoba prvega bienala slovenske pa je njegova interpretacija junaka Kafkove
ilustracije ter plakati za Moderno galerijo. Amerike Karla Rossmanna: celovita igralska
Povzeto po besedilu v zborniku Prešernov sklad 1996. To so poglavitni graditelji informacijskega polja bravura, izvirna in sveža v uporabi igralskih
Ljubljana: Upravni odbor Prešernovega sklada, 1996. njegovih vidnih sporočil, s katerimi uresničuje sredstev ter pogumna, lucidna stvaritev
pestre oblikovalske naloge – od celostnih virtuoznega igralca, ki z mojstrskimi odtenki
grafičnih podob do plakatov, ki so bili vselej oblikuje tragikomično bit sodobnega človeka.
njegova poudarjena oblikovalska skrb. /.../ /.../

Povzeto po besedilu v zborniku Prešernov sklad 1996. Povzeto po besedilu v zborniku Prešernov sklad 1996.
Ljubljana: Upravni odbor Prešernovega sklada, 1996. Ljubljana: Upravni odbor Prešernovega sklada, 1996.

Soprano singer Milena Morača has been a /.../ Papič is a fine illustrator addressing /.../ Playing Louis XIII in Dumas’ The Tree
soloist of the Ljubljana Opera since 1981. his audience with an accomplished and Musketeers, Šturbej vented all his acting
In terms of music, the vast repertoire of roles premeditated drawing, functionally merged energy and brilliantly formed an
she performed in this time ranges from with a first-rate typographic design. This was unforgettable, humorous, yet tragic figure
dramatic coloratura parts to lyric and lyric the dominant feature of his covers for Mladina of the miserable French king. The pinnacle
dramatic soprano parts. In terms of acting, magazine, and lately, of his graphic identity for of Šturbej’s intensive acting evolution is his
her parts included comical, but also complex the first Slovenian Illustration Biennial, and his interpretation of Karl Rossmann, a character
and tragic characters. /.../ posters for the Museum of Modern Art. This from Kafka’s Amerika, demonstrating
is what builds the information of his visible a sweeping acting brilliance, original and
From the publication Prešeren Fund 1996. Ljubljana: Prešeren messages and helps him realise varied ingenious in the selection of acting techniques,
Fund Board, 1996. designer tasks from corporate design to as well as the bold, shrewd creation of
posters which have always been at the a virtuoso actor who forms the tragic and
centre of his designing efforts. /.../ comical essence of a contemporary man. /.../

From the publication Prešeren Fund 1996. Ljubljana: Prešeren From the publication Prešeren Fund 1996. Ljubljana: Prešeren
Fund Board, 1996. Fund Board, 1996.

36

NAGRADA PREŠERNOVEGA SKLADA / PREŠEREN FUND AWARD, 1996

VLADO ŽABOT UROŠ ZUPAN MARKO JAPELJ

Besedno tkivo v romanu Pastorala se kot Uroš Zupan se je v zadnjih letih uveljavil kot /.../ S svojimi scenografijami, ki zelo pogumno
občutljiva in prožna koža tako prilega občutju eden najvidnejših pesnikov mlajše generacije; in radikalno uporabljajo najrazličnejše
sodobnega človeka, da nas od prvih vrstic vsekakor je eden protagonistov slovenske materiale, hkrati pa znatno širijo meje
zajame v svoj čarni ris. /.../ Izvirni preplet poezije devetdesetih. /.../ V tretji pesniški knjigi tehničnih zmogljivosti gledališča, sodi Marko
med starim izročilom in sedanjo ogroženostjo Odpiranje delte (1995) zastavlja Zupanova Japelj med najvidnejše, najbolj samosvoje
človekove intimne biti podeljuje Žabotovemu pisava velike metafizične teme na neposreden in najuspešnejše slovenske ustvarjalce na
romanu dramatično napetost in žar, kakršnega način in tako s svojo odprtostjo in področju gledališke scenografije. Njegove
imajo literarne stvaritve trajne vrednosti. večpomenskostjo nagovarja širok krog bralcev. inovativne postavitve so postale nezamenljiv
Zupanov pesniški slovar sestavljajo zaščitni znak gledališča podob, gledališča,
Povzeto po besedilu v zborniku Prešernov sklad 1996. čutnonazorne, dinamične, polne besede, ki gradi na moči vizualnih vtisov in ki z njimi
Ljubljana: Upravni odbor Prešernovega sklada, 1996. ki izpovedujejo pesnikov notranji pejsaž, tudi najbolj fascinira. /.../
lep, skrivnosten in samozadosten.
Povzeto po besedilu v zborniku Prešernov sklad 1996.
Povzeto po besedilu v zborniku Prešernov sklad 1996. Ljubljana: Upravni odbor Prešernovega sklada, 1996.
Ljubljana: Upravni odbor Prešernovega sklada, 1996.

