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R. Rakauskas was born in 1941. In stone. 1959-1964 He studied journalism at Vilnius University. He participated in exhibitions since 1968.
1969 together with other photographers founded the Lithuanian Society of Photographic Art. Union of Photographic Artists of Lithuania.
He has won several awards for his work, including the Order of the Cross of Gediminas in 2009. He was awarded the National Prize for Culture and Art of the Republic of Lithuania.
R. Rakauskas’s works belong to the National Museum of Art of Lithuania, the Šiauliai Dawn Museum, the National Library of France in Paris, the International Center of Photography in New York and the Nicéphore Niépce Museum in Châlons-sur-Saône.
A man of exceptional sensitivity and a photographer.
J. Staselis said that the Lithuanian photographic community knew that R. Rakauskas had serious health problems. She has recently lost contact with him in person, but from previous encounters she remembers him as very sensitive both as a photographer and as a person in general: “He was sensitive to the environment, sensitive to other people, and I felt it in his work. I, as a colleague, see him as a representative of a romantic school. Art critics might say otherwise, but as a colleague, photographer, I see him first and foremost as a photographer with a sensitive relationship ”.
“As I understand it, a very big man came out, who laid a solid foundation for the Lithuanian School of Photography. And despite the fact that perhaps some evaluators of current photography think of that Lithuanian school of humanist photography that did not affect contemporary photography, I think otherwise. I think that what is created in art, in history, always responds to what is being done, it is being created now. Without the relationship of that history, man is nothing: we always have a certain history of our own and what has been done before. And Romualdas was a truly exceptional personality, that just says a lot that he was one of the few, maybe ten photographers, who were awarded the National Prize for Culture and Art, ”said J. Staselis.
The photographer Algimantas Aleksandravičius also emphasized that R. Rakauskas was above all a romantic: “For him, photography was a good photograph, positive, beautiful and with light.”
A. Aleksandravičius shared that although many people knew R. Rakauskas from the acts, he was more caught up with his Vilnius photos from the album released about ten years ago. “A very bright and sensitive photographer, only his ‘Blooming’ is worth it. But for me, in his photos, Vilnius is very beautiful, there is a lot of nostalgia, a special feeling,” he said.
R. Požerskis: it hurts to lose such a person
Upon hearing the sad news, photographer Romualdas Požerskis regretted that one of his teachers had left this world with whom he first met in 1974 on January 7.
“When a big joint meeting in Kaunas took place at the editorial office of the Kaunas branch of the Lithuanian Union of Photographic Artists (organized by Aleksandras Macijauskas), Nemunas. He had seen his photos, he knew that the photographer was of a high level, having published two books together with Antanas Sutkus. One of them is “Vilnius Weekdays”, published in 1965. The first apolitical photo album in the Soviet Union, which did not emphasize the Soviet reality, happy and working people, sculptures of Lenin … One day in Vilnius, his everyday life: how Vilnius residents go to school, is visiting. R. Rakauskas and A. Sutkus published “The country is the name of Lithuania” (1970) – that book formed the basis of the Lithuanian School of Photography, the main regulations were established, what Lithuanian photographers should represent, what is relevant to the country: people, traditions, nature, ethnoculture, ethnographic moments. This book is probably the best one that represents the photography school in the country ”, said R. Požerskis.
The very beginning of R. Rakauskas is a job in the editorial office of “Literature and Art”. “He replaced A. Sutkai, a modest student who came from the village to the city, afraid to reach the people, photographed from afar, open scenes, cars, shadows, children jumping on the ball … In one of the shots – A grandmother is sitting next to a ruined house. Only later did she dare to approach people, when she moved to Kaunas in 1967 and started working in the Nemunas. She photographed artists, ordinary people, young people, the first motifs from “Blossoming”, the city of Kaunas, up close, “said R. Požerskis.
According to R. Požerskis, R. Rakauskas’s diploma work, in which he combined photography with poetry, with little literary observation, made him the pioneer of photovoltaic energy in Lithuania. Later, R. Rakauskas discovered “Flowering”, which is the true flowering of his work. While driving through Lithuania, he enjoyed the images, the people, young and old. Her ten-year springs are, in a sense, a true flowering, ”continued the colleague.
Before “Bloom”, R. Rakauskas photographed “Tenderness”. The “tenderness”, according to R. Požerskis, reflects the true creative foundations of the legend. “They were forgiving, they looked at the person gently, they didn’t make fun of them, they didn’t look for bad moments in life, not falls. Romualdas and I had beautiful moments, throughout the year, when we photographed the men of Žalgiris for four years (1987). The name “Žalgiris” in itself was synonymous with the name of Lithuania, freedom. Only the word “freedom” was not spoken aloud. We did exhibitions together, two photo albums were released, one of them even with a record circulation: 100 thousand. a copy that was found in almost every family. I really enjoyed working with R. Rakauskas, we quickly figured out what and how to take photos, everything went smoothly and quickly. Creative ideas would be solved, ”recalled R. Požerskis, adding that although R. Rakauskas’s work was smooth, he was sharp in his speech, reacted quickly, and quickly became angry. In conversations, previously jigitas, it did not correspond at all to his job.
“There is a series made like this, my daughter photographed us, four photographers: me, Aleksandrs Macijauskas, R. Rakauskas and A. Sutkus. We were united by friendship, we have not betrayed each other, we have lied to each other. Our aspiration as a religious community: the most important thing is photography. We also became friends with families … We were connected for a long time, his health was bad, but we talked on the phone, it was not like a week not to call. Recently, however, conversations with R. Rakauskas were interrupted and he became seriously ill. I spoke in July and then I did not respond … There is a beginning in life and an end. If you were born, you will also have to die. It is so elementary, simple, but really painful to lose such a person, ”said R. Požerskis.
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