This master of the black box, to use the words of the writer Adolf Branald, has for nearly four decades been working mainly in the Prague-Munich-New York triangle. His livelihood is as an advertising photographer for worldwide agencies, but he has earned his honour and fame in the field of art. Recently, however, this cosmopolitan photographer has been living and working in Venice, Italy. His freelance work is literally an international phenomenon. Among Xander's major lifetime projects are panoramic images of bridges in the world's capitals, artistic nudes and still lifes, where each of his photographs is original and unique. His work is represented in the collections of the world's leading museums and galleries, and he has exhibited mainly in Europe and the USA. His exhibition is currently on display in the Jaskmanický Gallery in the centre of Prague. On this occasion we asked Jiří Ksander for an interview.

Bridges - what attracts you to them?

„It was 1986 when I first went to America. During my wanderings, I began to photograph Manhattan with a panoramic camera. First life downtown and eventually I got to the water, where the panoramic camera turned out to be just brilliant for those long bridges leading from Manhattan to the surrounding boroughs. Above all, I was intrigued by their architecture - from the technical design to the artistic elements and the more or less appropriate harmony with the surrounding nature and space. The subject grabbed me, so to speak, and I became systematically interested in bridges, summer and winter, morning and evening. „
Their architecture is undoubtedly an extraordinary subject...

„The bridges attracted me first by their appearance, but then also by their history. For example, the Brooklyn Bridge (1869-1883) was built by a German merchant, Mr. Röbling, who settled in Albany, the capital of New York State, and owned a wire factory. While thinking about how he could expand the sale of wire, he came up with the brilliant idea of using the wire to make ropes, which he would then use for a fantastic bridge project. His wire ropes would carry the bridge deck. A bold project, an ingenious solution, a fantastic result that he sadly never lived to see completed.

Even his son, who became paralyzed due to Caisson's illness, could no longer work on the construction, and his wife finished the construction. The work on the bridge piers was interesting. In order to allow the workers to work in deep water, wooden bells were built, „caissons“, into which air was blown to prevent the water from entering the caisson area, where the workers actually built „dry foot“ Several also died of the so-called caisson disease. This bridge is both a symbol of American progress and the pride of New York. A breathtaking structure and an even more breathtaking and breathtaking walk across the bridge with a view of the New York skyline.

The opposite of the monumental structure from New York is a few metres long bridge in Torcello, which is one of the two bridges in Laguna Morta without railings. It's the Ponte del Diavolo. There is an interesting story about a devil in the form of a black cat that is supposed to appear on the bridge on 24.12. I'd like to meet him, but we've missed him three times so far. I will keep trying...“ smiles Master Ksandr.

An unprecedented project

„ When I first started in New York, I made it a point to always focus on the bridges in one city or another when I decided on a location and not be tempted by the interesting bridges in the area. Today we have photographed bridges in New York, Paris, Rome, Prague, Berlin and Venice. London, Amsterdam and Vienna are almost finished. It is very interesting to compare the different cities, how they fit into the character of the city and how they have changed according to the building styles. So slowly the skeleton of a great project that has no precedent has been climbing. Sometimes when I look at the negatives on the black-and-white film ILFORD FP4 I realize what I have captured, which no longer exists today.

Counting bridges in individual cities never occurred to me, I've read a lot of different statistics about how many bridges there are in which cities, but I've never given it much importance. I always figured the river area must be walked back and forth, morning or evening, spring or winter. It always changed, it was different in the morning and then again in the evening. It was actually different because of the light. The light is actually the main helper and creator of all the shots. You just need to be friends with the light and be able to see and use what it offers. It's interesting to walk in the light or against the light. Light and shadow is the music that makes the composition of that symphony of bridges.“

Where have you exhibited your „bridge portraits“ everywhere? „I have never tried to cram myself too much, to exhibit at any price in any café. I had several bridge exhibitions in New York, Prague, Paris, Vienna, also in Salzburg. It's all on the internet. What I enjoy is selling photographs at auctions like Villa Griesebach or directly to museums and galleries. I'm delighted when a collector approaches me to take something for their collections. The one that pleased me the most at the time was a phone from the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in Brooklyn. So I'm already represented there, too. I'm glad that there is interest in the photographs even though they are analogue black and white photographs. A lot of people today confuse the cutouts of photographs as one might put it on a cell phone with a panoramic photograph.

As a reminder, a panoramic photograph can only be called a picture taken with a camera where the lens moves from one side to the other and no other similar picture. I fondly remember that photo shoot in New York, it was my first and I devoted a lot of time and money to it. In all that time I made a total of 104 trips to the city, which is one of my favourite cities. It has its own poetry, both in summer and winter, day and night... „ adds Jiří George Ksandr.

Xander and nudes - you published the first one in 1967

„When it comes to the nude and photographing it, there are probably as many views on photography as there are photographers themselves. Everybody has their own recipe. Some of the artists photograph their girlfriends or wives, others can afford to pay a professional model, some can at least manage to get to a workshop where they just participate in the mass clicking of the subject without any work. I've tasted all this artistic temptation, we've even held workshops. For me, I enjoy realizing the idea that pops into my head and then just making the project happen.

I think the most important thing is to have an idea of what I want to realize. Sometimes I already have the idea for this or that particular model. Of course, mutual trust is very important and as you mention about whether to shoot or enjoy, both are possible, it just has to happen separately. I give credit to Helmut Newton who also said that if you mix it up, then it's not worth the fotos or the sex. And as Irwing Penn would surely confirm, a model doesn't always have to be skinny. I saw his brilliant photographs of unshaven women at an exhibition in Munich. But it's always first and foremost a great aesthetic experience.“ To add, since 1986, Jiří Ksandr has expanded his work to include nudes, which he beautifies and embellishes spectacularly using gold leaf, which, especially recently, has aroused the interest of collectors who love this kind of photographic art. “

Xander and Artcenter, how does that rhyme?

„Work for Artcentrum opened up for me in the late 1970s when I won an audition for a photographer that Artcentrum was looking for. It was a wonderful opportunity to get into a distant foreign country. Professor Jaroslav Frič was the head of this national enterprise as a programmer, scriptwriter, director and head of everything. A man of the big world and even bigger ideas, which we realized under his leadership. It was a brilliant time, travelling around two beautiful countries that I knew from the fairy tales „One Thousand and One Nights“ and photographing everything interesting and beautiful, whether it was the landscape, the city or the local population.

Several programmes for Japan were also interesting, when I photographed the entire work of Alfons Mucha or František Burian as a documentary photographer. „Currently, Jiří George Ksandr is preparing for his next working trip to his beloved New York. After that, he has to go to Venice, as his photographic publication Venezia and the Beauty of its Bridges, full of extraordinary images, is being prepared for print. As soon as the book sees the light of day, we'll bring you a review of how master Ksander has done.

Curriculum vitae

Jiří Ksandr was born on 30 December 1949 in Prague, under the sign of Capricorn. He works as a professional photographic designer for advertising and art photography. He specializes in photography in the fields of electronics, architecture, interior, exterior and business portraits, based in Munich. He graduated from the Film and Television Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. During his tenure at Artcent, he participated as a photographer in audiovisual programs in India, Japan, the Philippines and Russia. Since 1984 independent photographic designer in Munich (member of BFF). In 2000 he was awarded the prestigious Czech-German Cultural Award. Since 1986 he has completed a variety of projects in the USA - for example Panorama NY Bridges, NYC Bridges, Water Towers and National Parks. His exhibition record so far amounts to thirty presentations at home and abroad - Austria, Germany, USA.

Ivan Cerny