Mirko Krizanovic

1% for the Arts

“When issuing contracts for all public government buildings and projects, the German government is asked to routinely budget at least 1% of the overall construction cost for works by visual artists, in order to support the visual arts.” (Recommendation from the League of German Cities during the 30th Session of the German “Bundestag” 1950)

The projects listed here have been realized in collaboration with the Architectural Firm “Nieper & Partner”, Darmstadt.

Merck Kalenderblätter

“As if I were not there” – this is the effect which the photographer Mirko Krizanovic wants his photos to have on the viewer. How are we to understand this somewhat unusual motto which is so different from the usual emphatic individualism and self-confidence that seeks to cultivate an aura of one’s own artistic style?

Roland Held, Darmstädter Kalenderblätter Merck 2006

House Max Liebermann

The civil war in the Balkan and the people affected by it are in the center of a photo exhibit by Mirko Krizanovic, shown in the House Max Liebermann in Berlin, and supported by the “Brandenburger Tor” (Brandenburg Gate) foundation. … Krizanovic’s subtle pictorial language does not care to white-wash horror but instead offers a photographic glimpse into human conditions.

Martina Kaup, Herbert Quandt Foundation

Postage stamp by the German Federal Postal Services

Early November 1989 was highly inopportune for using employer-mandated (FAZ) time off for accrued overtime. Left Darmstadt early Sunday morning and shortly before Eisenach, the “Trabbi” (Trabant = East German car)-convoy and people falling into each other’s arms…
My most-often printed motif so far; approx. 31 million as postage stamps
(Design: Gerhart Lienemayer )

The quiet “Nonetheless”

28. Oktober 2004 Sometimes, one picture is enough to understand what it all means: the news from afar, talking about war and escape, a “precarious situation” or normalization. … It is photographers like Mirko Krizanovic who, with their work, are able to tell those stories that usually disappear behind the headlines.

Christoph Schütte, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

Roads to Timbuktu

How do you approach a myth or a cliché – with disappointment or with hope? This is not a question of the mode of transportation or of cardinal points, even if it concerns a city in the Republic of Mali, with precise coordinates. Certainly, Timbuktu is more than a word.

From the catalog “Roads to Timbuktu”, preface by Michael Reinsch"

The City of Heusenstamm’s new photo book

“At home in life” – Seven life passages in
black & white and color

Much is happening in Heusenstamm – these photographs were taken during the course of one year, at festivals, cultural events and life in the community.
The collaborate efforts with fellow photographer Gerd Kittel, book designer Edith Hemberger as well as the citizens of Heusenstamm were very stimulating and pleasant.
Happy 800th birthday, City of Heusenstamm!

On Rilke’s tracks – Deutsches Literaturarchiv, Marbach

Altogether twice, in 1899 and 1900, Rainer Maria Rilke together with Lou Andreas-Salomé visited Russia and today’s Ukraine. Also twice, in July and August 2015, I visited both countries on behalf of the German Literary Archives (DLA), looking for traces of their travels. Within the framework of a trinational exhibition, about 60 photographs by Barbara Klemm and myself are exhibited, first at the DLA Marbach and then at the Museum Strauhof, Berne and St. Peter’s Church, Zurich. – Interview with SWR2: Schimmerndes Mondlicht auf der Wolga