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Persons of the century: portraits of centenarians then and now in the project of Jan Langer
Czech photographer Jan Langer, specializing in documentary and portrait photography, in his sentimental series “Faces of Century” explores the inevitable changes that affect an aging person in one way or another. As part of his large-scale project, the photographer visited elderly people over the age of 100 and created their visual history.
The series “Faces of the Century” includes paired pictures of Czech residents, covering a huge, by the standards of human life, time span. This comparative set of photographs, consisting of photographs from family albums and portraits taken today, shows the viewer the power of the passage of time that no one can stop. In addition to visual comparisons, Jan Langer explores the psychological side of aging. Each set of photos is accompanied by a brief biography of a person: a listing of his past and present places of residence, his hobbies, status, and vivid memories. As in the case of comparisons, this additional information gives a more vivid idea of the portrait of each person.
“I wondered what changes with age haunt a person and what remains in the human mind for such a long time. “Is a man alone in old age, and what memories remain in the consciousness of a 100-year-old man?”
Antonín Kovář , 25 years old and 102 years old
Former profession: musician, cinematographer, driver
Current residence: home in Usti nad Labem
Hobbies: listening to music, reading newspapers
Unforgettable memory: happy marriage and his music group
Bedřiška Köhlerová , 26 years old and 103 years old
Former profession: accountant Current residence: home in Brno
Hobbies: viewing maps from childhood
Unforgettable memory: early childhood,
Prokop Vejdělek , 22 years and 101 years old
Former profession: metallurgical engineer
Current residence: family farm
Hobbies: cutting with a circular saw
Unforgettable memory: warm fresh goat milk
Vlasta Čížková , 23 years old and 101 years old
Former profession: cook in the company of the aircraft manufacturer Vodochody
Current residence: own house in the village where her family lives
Hobbies: monitoring the political situation in the world An
Unforgettable memory: Russian soldiers in the house after being released; the arrest of her son by the communists in 1948; newlyweds read their own poetry at ceremonies
Stanislav Spáčil , 17 years old and 102 years old
Former profession: electrical engineer
Current residence: house in the village of South Moravia
Hobbies: electronics, do it yourself An
Unforgettable memory: it is too early to think about the past
Anna Vašinová , 22 years old and 102 years old
Former profession: farmer
Current residence: house in Sloupnice
Hobbies: reading romantic novels written by Czech writer Vlasta Javořická
Unforgettable memory: singing Russian folk songs with a choir of children; the husband was taken by the Nazis and lonely agriculture after that
Ludvík Chybík , 20 years old and 102 years old
Former profession: postman
Current residence: Nursing home in Zlín
Hobbies: –
Unforgettable memory: all day at work
Anna Pochobradská, 30 years old and 100 years old
Former profession: clerk
Current residence: retirement home in Blansko
Hobbies: regular reading of the newspaper
Unforgettable memory: good working team
Antonín Baldrman, 17 years old and 101 years old
Former profession: clerk
Current residence: retirement home in Blansko
Hobbies: regular reading of the newspaper
Unforgettable memory: good working team
Ludmila Vysloužilová, 23 years old and 101 years old
Former profession: maid on a family farm, nanny.
Current residence: house with terraces in Moravia.
Hobbies: housework and care of the territory.
Unforgettable memory: her beloved husband (he died 60 years ago, after she never married – she promised be faithful to him, and could never find someone better than him)
Vincenc Jetelina , 30 years old 105 years old
Former profession: builder
Current residence: house in the village of South Moravia
Hobbies: calm and peace An
Unforgettable memory: eight years in prison during the Second World War
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