Linguistic flesh of his novel The Pastoral In recent years, Uroš Zupan has received /.../ Using varied materials in a bold and radical
(Pastorala) fits the spirit of a modern man like significant recognition as one of the most manner and pushing technical limits of the
a delicate and supple skin. The reader gets prominent poets of the younger generation. theatre at all times, is what makes Marko
absorbed into its magic right at the beginning. He is certainly among the protagonists of the Japelj one of the most prominent, unique
/.../ The original intertwinement between 1990’s Slovenian poetry. /.../ In his third book and successful Slovenian scenic designers.
tradition and modern vulnerability of the of poetry entitled Opening the Delta (Odpiranje His innovative sets have become an
most intimate human nature is what endows delte, 1995), Zupan deals with important unmistakable trademark of the theatre of
Žabot’s novel with dramatic tension and metaphysical topics very directly. His images – theatre which builds on the power
brilliance of a permanent literary creation. openness and equivocality addresses a wide of fascinating visual impressions. /.../
audience. Zupan’s poetic dictionary is made
From the publication Prešeren Fund 1996. Ljubljana: Prešeren of sensual, dynamic words full of meaning From the publication Prešeren Fund 1996. Ljubljana: Prešeren
Fund Board, 1996. which reveal his internal scenery that is fine, Fund Board, 1996.
mysterious and self-sufficient.

From the publication Prešeren Fund 1996. Ljubljana: Prešeren
Fund Board, 1996.

37

NAGRADA PREŠERNOVEGA SKLADA / PREŠEREN FUND AWARD, 1996

MILENA MORAČA

operna solistka / opera soloist
38

NAGRADA PREŠERNOVEGA SKLADA / PREŠEREN FUND AWARD, 1996

ZDRAVKO PAPIČ

oblikovalec / graphic designer

39

NAGRADA PREŠERNOVEGA SKLADA / PREŠEREN FUND AWARD, 1996

BRANE ŠTURBEJ

igralec / actor
40

NAGRADA PREŠERNOVEGA SKLADA / PREŠEREN FUND AWARD, 1996

VLADO ŽABOT

pisatelj / writer

41

NAGRADA PREŠERNOVEGA SKLADA / PREŠEREN FUND AWARD, 1996

UROŠ ZUPAN

pesnik / poet
42

NAGRADA PREŠERNOVEGA SKLADA / PREŠEREN FUND AWARD, 1996

MARKO JAPELJ

scenograf / scenic designer

43

PREŠERNOVA NAGRADA / PREŠEREN AWARD, 1997

Akademski slikar in profesor Emerik Bernard je eden najpomembnejših ustvarjalcev slovenske
umetnosti v tem stoletju. V svojem delu je združil smisel za plemenito obliko z raznovrstnimi sredstvi
likovnega modernizma in postmodernizma. Z njimi je učinkovito nadgradil slovensko tradicijo krajinskega
slikarstva in ustvaril popolnoma izvirno sintezo realistične in abstraktne podobe. Sprva je uporabljal
kolažne postopke in izdeloval »predmetne slike«, v katerih so zavrženi, odpadni materiali opozarjali
na večplastne oblike odtujenosti v naši civilizaciji. Po letu 1980 je naslikal vrsto mojstrskih, skrajno
premišljenih istrskih motivov, ki s prav etnografsko domišljijo poustvarjajo tamkajšnjega »duha kraja«.
Bernardovo slikarstvo je utemeljeno v miselno zahtevni, a vendar intimno občuteni analizi slikarskega
modernizma, njegovih konceptov in tehnik, toda slika je zanj likovno občuteni relief duše, v kateri se
abstraktne prvine podredijo bogastvu postmodernega izraza.

