Urška Pečnik (1991) je vizualna umetnica, ki je po končani diplomi na ljubljanski Akademiji za likovno umetnost in oblikovanje (leta 2014), magisterij na področju fotografije nadaljevala na Accademia di belle arti di Brera v Milanu (leta 2016). To jo je vodilo do dela v tamkajšnji fotografski agenciji, ki je pokrivala tudi milanski teden mode. V svojem delu združuje modno in sodobno avtorsko fotografijo. Sodeluje s številnimi slovenskimi ter tujimi modnimi oblikovalci, umetniki in platformami, med drugim Anja Medle, M Fiction, Benedetti Life, Ljubljana fashion week, Milano fashion week, Zalando, N21, Bikkembergs, Genny, MRFY, Viberate, … Je ustanoviteljica regionalne platforme za modno fotografijo HELMUT (leto 2020) in prejemnica nagrade Elle Style Awards v kategoriji Mladi talent (2021). Njeno delo je bilo objavljeno tudi v reviji Vogue.
HUGU BOOS
Modna fotografija je že od samega začetka v svojih najboljših oblikah neločljiva od umetniške fotografije. Razvijala se je vzporedno z ostalimi fotografskimi zvrstmi in kot nadomestek slikarstva – ki je v vseh svetovnih dvorih obeleževalo razkošne in ekstravagantne modne smernice, prevzela vlogo beleženja estetike oblačilne kulture. Prve modne fotografije so bile ustvarjene že v 1850ih, njihovo mesto v umetnosti pa sta zaznamovala predvsem Harper’s Bazaar in Vogue (ustanovljena v poznih 1800ih), ki sta sprva objavljala modne ilustracije, kasneje pa konceptualno in estetsko dodelane editoriale, ki niso predstavljali le novih kreativnih dosežkov visoke mode, temveč skozi kombinacijo le-te in fotografije pripovedovali zgodbo. Fotografi in fotografinje kot na primer Louise Dahl-Wolfe, Ellen von Unwerth, Corinne Day, Tim Walker, Peter Lindbergh, Richard Avedon in Helmut Newton, so preko modne fotografije legitimizirali umetniško zvrst, ki se lahko pojavlja tako v revijah in reklamnih panojih, kot tudi na stenah galerij. Prav po fotografu Helmutu Newtonu se imenuje tudi regionalna platforma za modno fotografijo HELMUT, katere ustanoviteljica je Urška Pečnik. Izbira njegovega imena kaže na določene podobnosti, ki si jih delita fotografa, saj tudi Urška Pečnik ustvarja provokativne fotografije, ki neposredno izražajo erotiko. Posebnost njenih fotografij je neizpodbiten ženski pogled, ki se ne pri fotografinji in ne pri modelih, ne podreja moškim fantazijam, temveč izriše prostor za žensko seksualnost v kombinaciji z individualno feminilno izraznostjo, pripovednostjo in fantazijami. Prioriteta fotografij je drzna, surova in eksperimentalna estetika z mnogimi elementi campa – kot je senzibilno in ekstravagantno teatralnost definirala Susan Sontag. Na fotografijah Urške Pečnik ne vidimo retuširanih teles in klišejskih ekscesov. Fotografinja modo spretno kombinira s kontrasti med retro elementi/futurizmom, religiozno estetiko/seksualnostjo, običajnimi mestnimi prizori/eleganco, naravo/luksuzom. To ustvari nepričakovano in razgibano vizualno udarnost, ki je ob delu za oblikovalce, znamke, modne tedne in revije, zlahka prepoznavna zaradi svojega nekompromisno unikatnega sloga.
Fotografije tokrat razstavlja na fototapetah, ki aludirajo na oglaševalsko plat modne fotografije, kar pa kombinira s klasičnimi zlatimi okvirji, ki nakazujejo umetniško in zgodovinsko vrednost fotografskega žanra, ter ustvarjajo sintezo med vsemi plastmi modne fotografije. Zgodovino fotografije in poigravanje z elementi krščanstva naslovi v delno instalacijski sopostavitvi fotografije Jezusa, črno bele poročne fotografije in avtorske fotografije, kjer prej omenjena elementa nastopata v ozadju. Na klasičnem elementu slovanskega doma – čipkastem prtičku, razstavlja tudi svojo novo fotoknjigo Yebiveter. Naslov knjige in tudi same razstave pa znova komunicirata o svobodnem in rahlo ironičnem umetniškem pristopu fotografinje.
Sara Nuša Golob Grabner
Urška Pečnik (1991) is a visual artist who, after graduating from the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Ljubljana (2014), continued her MA in photography at the Accademia di belle arti di Brera in Milan (2016). This led her to work for a photography agency there, which also covered Milan Fashion Week. Her work combines fashion and contemporary original photography. She has collaborated with many Slovenian and international fashion designers, artists and platforms, including Anja Medle, M Fiction, Benedetti Life, Ljubljana Fashion Week, Milan Fashion Week, Zalando, N21, Bikkembergs, Genny, MRFY, Viberate, … She is the founder of HELMUT, a regional platform for fashion photography (2020) and the recipient of the Elle Style Award in the Young Talent category (2021). Her work has also been published in Vogue magazine.
HUGU BOOS
Fashion photography, at its best, has been inseparable from art photography from the very beginning. It developed alongside other photographic genres and took on the role of recording the aesthetics of dress culture as a substitute for painting, which in all the world’s courts celebrated the luxurious and extravagant fashion trends. The first fashion photographs were taken as early as the 1850s, and their place in the arts was established mostly by Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue (founded in the late 1800s), which first published fashion illustrations and later conceptual and aesthetically sophisticated editorials, which not only showcased the new creative achievements of haute couture, but also told a story through the combination of fashion and photography. Photographers such as Louise Dahl-Wolfe, Ellen von Unwerth, Corinne Day, Tim Walker, Peter Lindbergh, Richard Avedon and Helmut Newton legitimised an artistic genre that could appear in magazines and billboards as well as on gallery walls. The regional platform for fashion photography HELMUT, founded by Urška Pečnik, is named after the photographer Helmut Newton. The choice of his name points to certain similarities shared by the two photographers, as Urška Pečnik also creates provocative photographs that directly express eroticism. What is special about her photographs is the undeniable feminine gaze, which, neither in the case of the photographer nor in the case of the models, submits to male fantasies, but rather carves out a space for female sexuality in combination with individual feminine expressiveness, narrativity and fantasies. The priority of the photographs is a bold, raw and experimental aesthetic with many elements of camp – as Susan Sontag defined sensual and extravagant theatricality. Urška Pečnik’s photographs do not show retouched bodies and clichéd excesses. The photographer skilfully combines fashion and contrasts between retro elements/futurism, religious aesthetics/sexuality, ordinary urban scenes/elegance, nature/luxury. This creates an unexpected and exuberant visual impact which, when working for designers, brands, fashion weeks and magazines, is easily recognisable for its uncompromisingly unique style.
On this occasion, she exhibits her photographs on photo wallpapers that allude to the advertising side of fashion photography, which she combines with classic gold frames that suggest the artistic and historical value of the photographic genre, creating a synthesis between all the layers of fashion photography. The history of photography and experimentation with the elements of Christianity is addressed in a semi-installation juxtaposition of a photograph of Jesus, an old black and white wedding photograph and an artist’s original photograph, where the aforementioned elements appear in the background. She is also exhibiting her new photobook Yebiveter on a classic element of a Slavic home – a lace doily. The title of the book and the title of the exhibition itself once again communicate the photographer’s free and slightly ironic artistic approach.
Sara Nuša Golob Grabner
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