Background
Vaclav Chochola was born on January 30, 1923 in Liben, Hlavni mesto Praha, Czech Republic.
Vaclav Chochola was born on January 30, 1923 in Liben, Hlavni mesto Praha, Czech Republic.
Vaclav Chochola studied at Grammar School in 1934 in Libeň, Prague. In 1939 he was an active sportsman and started taking photographs of athletic competitions with a 6x9 cm Voigtlander camera, also started to publish in the daily press. Then, in 1940 Vaclav Chochola bought a Zeis Ikon 6x6cm camera, prepares the photographs in the Friends of Amateur Photography Club.
Then, abandoned his studies at Grammar School and started a photographic apprenticeship in O. Erbana's studio in Letné in Prague, at the same time he attended photographic classes in Smíchov in Prague, publishes photographs in the daily press, apart from sport gradually started to be involved in theatrical photography and cultural life.
In 1942 got to know and started to work with the photographers Karl Ludwig and Zdeněk Tmej. First studio in the centre of Prague in 1943. At that time he was an external photographer at the National Theatre, Vinohrady Theatre, Uranie, Meantime and Intimate Theatre Větrník and other theatres outside Prague as well, a member of the Mánes Club of the Friends of the Arts.
During 1944 in his freelance work he was inspired by the atmosphere of the city and by his social and artistic contacts with figures of the time. In 1945 continued to photograph post-war theatrical premieres, the renewed V + W Theatrical Scenes - Jan Werich and Jiří Voskovec, cooperated with a recording study at Supraphon (previously Ultraphon).
During 1946-1948 Vaclav Chochola photographed the first years of the Prague Spring, just about every sporting discipline, at the same time he devoted himself to photographing theatrical scenes. Then, in 1950, he obtained a new studio in the Old Town in Prague. Collaberated with Zdeněk Tmej, with book publishers and with magazines, photographs the suburbs in 1951-1952.
During 1958-1959 made friends and collaborated with František Tichý on the completion and rephotographing of his complete graphic work for publication. While photographing in the SKN Theatre met Bohumil Hrabal and his friends. Then, in 1960, prepared his first monograph in collaboration with Jiří Kolář.
In 1970 he was arrested after photographing Jan Palach's grave and held on remand for a month in Ruzyň prison. During 1970-1973 Vaclav Chochola was given a suspended sentence of five years.
During 1989 he continued to work on the arrangement and completion of his extensive archive, the solo exhibitions were initiated by his daughter. For the first time an exhibition collection travelled to America as a whole. Made commemorative posters of Josef Sudek for the Ministry of Culture of the Czechoslovak Republic and the Association of Czech Graphic and Visual Artists in Prague. 1990-1993 was the period when he spent time in Paris again after a break of more than twenty years and as a grant-holder from the Charter 77 Foundation at La Napoule Chateaux in the South of France.
In 2000-2001 the director Věra Chytilová and Blanka Chocholová prepared a two-part documentary film for Czech television about the photographers Chochola, Ludwig and Tmej called Rises and Falls. Within the framework of the Prague European City of Culture for the year 2000 project an exhibition of four classic Czech photographers - Hájek, Chochola, Ludwig and Tmej was put on in the Václav Špála Gallery (with a reprise in Český Krumlov). As an eightieth birthday present, an Exhibition from the Photographic Archive of Vaclav Chochola was held in the Clam-Gallass palace in Prague, the exhibition travelled, slightly reduced in size, to Ostrava and Opava in 2003. In 2005 his work was presented in the exhibition "Czech Photography IV" in the Leica Gallery, New York. Chochola recieved the "Trebia" prize for creative work from the Miró gallery for his collection of portraits of Salvador Dalí.
Vaclav Chochola participated in the exhibitions "Images of War" and "Memory - the years of War" during the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II. His work was represented in the exhibiton "Czech Photography of 20th Century" in Prague (2005), the exhibition "Jan Zrzavý in the photographs of Václav Chochola" in Krucemburk.
Vaclav Chochola was married and had a daughter.
