The EARLY DAYS OF PHOTOGRAPHY IN MACEDONIA

In Macedonia photography is still insufficiently studied. To this day not enough facts are known about its arrival, its early days in this region, its development, the people who worked in this field, their ambitions, plans and desires. Unlike film and the emergence of the Manaki brothers (of whom we are proud as the pioneers of cinematography in the Balkans) photography, although older and preceding film by decades, is undeservedly treated as not as sophisticated a medium within culture and the arts.1
In this context, the year 2005 was marked as an important anniversary for Macedonian culture: 150 years of the beginning of photography in Macedonia. In fact this anniversary stems from the fact that in 1855 a Macedonian fresco-painter, Hadži Koste (Kostadin) Krstev, signed his fresco on the wall of the monastery church of St Demetrius in Veles as a “fresco-painter and photographer.”2 It appears that relatively soon after the revolutionary discovery of photography there were people in Macedonia who not only knew about the new invention and practised it, but also drew attention to it in their signatures as their profession, side by side with their basic line of work as fresco-painters. Future research will no doubt prove whether this is the date that can be taken as the beginning of Macedonian photography. Until we know otherwise, we can accept the year 1855 as the first registered piece of information referring to photography in Macedonia.
On the other hand, the emergence and development of photography globally is studied in more detail. Generally everybody agrees that the beginning of photography in the proper sense of the word (disregarding the numerous experiments with the camera obscura) is connected with the name of Nicéphore Niepce and his heliography dating from 1826.3 Since then photography has gone through many technical and technological transformations — up to the present-day full digitalization — and has spread at lightning speed throughout the world as a hobby, profession and art.

Historical Circumstances in Macedonia in the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries

The geopolitical history of Macedonia of this period is well-known. As a territory Macedonia was still part of the Ottoman Empire, even though the military and administrative weakening of the empire aroused the interest of the Great Powers in the Balkan Peninsula to open what became known as the Eastern Question. Macedonia had a special place and significance in this sensitive region, principally because of its central situation in the Balkans, strategic communications and its economic and raw material base. In addition to the Great Powers and their conflicting interests in Macedonia, the newly-established Balkan bourgeois monarchies were soon to join in the “game.”
“In 19th-century Macedonia, the revival and revolutionary national liberation movements developed side by side. The liberal European ideas of the French Revolution (1789) and the Commune of Paris (1871) spread throughout Macedonia and took root among the ideologists and leaders of the national liberation movement as well as the founders of the socialist movement.”4 These ideas, particularly following the Treaty of San Stefano and its revision by the Congress of Berlin (1878), were to be vehemently and vigorously welcomed, as seen in the several unsuccessful uprisings against Ottoman authority, culminating in the Ilinden Uprising (August 1903) under the “inspiring motto of the French Revolution, ‘Liberté, égalité, fraternité.’”5 Unfortunately, the Kruševo Republic proclaimed by the Ilinden insurgents lasted only fourteen days.
Following the bloody suppression of the Ilinden Uprising and the massive reprisals, the Young Turk Revolution (1908) brought some hope for a broad national and cultural autonomy. But “the fever of conquest of Macedonia” that overwhelmed the neighbouring monarchies (Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece and Montenegro) resulted first in the creation of a Balkan military alliance between these states, and sometime later in the First and Second Balkan Wars (1912-1913) fought by the same countries against Turkey. The conflict ended by Macedonia’s partition under the Treaty of Bucharest (1913), which was later verified by the Versailles Peace Conference. In fact, “what the three subsequent wars (1912-1918) had left behind was a striking apocalyptic landscape with delineated borders throughout the Macedonian land.”6
In this period Macedonia was predominantly “a land of peasants, craftsmen and small merchants. At the turn of the century, the first forerunners of the capitalist economy began to appear, albeit at a very moderate pace. A process of town expansion and growth into economic centres was also apparent.”7 At the same time, the towns were becoming the hub of educational and cultural life.
For example Bitola was an administrative and trade centre at the time and the seat of the Bitola Vilayet in 1883/84. It appears that “according to Turkish statistical data there were about ten active mektebs (primary schools), at least ten medreses (secondary schools), two Turkish lower grammar schools, a secondary military school, a military academy, a teachers’ training college and several vocational schools, etc.8 At the same time, as a result of the reinforced propaganda of the neighbouring countries, there were numerous Serbian, Greek and Bulgarian schools, educational societies and similar institutions active in Bitola.
After 1851, following the establishment of the diplomatic mission of Austria, diplomatic missions of several other European countries opened in Bitola: those of Great Britain (1851), France (1854), Russia (1860), Italy (1895), Greece, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, etc.9 “The presence of foreign diplomatic missions in Bitola was undoubtedly seen as the presence of Europe in Bitola, particularly in the everyday life and activities of the richer strata of the population. European influences were visible in architecture, music, fashion and in culture in general.”10
As far as Skopje was concerned, the first public Slavonic school was opened as early as 1836-1837. The school network towards the end of the century consisted of “nine Turkish primary schools and one secondary school with 1,400 pupils, four Exarchate schools with 1,166 pupils, two Serbian primary schools with 246 pupils, as well as one Albanian, one Romanian, one Greek and one Jewish school. Skopje also had a secondary girls’ college and a teachers’ training college.11 In this context, in view of the fact that Hadži Koste Krstev originally came from Veles, we should mention that this town was regarded as one of the more developed Macedonian centres not only of trade but also of culture. The rich Veles merchants dealt in hides and other products with Vienna, Leipzig, Pest and other European cities and sent their children to be educated in Salonica, Athens or Constantinople (now Istanbul). Veles was also known for the numerous book lovers or subscribers to various editions printed in Buda, Pest, Salonica and other cities.12

