This text was co-funded with FEDER funds by the Operational Competitiveness Programme – COMPETE and national funds by FCT – Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia within the project Photography, Modern Architecture and the “School of Oporto”: Interpretations Around Teofilo Rego Archive (PTDC/ ATP-AQI/4805/2012 - FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-028054) ABSTRACT: During his studies at the Technical University of Munich, Aris Konstantinidis (Άρης Κωνσταντινίδης; Athens, 1913-1993) came into contact with the conceptions of Modernism. His early works reflected this affiliation, but he soon built a type of architecture that does neither renounce to the modern condition, nor to establish a close relationship with both the tradition and the genius loci of his country. Together with his work as an architect, he started to practise photography, using this resource to document and promote his architecture. But he did not stop there, since he was able to fully exploit the possibilities that photography offers. During his life, he used photography as a tool to research and to get to know his surroundings, as well as a composition created through the lens of the camera, that is to say, as art created by looking. This paper studies the features of Konstantinidis' pictures of Greek landscapes and vernacular architecture on his books Elements for Self-Knowledge. Towards a True Architecture (Στοιχεία αυτογνωσίας. Για μιαν αληθινή αρχιτεκτονική, 1975) and God-Built (Θεόκτιστα, 1992), together with their final design and layout. RESUMEN: Durante sus estudios de arquitectura en la Universidad Técnica de Munich, Aris Konstantinidis (Άρης Κωνσταντινίδης; Atenas, 1913-1993) entra en contacto con las concepciones del Movimiento Moderno. Sus primeras obras reflejan esta afiliación, pero pronto construye una arquitectura que no renuncia a la condición moderna, ni tampoco renuncia a establecer una estrecha relación con la tradición y el genius loci de su país. Junto con la práctica de la arquitectura, desarrolla una actividad fotográfica, utilizando la fotografía como documentación y promoción de su obra arquitectónica. Pero no se queda sólo ahí, utiliza la fotografía en todas sus posibilidades. A lo largo de su vida la va a utilizar como un instrumento de investigación y conocimiento de su entorno y como construcción de la cámara, es decir, como arte de la mirada. Esta ponencia estudia las características de las imágenes de Konstantinidis sobre el paisaje griego y la arquitectura vernácula en sus dos libros titulados Elementos de auto-conocimiento. Hacia una verdadera arquitectura (Στοιχεία αυτογνωσίας. Για μιαν αληθινή αρχιτεκτονική, 1975) y Construido por Dios (Θεόκτιστα, 1992), así como su presentación final en el diseño de los libros.

Even in our days, photography, especially when intentionally created for museums, and even more so, presented in museums, is obsessed by the syndrome of painting. As far as the presentation of photography in museums is concerned, the white cube and the lining up of one photo next to another, at “right” distances, in order to achieve the unitary vision of the unique “piece of high art”, is the rule, and not only in Greece. This way of presentation was not established solely by the photographers. It has its roots within the whole system of the arts: curators, arts managers, photography-critics and -historians, photo galleries and museums with photo collections, large arts organizations like the biennials, art and photo journals. Museologists do not yet participate essentially into the aforementioned system. Their participation, however, into two photo exhibitions, which form the basis of this presentation, may provoke a discussion about the role of contemporary museology in relation to exhibiting not only photography but high art as well in museums.

The exhibition of the SZeKKo series, which explores the contemporary art of Szentendre according to genres, focuses on both professional fine art photographers and other fine and applied artists who express their artistic message by means of altered photos in line with the latest art trends. The selected material is very heterogeneous, as its aim is not to illustrate a given trend or view, but to give the green light to the exploration of various artistic problems of different origin instead. Apart from art photography, the exhibition includes documentary and press photography, photography dealing with subjective existential issues, photos reflecting a critical narrative as well as conceptual and experimental photos. The invited artists have created new photo projects or submitted works which focus on the theme of time and fit in with the curator’s concept. The title of the exhibition refers to the virtual timeline on social media sites on which we share our life events and follow other people’s lives. Although the timeline organises our life in a linear and chronological order, events, stories, thoughts and emotions cannot always be organised into a chain of succeeding processes. Going beyond the original meaning of the word ’timeline’, the exhibition is an attempt to map the subjective perception of time. Photography as a kind of essence of time projects the layers of the past and the present on each other, creating a thick network of time. Continuity, transiency and change become perceptible in these inseparable timelines built on each other. Despite its seemingly static quality, a photo is not stiffening of a moment but the summary and sublimation of moving, changing, broadening and narrowing happenings and processes. Our exhibition is presenting works which make the passing of time and the transparency of timelines projected on each other visible and perceptible. The aim of the show is to grasp the notion of time by means of photography. Based on formal questions, stylistical characteristics and themes, the exhibited photos reviewing the contemporary photography of Szentendre have been organised into the following seven thematic units: Abstract time, Absolute time, Relative time, Subjective time, Empirical time, True time, Illusory time.

Thessaloniki Graphic Design, 1980-2009, a compilation, might be a book that originated from Thessaloniki, it is however addressed to the whole world as it is about cultural heritage that belongs to everyone. Its basic virtue is honesty; it is not a patchwork of supposed to be awarded works, nor is it a DIY album for young (or old and exhausted) designers, nor a self-deceiving vehicle of this or that ‘design star’ like much of the material to be found on the shelves of hypermarkets nowadays dressed in a bookshop costume. It is about a unique attempt to visually narrate a three decade course of Thessaloniki graphic design.