First online museum of lost and discarded family photographs
We are inspired by the beauty and ephemerality. As for us beauty is not just what is new, technically perfect, flat, symmetrical, neat etc. We see beauty in a photograph that failed, rough wall, rusted key, unskilly painted wood and so on.
"... beauty and imperfection go together wonderfully" - Matthew Fox
NAME?
Skarabej (lat. Scarabeus, eng. Scarab) is a sort of heavy – bodied insect which belongs to a large family of Scarabaeidae, with about 30 000 different species spread throughout most of the world. Most of them are brightly coloured and some of them glisten in the sunlight. Scarabs have an extremely important role in the rapid recycling of organic matter. In the past the sign of scarabs was also used by officials as a seal. Symbolically it represents spontaneous generation, selfrenewal and ressurection.
PHOTOGRAPHS?
We found most of the photographs which you can see rejected, forgotten or lost at flea markets, old attics, in basements or junk heaps in Prague(Cz), Zagreb(Cro), Travnik(BiH) and in Subotica(SiCg). Smaller ammount has been given to us as a gift or ceded for scanning by our friends or acquaintances. We are still looking for new photographs...
INSPIRATION?
We are inspired by the things people throw away, forgett or what seems to be irrelevant. We are inspired by the beauty and ephemerality. As for us beauty is not just what is new, technically perfect, flat, symmetrical, neat etc. We see beauty in a photograph that failed, rough wall, rusted key, unskilly painted wood and so on.
"... beauty and imperfection go together wonderfully" - Matthew Fox
GOAL?
Although we collect we are not collectors. We would like to create an archive of memories of unknown people and events and make them available to everyone. No doubt, we are all going to be in forgotten, old family photographs.
ENGLISH
http://www.skarabej.com/english/index.php?PHPSESSID=e2da5adc9773007e9581e992add7ff23
http://www.skarabej.com/hrvatski/index.php HRVATSKI
Tamara Razov and Anton Petrovic created first online lost and discarded family photographs museum hosted on the web page www.skarabej.com
Skarabej.com is in many ways unique online project. Main goal of this project is to preserve old photographs that people treasure in their family albums or discarded ones found on fairs, old attics, sellars, even scrap yards in cities all over Europe. “We'd like to create archive of memories, and make it accessible to everyone interested in old photographs.“, said Anton and Tamara, creators of Skarabej.com. „What inspired us to start this project were the thing that people throw away, forget, things that look insignificant. We were inspired with beauty and transience. Beautiful things don’t have to be new, techy, symmetrical, neat… Beauty can be found in failed photographs, rusty key, crooked wall, badly painted furniture“, they said. This online museum is built in honor of anonymous people from all over the world.
There is one more thing that makes this online museum very special. All visitors can upload their photographs on the web site and share it with other people with a passion for old pictures no matter what race, nation, gender or class they belong. As you read this hundreds of people from all over the world are strolling trough halls and hanging their pictures on the virtual walls of Skarabej.com.
Skarabej (lat. Scarabeus, eng. Scarab) is a sort of insect
Scarabs have an extremely important role in the rapid recycling of organic matter. In the past the sign of scarabs was also used by officials as a seal. Symbolically it represents spontaneous generation, self renewal and resurrection.
Marko Kovac
Meritor Media d.o.o.
www.meritormedia.hr
marko@meritormedia.hr
Tel: +385.1.3667.200
First online museum of lost and discarded family photographs
Kulturni projekt Skarabej postaje neprofitna organizacija s sirokim djelovanjem
BBC World TV snimila prilog o projektu Skarabej.com
