A unique probe into musical history, a glimpse into the author’s private life, a visual chronicle of Czechoslovakia in the latter half of the twentieth century, a testament to the ever-changing photographic style of the age... The new book Systém Stivín, just published, is all of this. Above all, however, the book proves that Jiří Stivín is a master not only of every conceivable wind instrument, but also of the camera and the craft of photography. This extensive volume contains nearly three hundred images taken by the musician from the 1950s to the present. Editors Jiří Pátek and Roman Franc selected them from more than 50,000 negatives in Stivín’s vast archive. Alongside family snapshots depicting children, wives and parents, the book includes black-and-white images from the "golden sixties," offering valuable testimony to the atmosphere of the era in which Czech popular culture was being born.
"Photography has always been improvisation for me, just like my life as a whole. I never planned anything in advance. I either had the camera with me, or I didn't." says Jiří Stivín.
The book features photographs of a young Pavel Bobek, Karel Gott, Yvonne Přenosilová, Eva Pilarová, Waldemar Matuška, and legendary jazz musicians from around the world – not only on stage, but also backstage, captured as people of flesh and blood. There is Allen Ginsberg during his visit to Prague, a Soviet tank crushing a tram on 21 August 1968, authentic photographs from Divadlo Na zábradlí, from the poetic wine bar Viola, early moments of Divadlo Járy Cimrmana, wild dance parties, late-night gatherings, and everyday scenes from life in the streets. The book also features Stivín's colourful selfies with numerous prominent figures. The book, designed by Milan Nedvěd under the supervision of Roman Franc – photographer and author of several remarkable publications – is published by Galerie a nakladatelství Stará pošta in collaboration with JazzFestBrno. Its launch will take place on 25 November at Brno's Goose on a String Theatre, during a gig by Stivín’s band at JazzFestBrno.
"Processing more than 50,000 negatives in a few months was a crazy idea. But the archive deserved it – it’s a treasure showing a side of Jiří Stivín that most people have never seen," says editor Roman Franc. "Everyone knows Stivín as a phenomenal musician. But few people know that he was just as intense behind the viewfinder. The photos of Ginsberg and the invasion of August ’68 are famous – but they’re only the beginning," he adds.
Jiří Stivín studied cinematography at Prague's FAMU in the 1960s. During his studies he already played saxophone and transverse flute and joined the band Sputnici. "Some in cameramen circles jokingly say Jiří Stivín is an excellent musician. Musicians claim that he would certainly have been an outstanding cameraman. Neither of them is entirely right. Had he wished, he could have been equally brilliant in both. But during his FAMU years, he firmly chose music, and few people know why," claimed his head teacher Ján Šmok. He ultimately did not become a cinematographer, but his habit of viewing the world through a camera lens stayed with him. "Over the decades he created a fascinating visual chronicle that allows us to become witnesses, ex post, to events we never attended," says editor Jiří Pátek. "When you browse the archive, you don't just see Jiří Stivín's life. You see your own – your parents, hobbies, passions, embarrassing moments, joys. And that's what I love most about it," adds Franc.
"Jiří Stivín shows how to understand his archive – through the ideals of a generation that came of age in the sixties," continues Pátek. Stivín’s photographs from this era are disciplined. They capture dynamic moments, yet their composition is firm and deliberate. "He knows exactly what the main motif is, that less is often more, and that beauty does not automatically mean photogenic. The techniques and subtleties he mastered at FAMU permeate his photography to this day. But once he began working with more modern equipment, his artistic style loosened, and the images gained expressive power," says Pátek.
A large part of his archive consists of music-related series. "For us as viewers, it's fascinating that Stivín was a man inside the scene. That gave him access to capture performers not only as commanding figures on stage, but also backstage," explains Jiří Pátek. The world of small-stage theatres was another hallmark of the sixties; and Stivín was close to this environment from childhood. "His mother was an actress, and he himself moved among theatre people from an early age. He was able to capture authentic moments from performances at Divadlo Na zábradlí, from the poetic wine bar Viola, and he documented the early days of the legendary Divadlo Járy Cimrmana – a troupe he himself briefly joined at the beginning," says Pátek. A considerable portion of Stivín’s archive is taken up by family photographs. "He photographed his family often and with obvious joy. It is, in fact, a kind of time-lapse documentary reminding us that the measure of all things is time," says Pátek.
At first glance, Stivín’s archive is striking for its colour selfies. "Today they are a symbol of digital culture. But Stivín turned this discipline into his own artistic language – and with a touch of cheek even claims to have invented it... His selfies are not a pose. They are playful. Just like his music, they are built on improvisation, spontaneity and the willingness to let things take their own course. What might look, in today’s context, like a symptom of growing cultural narcissism, functions in his case as a creative gesture," Pátek explains.
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