Povzeto po besedilu v zborniku Prešernov sklad 1997. Ljubljana: Upravni odbor Prešernovega sklada, 1997.

Academy-trained painter and professor Emerik Bernard is one of the leading 20th century Slovenian
artists. His art combines a sense of noble form with the diversity of modernist and postmodernist
artistic means. This has enabled him to effectively take the Slovenian tradition of landscape painting
to another level, creating an entirely original synthesis of realistic and abstract imagery. Bernard initially
used collage and made “object paintings”, in which discarded, waste materials would point to manifold
forms of alienation in the society. After 1980, he went on to paint a series of masterful, carefully
forethought Istrian motifs, his ethnographic imagination rendering the spirit of the place. While Bernard’s
art is rooted in a mentally complex, yet intimately intense analysis of modernist painting, its concepts
and techniques, for him a painting is an artistically sensitive relief rendering of the soul, where abstract
elements conform to the profusion of postmodernist expression.

From the publication Prešeren Fund 1997. Ljubljana: Prešeren Fund Board, 1997.

44

EMERIK BERNARD

slikar / painter

45

PREŠERNOVA NAGRADA / PREŠEREN AWARD, 1997

V slovenski poeziji je Niko Grafenauer tisti ustvarjalec, ki vodi slovensko poezijo do najvišjih leg
modernizma. Poezijo uveljavlja kot izrazito avtonomen, samozadosten izrazni medij, ki se ne razdaja
nobenim drugim vsebinam, razen jezikovno-estetskim. Grafenauer v pesmih ne posnema resničnosti,
temveč jo ustvarja na novo v izvirni in neponovljivi igri z jezikom. To je razlog, da je njegov opus
skrivnosten, hermetičen, resnobno svečan, najbolj slovenski med modernimi slovenskimi pesniki,
zavezan srednjeevropskemu duhovnemu prostoru, njegovim ranam in travmam. Raste navznoter,
v pravilno obliko pesniških struktur. Podoben je kristalu, ki je s svojimi izbrušenimi ploskvami in
z zmožnostjo lomljenja svetlobe model popolne oblike. Značaj Grafenauerjeve poezije je introvertiran in
melanholičen. Pesnik brusi besede do »čistega zvena« in »večkaratnega pomena« toliko časa, da naredi
iz njih zrcalo, ki nam neusmiljeno vrača podobo naše minljivosti in nas napotuje, da pogledamo za njega.

Povzeto po besedilu v zborniku Prešernov sklad 1997. Ljubljana: Upravni odbor Prešernovega sklada, 1997.

In Slovenian poetry, Niko Grafenauer is the poet whose work stands for modernism at its finest.
Grafenauer continues to constitute poetry as a highly autonomous, self-sufficient medium of expression,
one that is open to no other aspects than linguistic and aesthetic. In his poems, rather than imitating
reality he creates it anew in an original, unparalleled interplay with language. This is why his body
of work is mysterious, hermetic, solemnly ceremonious, more Slovenian than any other in Slovenian
modernist poetry, committed to the Central European ethos, its torments and traumas. His art grows
inwards, into perfected poetry forms, like a crystal as a symbol of a perfect structure with its cut facets
and the ability to refract light. Grafenauer’s poetry is introverted, melancholic in nature. The poet keeps
cutting words until they ring with a “clean sound” and acquire “multiple meanings”, ultimately turning
them into a mirror which mercilessly displays an image of our transience and invites us to see behind it.

From the publication Prešeren Fund 1997. Ljubljana: Prešeren Fund Board, 1997.