The Beginnings of Photography in Macedonia

The life and work of Hadži Koste (Kostadin) Krstev, the first known photographer in Macedonia to date, are not sufficiently studied; however, his activity as a fresco-painter is better known than his photography. From the available data we know that he was the son of a notable Veles fresco-painter, Krste Pop Trajanovik and that he learnt his trade from his father. He took over some elements from his father’s approach in the painting of figures, although other contemporary influences from the first half of the 19th century are also noticeable.

There is no data about the year of Krstev’s birth, although according to the testimony of Gorgi Zografski (another prominent fresco-painter from Veles) 1894 is usually taken as the year of his death.
From what we know he worked as a painter (icon- and fresco-painting) from 1847 to 1885 in the regions of Veles, Kumanovo and Sveti Nikole. He is also known to have been active in Serbia (Devič and Prokuplje). Together with Gorgi Zografski he worked in the company of Andon Kitanov (1829-1914), a painter, woodcarver and architect.
Regrettably, the only piece of information referring to his activity as a photographer is his signature on the wall of the church of St Demetrius in Veles.13
As far as the early years of photography in the second half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century in Macedonia are concerned, some facts are established. For example in Veles we know of the photographic activity of Dime Gočev-Bickin and also that the photographic studio of Damaskin Manušev was opened in 1894.14
Bitola, the city of the Manaki brothers, is believed to have “had a number of photographers with their own studios... in the last decades of the 19th century, such as Atanas [should be Anastas, author’s note] Lozančev, Lazar (Risto) Kermele, Tegu and others. The number of photographers grew particularly in the early 20th century with the opening of the studios of the Manaki brothers, Sotir Pinza, Linara, Papakoč, Topla [should be Tonka, author’s note] Nacka, D. Šožu, Gorgi Moreno, and many others.”15 The photo studio of the brothers Janaki and Milton Manaki (who began working as photographers in Ioannina as early as 1898) opened in Bitola in 1905. We should also mention the imposing body of the brothers’ photographic work, which is still insufficiently known to the public although it includes 18,513 negatives and 17,854 prints!
There is no doubt that the photographic activity of the Manaki brothers — in both quantity and quality — contributed to the swift development and increased interest in photography not only in Bitola but also in the whole of Macedonia. Furthermore, their contribution to the development of photography in the region was by no means negligible, since their work was also connected with, among others, Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia.
From the 1920s onwards photography was no longer a “miracle” in Macedonia but an everyday occurrence and also a medium for artistic expression.16

Bearing in mind all these facts, we can safely assume that in spite of the extremely complex historical and economic situation of the region, the emergence and development of photography in Macedonia did not lag behind other neighbouring countries. There is no doubt that the first people to photograph the Balkans were travel photographers, who came from different European countries (France, Italy, Austria, Germany...). Some of the distinguished names included Josif Kapilieri, Elias Armin, Guillaume Lejean, Bauer and Gelch.
In the territory of the countries of the former Yugoslavia photography appeared for the first time in Zagreb in 1840 with the activity of the photographer Novaković. Soon afterwards, Anastas Jovanović, a painter and printer, introduced photography in Belgrade. Photography in Ljubljana is connected with the work of Janez Puhar (1847). The first photo-club, one of the oldest in this part of Europe, was founded in Zagreb in 1892.
The first known photograph in Bulgaria was made by a travel photographer in 1851. Indigenous Bulgarian photographers appeared sometime later, including Georgi Dančov, Toma Hitrov, Nikola Hitrov, Petar Todorov Fakirov and Ivan Zografov.17
Filippos Margaritis18 opened the first photographic studio in Athens, Greece, in 1849. Photography became especially popular in the early 20th century and some of the more important names from this period included Eli Seraidari (better known as Neli), Stemos Kasimatis, Spiros Melitis and Voula Papaioannou.

