June

Austėja Masiokaitėwww.kamane.lt , 2010 06 01P. and S. Stohl. Photo by A.MasiokaitėIn brief: Americans Solvei and Peter Stohl see roofs of Kaunas old town and cats walking on them through the window of their home for five years already. They create and capture life of Kaunas old town in artworks for four years already, when they have time after seminars and lectures which they read as Christian family consultants.They do not have much time for creation and hope that there will be more of it in summer. S.Stohl photographs and P.Stohl creates still-lifes by aquarelle and ink. Kaunas old town, people, details of architecture, things and cars are pictured in their works.Streets of Kaunas old town in eyes of Stohls could be seen in Vero Café this spring; now they are exhibited at Lietuvos Aidas gallery in Vilnius (the exhibition will be open until the 8th of June). Visitors of Chicago Lithuanian Culture Museum will be able to see the exhibition next February. The interview with P. and S.Stohl is about Lithuania, how the family settled in Kaunas and how everything looked then and now.Peter: We both worked in the field of art but soon after our marriage we decided to change our activity. We became Christian missionaries, family consultants. We worked with the Christian Mission in Eastern Europe. We were sent to Vilnius and moved to Kaunas in 2005 with an intention to stay here for ten years.When we first arrived in Kaunas, it looked different from Vilnius but beautiful. We enjoyed the old town, the first place we saw in Kaunas. Much appeared different when we settled here. The problems, hard side of life of people becomes more noticeable when you live here.After a year from our settlement in Kaunas, the spring came and everything became incredibly beautiful. I felt that I wanted to draw again. Our creation is personified: we live here and rejoice for what we see; we want to express our impressions artistically.Solvei: We see the city from different perspectives, differently from travellers. We observe the change of the city depending on the weather, sun, people day to day.Peter: We work separately: I walk on my own, and Solvei – on her own. When she returns from her photo-walks and decides what she wants to have on paper, I have some activity too.Solvei: Speaking about creation, we have not yet left the boundaries of the old town and Laisvės Alley. We do not have much time as creation is only our free-time occupation.Solvei: Light and composition is very important to me – they form the pictorial side of my photographs. I love colours. Sometimes they catch my attention; still, if the colours spoil the view, I make it black-and-white. I love photography of H.C.Bresson. He used to capture unique moments, rhythm, action. He is one of my most favourite photographers.Peter: When I studied at the university, photo-realism or super-realism was very popular. My technique is different, it is not so refined; still, I love realism and dimensional view in my drawings. It is interesting to immortalise something that disappears after some time; the old roof of Kaunas Castle, for instance, or trees and cars in a yard.We love works on paper – they are unique. I hope that there will always be space for these things.Peter: We love light in Kaunas the most – it is very strong. The light is really strong here in spring, summer and autumn. Something similar can be noticed in Denmark, which is surrounded by water, but not in other countries. Therefore, we believe that this phenomenon may be related with rivers in Kaunas.Solvei: The sun changes its position every week and illuminates Vilnius Street differently. Certain details become prominent at different times of the day and season. Sometimes, when I take a walk and see something I enjoy, I want to return to the place with a camera. It is a pity that many things occur when I do not have a camera. Then I take a photo by the phone and make a note “4.13, come back here”. This is the time when the sun gives prominence to certain things that are not seen at other times.Panorama of works of P. and S. Stohl – at www.stohlonpaper.com