MIROSLAV TICHY
Miroslav Tichy is a reclusive artist who has resided in his hometown of Kyjov, Czech Republic, for most of his life. Born in 1926, he was a painter until the late 1960s, when he started taking photos, mostly of local women sunbathing, using equipment that he built himself. The cameras are made of cardboard, bottle caps, and rubber bands. Tichy mounts his photos in his own handmade frames and enhances them with pencil markings wherever he sees fit.
For a long time, Tichy was something between a charming oddity and a local bogeyman. He was frequently arrested for hanging around the local pool and snapping pictures of unsuspecting women. The fact that this was all occurring under an oppressive Communist regime added a certain air of rebellion to the proceedings, whether or not he intended it. With time, the locals grew accustomed to his presence and would often welcome having their photos taken.
These days, Tichy continues to live in Kyjov but is essentially unreachable. He suffers from dementia and has to be taken care of by his neighbor. He has most likely destroyed the majority of the work he produced over the course of his life in what can romantically be described as fits of artistic madness. Here we have a small selection of his art, hitting all the major points mentioned above: voyeuristic shots, women in bathing suits, handmade cameras, and crafty cardboard frames. For more of this work, check out Tichy Ocean, his official foundation, at www.tichyocean.ch.
See all articles by this contributor Anonymous, on Jul 15, 2009 wrote:
i wish i could see them better! they are cool pictures but just a little too gritty | | Anonymous, on Jul 15, 2009 wrote:
they are so distorted i cant tell if some of them are in bikini’s or nude with really harsh tanlines | | Anonymous, on Jul 14, 2009 wrote:
vintage ass. nice! | | Anonymous, on Jul 14, 2009 wrote:
The handmade frames really give the photos a nice finishing touch. They trick the mind with their roughness. | | Anonymous, on Jul 14, 2009 wrote:
the official sites of Miroslav Tichy are www.tichyfotograf.cz | | Anonymous, on Jul 10, 2009 wrote:
I had no idea that a 1960 Iron Curtain ass could look that tasty. Czechoslovakia is and has always been filthy with badass bitches. | |
| hi fructose, on Jul 10, 2009 wrote:
i looked at the spread before reading of course and was thinking girls didn’t wear bikinis that long ago. the way the photographs look i thought they were from the early 1900s. these are insane. | | Anonymous, on Jul 10, 2009 wrote:
tichy means quiet. | | Anonymous, on Jul 10, 2009 wrote:
#3 wins it for me... bathing suit riding up the crack.... mmmm delicious | | Anonymous, on Jul 10, 2009 wrote:
this guy knew how to spot a hot ass | | Anonymous, on Jul 10, 2009 wrote:
who gives a turd if he’d be angry with this feature. he’s a nutcase in the CR who lives in a garbage den. i don’t think worrying about people publishing his work is his first priority these days. | | Anonymous, on Jul 10, 2009 wrote:
oh my god it’s supposed to be grainy you fucking idiot asshole. | | Anonymous, on Jul 10, 2009 wrote:
Grainy.
| | Anonymous, on Jul 10, 2009 wrote:
he would be so angry with this feature | | Anonymous, on Jul 10, 2009 wrote:
love the mans work and by work i mean lurking around takin dirty pictures with a handmade secrect camera and having them turn out so fucking fantastic! good man | | Anonymous, on Jul 9, 2009 wrote:
hey look honey!, something original in vice! | |
| dangerboy, on Jul 9, 2009 wrote:
i hate to be a naysayer, but is taking pictures of semi-nude sun bathers rebellious, or creepy? | | Anonymous, on Jul 9, 2009 wrote:
How the FUCK have I not heard of him before? There are a ton more incredible photographs on the link. | | Anonymous, on Jul 9, 2009 wrote:
Not only does he make absolutely stunning photos but he was kind of the MacGuyver of photography in his time. Rad. | | Anonymous, on Jul 9, 2009 wrote:
i especially like the cheapo cardboard frames used on these photos. great material guys!!! | |
| zerotransfat, on Jul 9, 2009 wrote:
these slightly pervy make-shift camera shots are totally fucking amazing. jesus christ what a GENIUS | |
| special ed, on Jul 9, 2009 wrote:
cameras made from cardboard rubberbands and bottle caps? hmmm sounds very interseting..i wanna give it a try sometime | | Anonymous, on Jul 9, 2009 wrote:
they look like sunbathing ghosts. stellar. | |
| rusty, on Jul 9, 2009 wrote:
nice. it’s a kern predecessor. | | Anonymous, on Jul 9, 2009 wrote:
Ha the first one has one too. Ooops. | | Anonymous, on Jul 9, 2009 wrote:
The hand-drawn frame (7) is awesome. | | Anonymous, on Jul 9, 2009 wrote:
ooooooh, ambien-y! | | | < Previous 30 comments | |
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