46

NIKO GRAFENAUER

pesnik / poet

47

NAGRADA PREŠERNOVEGA SKLADA / PREŠEREN FUND AWARD, 1997

BJANKA ADŽIĆ URSULOV MATJAŽ POGRAJC TUGO ŠUŠNIK

Bjanka Adžić Ursulov šteje med tiste izjemne Zgodbe, ki jih pripoveduje režiser Matjaž Akademski slikar Tugo Šušnik sodi med
gledališke ustvarjalce, ki s svojim prispevkom Pograjc, živijo samo v neprestanem gibanju, vodilne predstavnike srednje generacije
vsako uprizoritev oplemenitijo. Njen suvereni znotraj urbane civilizacije, naseljene slovenskih likovnih umetnikov. V našem
avtorski pristop odlikuje nadrealistična z najrazličnejšimi manifestacijami fizičnega prostoru je prisoten že od začetka
fantazija ob prodorni sposobnosti vstopiti v in telesnega, ter ponujajo izhod v harmoniji sedemdesetih let. Sprva veličastna platna je
avtorjev svet – hkrati strogo upoštevajoč tako ali disharmoniji z nasiljem. Akter, postavljen razvil v »sestavljiva« dela na osnovi študija
režiserjev koncept kot individualne značilnosti v prostor, je čist, nabit z energijo in naravnan angleške in ameriške slikarske šole. /.../
igralcev, ki bodo njene stvaritve nosili. /.../ v svoj absolutni konec. Človeško telo je Pri Šušniku lahko govorimo o več obdobjih,
v Pograjčevem gledališču instrument, ki nosi ki so po kvaliteti in izvirnosti izdelane
Povzeto po besedilu v zborniku Prešernov sklad 1997. celotno simbolno raven postavitve od njenih zaključne faze, in o številnih vrhunskih delih,
Ljubljana: Upravni odbor Prešernovega sklada, 1997. najosnovnejših in najbolj jasnih znakovnih ki vedno znova pričajo o tem, da je slikar
simbolov do zapletenih ritmičnih struktur edinstven mojster modernizma; modernizma,
treniranega telesa. /.../ ki ga na podlagi vzorov vedno nadgradi in
s tem ustvarja svojstvene upodobitve.
Povzeto po besedilu v zborniku Prešernov sklad 1997.
Ljubljana: Upravni odbor Prešernovega sklada, 1997. Povzeto po besedilu v zborniku Prešernov sklad 1997.
Ljubljana: Upravni odbor Prešernovega sklada, 1997.

Bjanka Adžić Ursulov is one of the exceptional The only way for the stories narrated by Academically trained painter Tugo Šušnik
theatre artists who refine any performance the theatre director Matjaž Pograjc to function is one of the leading Slovenian middle-
with their exceptional contribution. Her skilful is that they are in constant movement, inside generation fine artists. The beginning of his
individual approach is distinguished for the the urban civilization, populated with various painting goes back to the early 1970s. Having
surrealist fantasy and remarkable ability to physical manifestations and offering studied the English and American painting
enter the author’s world. She strictly complies a solution that is in harmony or disharmony schools, he transformed his magnificent
with the director’s concept and, at the same with violence. An actor set in the room is pure, canvases into puzzle compositions /.../
time, also with individual characteristics of bursting with energy and oriented towards his Šušnik’s work can be discussed in periods,
the actors wearing her creations. /.../ ultimate end. In Pograjc’s theatre, human each of them being complete in terms
body is an instrument carrying the complete of quality and ingenuity, or in numerous
From the publication Prešeren Fund 1997. Ljubljana: Prešeren symbolic level of a pose from its basic masterpieces presenting him as a unique
Fund Board, 1997. and most clear sign symbols to the complex modernist painter. By following examples
rhythmic structures of a trained body. /.../ of other masters, he always complements his
modernism and creates inherent works of art.
From the publication Prešeren Fund 1997. Ljubljana: Prešeren
Fund Board, 1997. From the publication Prešeren Fund 1997. Ljubljana: Prešeren
Fund Board, 1997.

48