In conclusion, special attention should be paid to the fact that we owe this photographic heritage almost entirely to the efforts, enthusiasm and archives of the Macedonian Centre of Photography and to Robert Jankulovski personally as its founder and manager.

[Notes]

1. This is so in spite of the fact that the Manaki brothers were in effect photographers.
2. The full inscription on the church’s southern wall reads as follows: “Sej obitel obnovisja vo 1855 izobrazi H. Koste zugraf i fotograf” [according to Dimitar Kornakov in Makedonski manastiri (Macedonian Monasteries), Matica Makedonska, Skopje, 1995, p. 207].
3. When dealing with the subject of the appearance of photography in the world, the year 1839 and the achievements of Daguerre and Herschel in this field are most often quoted in the Macedonian literature. Around the world, however, the prevalent view is that Niepce and his 1826 heliography takes precedence (a landscape shot through a window of his home) as the first genuine and permanent photograph.
4. Vera Veskovik-Vangeli, Ph.D., “Fotozapisot na Avgust Leon za Makedonija vo 1913 godina (The Photo Record of Auguste Léon of Macedonia in 1913),” in: Makedonija vo 1913 (Macedonia in 1913) (catalogue), Museum of the City of Skopje, 2001, p. 21.
5. Ibid., p. 22.
6. Ibid., p. 25.
7. Ibid., p. 19.
8. Ivan Jolevski and Marija Kokalevska-Taleva, “Razvojot na prosvetata vo Bitola (The Development of Education in Bitola),” Tvoreštvoto na brakata Manaki (The Work of the Manaki Brothers), Archives of Macedonia and Matica Makedonska, Skopje, 1996, p. 352.
9. See Jovan D. Kočankovski, M.Sc., “Stranski diplomatski pretstavništva vo Bitola (Foreign Diplomatic Missions in Bitola),” Tvoreštvoto na brakata Manaki, Archives of Macedonia and Matica Makedonska, Skopje, 1996, pp. 167-182.
10. Ibid., p. 182.
11. Makedonija vo 1913 (catalogue), Museum of the City of Skopje, Skopje, 2001, p. 39.
12. See Nikifor Smilevski, Hadži Koste, zograf i fotograf (Hadži Koste, Fresco-painter and Photographer), Kinopis, No. 6, Year IV, 1992, Skopje, p. 84.
13. For more on Hadži Koste Krstev see: Hadži Koste, zograf i fotograf, Kinopis, No. 6, Year IV, 1992, Skopje, p. 84-86; Antonie Nikolovski, “Umetnosta na XIX vek vo Makedonija (The Art of the 19th Century in Macedonia)”, Kulturno nasledstvo na SR Makedonija (The Cultural Heritage of SR Macedonia), Republic’s Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments, Skopje, 1984; Antonie Nikolovski, Makedonskite zografi od krajot na XIX i početokot na XX vek (Macedonian Fresco-painters from the End of the 19th and the Beginning of the 20th Century), Republic’s Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments, Skopje, 1984.
14. Makedonija vo 1913 (catalogue), p. 86.
15. Aleksandar Krstevski-Koška, “Fotografskata dejnost na brakata Manaki (The Photographic Work of the Manaki Brothers)”, Tvoreštvoto na brakata Manaki, Archives of Macedonia and Matica Makedonska, Skopje, 1996, p. 68.
16. We should mention in this context Sonja Abadžieva’s view that “we owe the first one-man show of photographs (on the basis of facts available to date) to Cvetko Ivanov (1908-1984),” but she does not quote the source or document for making this assumption; so it will have to be taken with a reserve. See Ekstenzija na kadarot (The Extension of the Frame) (catalogue), Bitola Art Gallery, 1998.
17. For more on this subject see: Petar Boev, Fotografsko izkustvo v B’lgarija (1856-1944) [Photographic Art in Bulgaria (1856-1944)] , Septemvri Državno Izdatelstvo, Sofia, 1983.
18. Filippos Margaritis (1810-1892) was born in Smyrna (now Izmir). In 1821 he spent some time in Rome, where he studied painting. He worked as a teacher in an Art School in Athens.

