Genres of Everydayness
two photographic series
2017
1st series, 6 photographs, Lambda prints, 120x90 cm
2nd series, 7 photographs, Gelatin-silver prints, 60x40 cm
The
growth of the service sector and the permeation of digital
technologies into our lives is transforming the types of work we
perform. One of the first manifestations of these societal processes
is the possibility to perform the majority of human activities in one
place at a single place and at the same time. The centres of our
cities are full of offices, cafés where one can see individuals
crouched over the glowing screens of laptops, tablets or smartphones.
It is difficult to discern what type of human activity these people
are performing. Are they working? Are they taking care of pressing
matters that cannot be put off regarding their family or friends? Or
are they merely procrastinating, consuming music, films, television
serials?
This
everyday activity has become a genre phenomenon, one of the elements
of the urban landscape. In it, the remains of agricultural
settlements and modern parks merge with the industrial heritage of
the last two centuries. At the same time most of us are comfortable
lazing around within the framework of the hackneyed ideology of the
1990s. So, what is it that forces us to work on a regular basis?
Probably several moral imperatives that are literally burned into our
minds. They have been with us for a long time, almost since the
beginning of history. Such as my own dictate: Get to work, Jirka!
photo: author’s archive, Martin Bražina and Martin Netočný