Michael Borek: Solo Show in NYC

It’s not every day that one gets to announce an upcoming solo exhibition in New York City, but MEG member Michael Borek is doing just that!

The exhibit, What Would Sudek Do?,  will be held at the BBLA Gallery in the Bohemian National Hall. It runs from July 7 through August 3, with an opening on July 9 at 7 pm.

 

When I was a teenager growing up in Prague, I used to see a one-armed man in a shabby coat schlepping a tripod and a large-view camera. A friend told me that it was Josef Sudek, a famous Czech photographer. I—a young and fledgling photographer—bought a book of his pictures and immediately fell in love. I was smitten with the photographs Sudek had taken through the windows of his studio. They were simple and beautiful. I wished I was able to take such pictures. Sudek had an unmatched ability to notice sublime details, to include what is important, and to eliminate what is not. He created his own world in which the surroundings are only supporting actors. Now, many photographers imitate his style. Even though I borrowed his name for the title of this exhibition, and as a Czech photographer I may have a little of Sudek in my DNA, I hope that I am not one of them. Rather, in this exhibition, I attempt to inspire viewers to reflect on the beauty that can be found in the places they see every day and no longer even notice. Or, to borrow from Thoreau, “It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.” So whenever I end up in seemingly uninspiring places that feel visually dull, I think of the old maestro’s dilapidated studio, open my eyes a bit wider, and ask myself: What Would Sudek Do?