Pretace

We inaugurate the exhibition program of the EMST sector of contemporary photography with a retrospective exhibition of photographie works by Manolis Baboussis,which cover a wide time spectre ofthirty years. Although photography, as a particular artistic genre, already counts a century of historie depth during which it has under gone various of transformations,occasionally as a purely formalistic object and occasionally as a representation of reality, there have never been in our country the necessary institutional presuppositions that would allow an over all acknowledgement of its aesthetic autonomy and singularity of identity, compared to other uses of the photo­graphie medium, such as in the domain of journalism or the advertising industry.

The present exhibition offers the public the opportunity to become familiar with photography as a particular artistic system which definitely transcends itstraditionally accepted “informative” function and its role as “real” visu­al document through the acquaintance with a series of art works, already mature, where poetical character and critical range are either interchangeable or inextricably associated.

When a while ago, I  visited the artist’s studio, in order to select works for the Museum’s permanent collections, I  found myself before a “directed” presentation which functioned as a challenge of interpretation, surpassing time sequence and developing the inherent dialogue of the works. lt was obvious that the artist had operated as a curator and essentially as an interpreter of his own creations. Such an original interpretational pattern is trans­ferred by the artist in the present exhibition, essentially deepened and enriched. The visitor is invited to make his own correlations of interpretation by promoting new meanings.

On the occasion of the first great presentation of Manolis Baboussis’ works I wish to express my warmest thanks to the artistfor his participation and close collaboration in the organization of the exhibition and the catalogue as well as to theoreticiansDaniela Palazzoli and François Soulages, who wrote the essays in the catalogue, as experts on photography and as connoisseurs of the artist’s work.

I would also like to thank my capable collaborators in the Museum, Eleni Ganiti, Gavrilos Michalis & Associates, YorgosTzilianos, Elizabeth loannides, Marina Papasotiriou, MarinaTsekou, Eva Rahmani, Kostas Velonis,
Kostas Svolis, OdysseasStergiou, Titika-Maria Saratsi and Lito Tsekoura for their help in the realization of both the exhibition and the catalogue, as well as everyone who contributed to it.

ANNA  KAFETSI
Director of the National Museum of Contemporary Art