Comic Images in Lithuanian Photography and Graphics of the 1970s-1980s

Abstract

The article analyses the material of a series of comic photography exhibitions held from 1973 to 1981 in Vilnius. The author of the article considers the phenomenon of the interaction between Lithuanian photography and caricature in the context of Soviet culture and reveals the similarities and differences in the approaches to creating a comic effect emerging from documentary images. Comic photography demonstrates the ability to detect the unpredictable, standing out against the stable concepts of everyday life, or to see irrational signs accompanying a person in life. A drawing is born on a blank sheet; like a photograph, it is based on a real fact but has the freedom of interpretation in time and space, in building projections. It is emphasized that from the point of view of the audience’s reception, in a photo the very moment of shifting meanings is present, while in a caricature this stage is already overcome and the audience sees the result. For the artistic culture of the Soviet period, it was important to move away from standard thinking and applied purpose. This was especially significant for caricature and photography, which for a long time were in the service of ideology.

Keywords

• lithuanian photography
• soviet culture
• comic graphics
• šluota
• macijauskas
• požerskis