ART vs RELIGION

1.
Several years ago, right at the beginning of the new Millennium, the so-called Millennium Cross was installed on the top of Vodno - the hill nearest to the city of Skopje – "to be seen from all over Macedonia", as some used to say! Politically it looked as an act of reconciliation between the state and the church - although it was not! For some people it looked like God finally came to Macedonia - which was also false believe. For the people from other then Christian religions it was an open act of intolerance and xenophobia, of religious violence and symbolic declaration of our negligence for the others!

Several years after the installation of the Millennium Cross another most intriguing religious-oriented public debate took place in Macedonia. Its topic was the dilemma whether to introduce classes of religious education in primary schools or not. Or, if you want - whether to introduce the religion into our lives or not! And once again the "religious question" was mercilessly politicized and brought directly into the Parliament for politicians to decide upon.
And for months this "problem" was in the public focus, but not as an educational or even more cultural matter but as a political one! Which, maybe, is not too strange, since we on the Balkans can make politics out of everything. Although the proposal was related to voluntary religious education, it was considered negative by a surprisingly great percentage of the high-educated population and intellectuals. Like it was the end of the (free) world, like we were going to lose something special, or our beloved and not forgotten old system would finally and irretrievably collapse.
On the one hand, having in mind that for more then fifty years we lived under an atheist regime where religion was not welcomed even in the churches, it is understandable that the politicians - especially older ones - were really shocked by the idea of having religious education in schools. But, on the other hand, it was also shocking to see and listen to young people, intellectuals, even eminent people from the educational and cultural field, talking nonsense in the old fashioned socialistic way. Some of them still find the religion "opium for the masses"!
Of course, the question of religious education - like many other things - has never been a topic for serious discussion among scholars in the Macedonian recent past. If it was then it was in a strictly ideological terms and purposes. That is why we do not really know to separate religion from religious education, church from religious education etc. The principle of secularity and the division between the state and the church has separated the things that much that we have forgotten that religion is one of the fundamental pillars of the civilization. We still consider religious matters as political matters! So when we say that education and culture have long been considered of secondary importance, it is not just a mere statement – it is a fact. We still think in the old one-track-minded way allowing the ideology frames to decide about crucial educational and cultural questions!

2.
One recent Dutch contemporary art exhibition* in the National Gallery of Macedonia was only a motive for this text. Otherwise, there are too many examples how unprepared, how "illiterate" and ignorant we are when it comes to religious matters. As a matter of fact each day we find ourselves in a world of significant messages that we do not understand. So let's for a moment consider art as our guide to the world that is still for us to explore!
Nearly half of the artworks presented on the previous mentioned Dutch exhibition were - in one way or another, explicit or a little bit hidden - connected with the religious themes and meanings. And it was really embarrassing to see that most of the public simply did not understand what it is about, what the works represented or what was the artist's point of view. People looked curiously but a little bit confused, they asked questions trying to understand certain point ... they knew there was "something" beyond the mere artworks, but ... So, in a broader context, a great exhibition became a hermetic one, almost incomprehensible for most of the audience! Simply because we forgot about the educational / cultural gap between Europe and Macedonia when it comes to religious matters.
For example: it takes serious religious knowledge to make the distinction between the Calvinism in the North and Catholicism in the South of Netherlands and how it reflects on the moral frontiers and on certain art thinking; or what the real difference between the Protestants and Catholics is; or what the idea of Life as Punishment means and how "to read" it in an art work (Gijs Assman); or what story lies behind the two simple words Ecce homo (Benoit Hermans) ... etc! Or how to recognize in an artwork (Famke van Wijk) the meaning of the "Christian symbol of water in which in all innocence you wash your hands and blood that was shed to absolve you of your sins"[1]?
And it is not only with this exhibition that we have a "communication" problem! As a matter of fact nearly the same problem of incomprehensiveness or even serious misunderstanding occurs with some sophisticated religious-oriented, or religious focused works of Macedonian or international artists. We simply do not know what to think of it - how to "read" the work, how to deal with its "story"! Actually, every day we are literary bombed with images and words that we do not understand. But we look without knowing what we are looking at, we read but we don't know what we are reading about! And the same issue goes on and on.

