Václav Chochola
Czech Republic (1923—2005)Born in 1923, Chochola left school to study photography through an apprenticeship at O. Erban’s studio and photographic classes in Prague. He opened his first studio in 1943 and, from the following year, his work was loosely inspired by Group 42 and its urban poetry, reflecting the atmosphere and everyday life of the city. After the war, he continued to document Prague, including the Prague Uprising and the changing cultural and social life of the city. In 1949 he became a member of the Association of Czechoslovakian Graphic and Visual Artists, alongside photographers such as Josef Sudek, Jindřich Brok and Josef Ehm. From the 1960s onwards, he continued to photograph and portray prominent Czech and international figures, including artists, writers, musicians and filmmakers. In 1979 he worked with his daughter Blanka on the compilation of a biography of his life and photographic work for her theoretical diploma thesis at FAMU, while continuing to organise and develop his extensive photographic archive.
