KOTZMANN

“The means of photography that Alena Kotzmannová uses is derived much more from a dialogue between the photographer and viewer. The difference between the creator and the later consumer of the photographic image is, to a large degree, blurred in such a concept of photography, which is not uncommon in contemporary art. This in fact results from the very process of creating these pictures. Kotzmannová does not make a preconceived work – first she looks. Before she becomes the photographer that pushes the shutter-release button, she is a person who sees something that she decides to take a picture of. The appeal of her photography does not lie in a photojournalistic boast: I have been to places that you have not. No matter where her pictures come from, they feature everyday things lying in the backdrop of spectacular photogenic events. These are situations that can happen anywhere in the world. Kotzmannová does not show exclusive shots from exotic countries to her viewers, but instead provides the viewer with instructions how the viewer himself should proceed in viewing the world and what can be seen in it. Yes, the final photographic image and its aesthetic quality is also essential. But its meaning is, above all, the aforementioned strategy for viewing the world.”