Stack at home: Fotograf
It’s been a year since we sent out a photography title (last August’s controversial Der Greif) and when considering titles for 2020 we chose Fotograf because it works so hard to push the boundaries of photographic art — a quick flick through will show a wide range of unconventional work here, including abstracted and digitally manipulated imagery, all gathered under the issue’s theme of New Utopias.
The magazine is published in both Czech and English editions, and you can expect stories that allow some of the local identity to show through, for example early infographics created in the 1930s by architect Jiri Kroha, which use photomontage to tell stories about living conditions in interwar Czechoslovakia. But photographs stray further afield, too. The cover story, by Kiluanji Kia Henda, is entitled “Afro-Retro-Futurism”. By reimagining a football match as a rocket launch, or drafting in public toilets to become a space observatory, Kiluanji appropriates images to weave together his fantasy of Angola’s space programme, using the objectivity commonly associated with documentary photography to add an extra sense of veracity to the fiction.
Below we’ve rounded up some of our favourite responses from Stack subscribers. Right at the bottom, you’ll find our Stack subscriber of the month.
5. Letters
We like this shot of Fotograf, with our letter peeking out behind it.
4. Crotch shot
This photograph of Fotograf on a subscriber’s lap caught out attention.
3. Sunshine
We like the bright background of this shot.
2. In the post
We don’t play favourites with our subscibers, but we do really like Ian.
In the post: the latest from @StackMagazines, the brilliant Fotograf journal from Prague. It’s well worth subscribing to @StackMagazines if you want to support independent publishing! pic.twitter.com/agYbuDJ17U
— Ian McMillan (@IMcMillan) August 13, 2020
1. Masks on
This close-up of two masked faces wins our photo competition this month. Stack t-shirt on its way to you!
1* Honourable mention
We really don’t know how we missed this amazing shot by Stack subscriber Ant Heald. Dreamy surroundings! Sorry Ant, you’re this month’s honourable mention.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CENDgTKJimL/
