Pirmā mākslas fotogrāfijas izstāde Latvijā pēc Otrā pasaules kara. 1957–1958
The first exhibition of fine art photography in Latvia after World War II. 1957–1958

Summary/Abstract: The few publications on photographic art in Latvia after World War II mention the first post-war exhibition of photographic art as a sort of milestone - it was Fine Art Photography Exhibition opened in Riga, 29 December 1957. However, this significant event in Latvian photography deserves a more detailed study. The article provides an overview of the facts gathered so far, delineating the series of events related to the organisation and course of the first Fine Art Photography Exhibition as well as the field of issues in need of further research. The fact that the exhibition took place in the central art museum of the city laid the foundations for the future inclusion of photography in the sphere of visual arts (still this depended on particular artists and curatorial ambitions, without further legitimisation from the cultural policy makers). Available documents allow concluding that many photo journalists - press photographers - took part in the exhibition along with several photographers who had established their careers in early 20th century and the inter-war period. Among the participants there are active and popular photographic artists in the decades to come. Testimonies gathered so far allow to assume that searches for aesthetic (although sometimes sentimental or banal) motifs predominated, related to an idealised interpretation of country and urban environment. Even if full of organisational and technical flaws, Fine Art Photography Exhibition seen in Riga in late 1957 and early 1958 should be viewed as a start of a new period. It was a precedent for specialised shows of photographic art, also held in a prestigious museum, inciting photographers’ self-esteem and voicing a larger need for photographic education.

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