Artist
Aleksandras Macijauskas
(1938) Lithuanian
Biography
As a staff photographer for the Evening News (Vakariniu naujienu) in 1967, Lithuanian photographer Aleksandras Macijauskas started a series of photographs depicting daily life in small Lithuanian towns. The first series he created were of village markets, documented over a period of eighteen years. Over time he expanded his focus to funerals, veterinary clinics, and other scenes of day-to-day activities.
Macijauskas developed a stylistic approach in which he combined early avant-garde principles, such as the use of diagonal angles and geometric forms, with close-up views of his subjects. His use of a wide-angled lens created viewpoints in which the camera seemed ever-present and ordinary daily events turned into dramatic scenes. The intimate and multiangled frame created a dynamic where the observer was drawn towards the image and the casual viewer turned into an active participant of the photographic scene.
Throughout the years, Macijauskas’ work has been on view in a range of group and solo exhibitionsat institutions including the Museum of Fine Arts; Museum of New Mexico, Santa Fe; Aperture Gallery, New York; and Bibliothèque nationale, Paris, among others. One hundred and five of his works are part of the Photography Collection at the International Center of Photography.
Claartje van Dijk
Macijauskas developed a stylistic approach in which he combined early avant-garde principles, such as the use of diagonal angles and geometric forms, with close-up views of his subjects. His use of a wide-angled lens created viewpoints in which the camera seemed ever-present and ordinary daily events turned into dramatic scenes. The intimate and multiangled frame created a dynamic where the observer was drawn towards the image and the casual viewer turned into an active participant of the photographic scene.
Throughout the years, Macijauskas’ work has been on view in a range of group and solo exhibitionsat institutions including the Museum of Fine Arts; Museum of New Mexico, Santa Fe; Aperture Gallery, New York; and Bibliothèque nationale, Paris, among others. One hundred and five of his works are part of the Photography Collection at the International Center of Photography.
Claartje van Dijk