World renowned photographer Josef Koudelka picks up award and makes significant donation of works to Czech museum
After his images of the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia flashed around the world in 1968, Josef Koudelka went on to become one of the greatest photo-journalists of our time. Now in his early 70s, he has just received an award for promoting the good name of Czech culture. At the same time, Koudelka has presented some of his most important works to a Prague museum.
“It’s an expression of – let me put this in layman’s language – publicly patting the heads of those people who have really earned us honour and fame. Because if culture has any importance, it’s that it can open doors, that it can show that we are a civilised group of people in the middle of Europe, that there is a great deal of talent here in all areas, but in particular in the arts.”
The title of Josef Koudelka’s 1988 collection Exiles in some ways sums up his own existence. Since leaving Czechoslovakia four decades ago, he has restlessly travelled the world working, building up a remarkable portfolio along the way. Now the spry 72-year-old is giving hundreds of his photographs to Prague’s Museum of Decorative Arts. Minister Riedlbauch expressed gratitude for the donation.
“He came to us with an offer to leave a great part of his work here at home, so that it will be accessible for exhibiting purposes, for research and for the further documentation of Czech photography. I was very enthusiastic about this generous offer. Believe me, it’s not an everyday thing for an artist active on the world stage for years to remember his home country like this.”
Josef Koudelka, who was dressed in his standard military shirt and jacket at Tuesday’s award ceremony at the Ministry of Culture, is known for his aversion to the media. He had little interest in discussing the prize, but would concede that even after 40 years abroad his work may reflect his origins to some extent.
Koudelka has been a member of the Magnum photo-journalism agency since 1971. A friend of the late Henri Cartier-Bresson, Britain’s Observer newspaper has described him as “the last of the great hard-bitten romantics of 20th century reportage”.