3.
But it is not the problem only with the contemporary art. As a matter of fact, contemporary art is only the top of the hill. The problem starts far in the foothill!
For example: when we stand in front of an artwork showing the Crucifixion, what do we see - just a man on cross? When we look at Grunewald's (1480-1530) The Crucifixion from the XVI century, do we understand the meaning of the work, do we comply with the artist's deep feelings about that scene? This work is genuinely religious in many respects, and so is the artist. But, it is everything but a realistic view of the crucifixion! Do we know who are the people around the cross, why the proportion of their figures is as it is, what is the meaning of the objects aside the cross? Can we really understand that the scene "points to the ultimate mystery of that death in which death itself was swallowed up in victory"[2]!
And if we move a little bit closer to our days we may come across El Greco (1541-1614) and his religious art. And if we do not know that he worked "in the era of the Counter-Reformation in Spain, with its desperate battle against the inroads of Protestantism and the Secularism of the High Renaissance"[3], then how do we expect to understand his paintings? It is also important to know that most of his paintings are vertical - a quality that comes from his utmost mystic desire to be unified with God, to be closer to him as much as he can.
Almost everybody will tell you that Rembrandt (1606-1669) unquestionably is one of the greatest painters in the world but very few know that he was also a great believer, very religious man. His art has deep religious insight and his profound studies of the Bible showed noticeable change in his style. The "Biblical humanism" that characterizes his mature work is especially evident in the painting Jacob Blessing the Sons of Joseph, painted in 1656. It is "strikingly simple" but extraordinary painting, calm but deeply moving - one of the many masterpieces where the religious feelings are so subtle, so humanly balanced. But, on the other hand, if we do not know who Jacob and Joseph were and what actually is happening on the painting, then Rembrandts "Biblical humanism" and the significance of his religious message simply miss the point.

4.
So, we all know that art often tends to confront the viewer with some unsuspected things (or qualities) in themselves, some things they never supposed they possessed. Especially religious art confronts the viewer with simple but meaningful stories, stories with sharp human and moral point or sometimes hidden between the lines; religious art often speaks in ciphers and codes, it offers unusual situations and sometimes phantasmagorical solutions; religious art likes "to play" with strange objects and things with double or even triple meaning! It is a whole new world to explore, but only if we have the key to open it. Otherwise we become "lost in translation"!
And this time we talk only about Christian religion. But what if, for example, we find ourselves in front of a Tibetan mandala, or some Islamic iconography?
If we do not know that the arabesque, an aspect of Islamic art usually found decorating the walls of mosques, is based upon the Islamic view of the world, then what do we see? Just forms - floral or ornamental - put together? But to Muslims these forms, taken together, constitute an infinite pattern that extends beyond the visible material world. To many in the Islamic world, they in fact symbolize the infinite, and therefore uncentralized nature of the creation of the one God (Allah). Islamic art is centered usually on Allah, and since Allah cannot be represented by imagery ("All you believe him to be, he is not"), geometric patterns are used.
On the other hand, instead of recalling something related to the reality of the spoken word, calligraphy for the Muslims is a visible expression of the highest art of all, the art of the spiritual world. Calligraphy has arguably become the most venerated form of Islamic art because it provides a link between the languages of the Muslims with the religion of Islam.
But, if we do not know all this things, what are we going to do facing this kind of art - simply turn our head away?

5.
So, since we are talking about Europe, religion and religious art are part of the enduring heritage of the West. And when we think about nowadays process of European integration - about education, culture and art as important parts of this integration - we should also consider religious matters with the same seriousness as the political, economic and other integration. Because religion / religious matters are subtle incorporated in the very essence of every day's life of European people. Especially in art! And if we undermine or don't understand that, then we do not understand the European way of life. And then we have a communication problem and communication problems often lead to all other problems!

So, sometimes, the so-called "clash of civilizations" can come not necessarily from outside but from within! We, of course, have to deal with it. The process of European integration will change for better – and it is changing – but it will take time, knowledge and efforts. And still there are no guaranties that things will come in the right place. It is because the key reforms of the system – especially the reforms in the field of culture and education – are being "prepared" by marginal and often semi literal people and self-called experts! People who think only in political terms and ideological frames, having in mind only narrow party or personal interest. What we need is a complete, thorough, systematic reconstruction of the fundamental values through the educational process and art and culture. And the first thing to begin with is the religious education! Because it will not only improve and deepen our knowledge and understanding but it will hopefully re-arise certain moral values and give new meaning to our way of life.

Notes
* Songs of Innocence and Aggression, 2007, (curated by Thom Puckey)
[1] Alex DE VRIES, Songs of Innocence and Aggression: don't look away (text in catalogue)

[2] Marvin HALVERSON, Cristianity and art,

[3] Ibid