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Marian Benes is a Prague-based photo-designer and Fulbright Scholar. His photographs from the Bohemian National Hall series are on view at Prague’s Diamond Gallery in March.
Marian Benes, Bohemian National Hall, NYC, 2003-2007. Color photograph, dimensions variable. Courtesy of the artist.The targets of my photographic interests result in documentary series about particular communities or social groups. A specific picture of a specific group represents just one of the many different parts of the whole. It is not my goal to find a universal model. It is not my idea to globalize and create a certain standard. The choice of such groups evolves from my inner intuition. I also like the idea of merging photography and typography through digital means. I like to combine digital photographs into compact units that lead to complete graphics or digital photo designs. My central goal is to widen the meaning of photography and its basic capacity.
For this particular opportunity I would like to introduce one of my most recent on-going visual projects. The photographic location is not based in the Czech Republic, as I am, but still has an extremely tight link to the cultural history of my country. I am talking about the Bohemian National Hall, one of the oldest genuine Czech buildings in New York. It was built in the Renaissance Revival style from 1895–1897 and is a symbol of the Czech presence in the USA. Located on New York’s Upper East Side, the Bohemian National Hall serves as a center for the preservation of the Czech language, culture, and history. It also offers space for social activities of New York’s Czech expatriates.
The cultural importance of the building was acknowledged in 1994 by the Architectural Historical Award, which registered the building as a New York City monument. Since 2001 it has been in the property of the Czech Republic. Thanks to the openness and support of the Consulate General, the Bohemian Benevolent and Literary Association, and the Czech Center in New York, my photographic project was able to visually document the unique interior of the "original" Bohemian National Hall. The project, which has also received noted support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, continues on through the documentation of the process of the extensive reconstruction the building is undergoing. It will be completed with documentation of the finished reconstructed building, and the celebration of its second birth.
For me, the Bohemian National Hall carries not just a historical, social, and cultural importance, but also a visual value as well. The building’s interior offers a remarkable visual experience in the form of its characteristic light, which penetrates the space, and creates natural, yet highly impressive interior illumination. This photographic evidence will serve as a unique visual archive of Czech cultural heritage in the United States. Started in 2003, it will end in 2008.
