National Museum of Contemporary History of Slovenia

Joco Žnidaršič: Photographic Highlights

Joco Žnidaršič
PHOTOGRAPHIC HIGHLIGHTS
A Commemorative Photographic Exhibition

Exhibition space in front of the museum
18 May – 18 October 2023

Joco Žnidaršič (Šoštanj, 1938–Ljubljana, 2022) was the first Slovene photojournalist whose photographs won the highest Slovene, former Yugoslav and international awards in the fields of reportage and art photography. In 1972, he was the first to receive all the first prizes at Yugoslav photography exhibitions, which no one had previously achieved. In 1977, he was the first Slovene photojournalist to win a Prešeren Award and to be among World Press Photo Award winners. He was decorated for his work by two presidents of the Republic of Slovenia.

The commemorative photographic exhibition consists of five sections: Portrait, Francka – a girl from Kozjansko, Cattle wagons, Saving a horse under Triglav and Slovenia. Portrait photos were among the first to win awards at exhibitions in the former Yugoslavia. The photos of Francka, a girl from Kozjansko, are at the peak of photos that went viral. The photographs of cattle wagons, together with the top photojournalist's creations in the field of reportage photography, won him an Award of the Prešeren Fund. The photojournalist's photos of saving a horse below Triglav were ranked among the best in the world with the World Press Photo Award. The photos of Slovenia are an expression of the photojournalist's feelings about his homeland, nature, its people and their achievements. He created many photographic monographs and other promotional material with them, which inspired people at home and abroad.

Joco Žnidaršič, as a photojournalist at Tribuna, Tedenska tribuna, Tovariš and Delo and as a freelance photographer, convincingly pushed the boundaries of the meaning of reportage photography and created one of the most recognizable photographic opuses in Slovene history.

The National Museum of Contemporary History of Slovenia is the proud owner of the majority of the photojournalist's extensive opus.

Author of the exhibition: Irena Uršič
Author of photographs: Joco Žnidaršič
Exhibition design: Tomaž Perme
Photo editing: Sašo Kovačič
Proof reading: Anka Tušek
Translation: Martin Cregeen
Public relations: Barbara Kolenc
Print: Pegaz, d. o. o.

The exhibition has been made possible by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia.

The photograph was part of a series of portrait photographs for which Joco Žnidaršič received first prize at the Press-Photo-YU-72 exhibition in Belgrade in 1972. Exhausted and injured during the descent, mountaineer Janko Ažman, who with Zvone Kofler reached the summit of Istor-o-Nal (7398 m) in the Hindu Kush Mountains in Pakistan. The photo was taken after the several-day rescue in June 1971, at the moment of his return to base camp. Photo: Joco Žnidaršič, National Museum of Contemporary History of Slovenia. Smile of a little bandit from the Pust custom of ‘Wedding the pine’. Prekmurje, February 1972. Photo: Joco Žnidaršič, National Museum of Contemporary History of Slovenia.

Women with baskets on their heads. Karlovac, 1960. Joco Žnidaršič called the photo ‘caryatids’ - after the female statues as supporting pillars. In 1972, he received first prize for it for the highest achievement at the Federal Exhibition of Art Photography in Zagreb. Photo: Joco Žnidaršič, National Museum of Contemporary History of Slovenia.

Smile of a little bandit from the Pust custom of ‘Wedding the pine’. Prekmurje, February 1972. Photo: Joco Žnidaršič, National Museum of Contemporary History of Slovenia.

Photos for which the photographer was decorated by two Presidents of the Republic of Slovenia. River Savinja and a view of Robanov kot with Ojstrica, which Joco Žnidaršič remembered as one of his favourites. The photo was taken in 1978. Photo: Joco Žnidaršič, National Museum of Contemporary History of Slovenia.

Photos that brought the World Press Photo Award to Slovenia for the first time in history. Photo from the photo story On a Snowy Slope. Saving a laden horse in the Triglav Mountains, January 1, 1976. Photo: Joco Žnidaršič, National Museum of Contemporary History of Slovenia.

Photos that included a photographer among Prešeren Award winners for the first time in Slovene history. Photo from the photo cycle Cattle wagons, with a story about suffering cattle in wagons, yearning for air and water. Railway border crossing in Nova Gorica, September 1972. Photo: Joco Žnidaršič, National Museum of Contemporary History of Slovenia.

Photos of eloquent eyes that captivated. The girl Francka Gril, with a look that astonished Joco Žnidaršič. He fell in love with her and fondly called her my Francka in his memoirs. The photo is from a photo report about forgotten people in Kozjansko. Straška Gorca, January 1970. Photo: Joco Žnidaršič, National Museum of Contemporary History of Slovenia.

On November 28, 2023, we mark the first year since the death of eminent photojournalist Joco Žnidaršič. We invite you to watch the video created during a Commemorative Photographic Exhibition Joco Žnidaršič – Photographic highlights.