This book is a biography of Viliam Malik, one of the most important representatives of modern photography in Slovakia in the 1930s and 1940s. Like most amateur photographers, Malik shot a wide range of subjects; however from the very beginning he was attracted to live documentary photography. He was not the only representative of modern photojournalism in Slovakia, but his thematic universality stands out in comparison with his colleagues. As an existentially open and unbiased photographer and documentarian, he had an understanding for human situations and he knew how to capture the important aspects of social processes. His images retain their attractiveness even to this day due to the fact that they are devoid of the ephemeral effects that were typical at the time. A graphical documentation of this important photographer, this book showcases Viliam Malik’s transitions from static photography to modern dynamic reportage and how, as an artist, he resisted bias and knew how to assess situations with human sympathy but also impartiality as if from a timeless perspective.

Aurel Hrabusicky is an art critic and historian. He is the curator of the new media collection and the collection of photography at the Slovak National Gallery in Bratislava. Filip Vanco is a photographer, a curator, a teacher, and a gallerist. He is the former head of the legendary photography studio Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava, the founder of the Journal PARK, and has been a member of the Photoport civic association and the chief curator of the gallery since 2006.