Die Slowakei

While the artist’s research into music was dedicated to the efforts of preserving national heritage for Matica slovenská, his photographs quickly transcended simple notions of documentary record. On postcards, Plicka’s compositions of serene landscapes, shepherds and children in elaborate folk costume supported the creation of a popular image of Slovakia as a timeless cradle of folk culture. Merging ethnographic interests with idealised views of the countryside, financially backed by the Matica slovenská, Plicka’s work offered an ideal photographic version of ‘Slovak modernism’, the nationally inspired modernisation of Slovak culture that took hold in the early 1920s.
source: craace.com/2022/05/27/artwork-of-the-month-may