Český dřevák


Český dřevák was a group of Czech photographers that existed in 2000-2008. Its members were not connected by a common manifesto, but by the technical way of creating photographs. All of them worked with wooden large-format cameras and their resulting photographs were usually contact prints.

History

The group was founded by photographers Karel Kuklík, Jan Reich, Jaroslav Beneš and Bohumír Prokůpek in 2000. In 2002 they were joined by Tomáš Rasl and in 2003 by Petr Helbich.
This is how Bohumír Prokůpek summed up the reason why these artists formed the group: "We used to meet to discuss films, photographic paper, the landscape, exhibitions, politics, girls, and life's little adventures, and because of good wine, which can make existence even more wonderful What brings us together is our delight in the craft, our leisurely approach, the wonderful finality of the contact print..."
After the deaths of Bohumír Prokůpek and Jan Reich in 2008 and 2009, respectively, the group was dissolved even though its surviving members still occasionally exhibit their works collectively under the name of Český dřevák.

The name "Český dřevák"

The expression "Český dřevák" has multiple meanings and is an intended pun. "Český" means simply "Czech", but "dřevák" in Czech is usually 1) a clog slang for a clumsy person. In the name of this group it also refers to its members' practice of using wooden cameras. These photographers also had wooden "membership cards", which looked like a large format film holder.

Exhibitions