Wednesday, 20 May 2009

René Roubicek Photograph

Browsing around my favourite hunting ground, Past Caring in Islington, with a TV film crew today, I stumbled upon this incredible photograph.
Although it might not look like much, the rather strange piece of glass the young man is looking at is a postwar Czech masterpiece. Simply titled 'Object', it was designed in 1960 by legendary designer Rene Roubicek, and made by Josef Rozinek at the Borské Sklo factory in Novy Bor. it was first exhibited at the Milan Triennale in 1960, and went on to become an icon of the revolution in Czech glass design that occurred after the war.
Photographs of such items are not at all common, and this looks to have been professionally shot, taking into account the dramatic angle, viewer's expression, and the reflections in the cabinet's glass front. Totally unmarked, its origins are a mystery, although it may have been a press photo for the Milan exhibition. If you can shed any light on it, and who shot it, please let me know.

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