In Shkodër, Gegë Marubi, photographer and patriot, passed away. He was born in Shkodër in 1907 in the Kodheli family; he was one of two sons and three daughters of photographer Kel. At 17, he enrolled in the world’s first cinematography and photography school, “Lumiere & Joungla,” in Paris, opened by the Lumiere Brothers. After studying for two years in France, in 1927,, Gega returned to Shkodër with full theoretical and practical knowledge of photography and dreams and projects for the future of “Photo Studio Marubi.” He begins to change the studio’s lighting and devotes himself especially to photo portraits inside it. Gega starts experimenting with everything he had learned in school. He starts with solarization, which was also a new thing in France; then, he continues with the photography of landscapes with filters, showing himself to be a true master and pioneer in Albanian photography. Around 1930, he takes pictures with relief and infrared rays for the first time in Tirana and elsewhere. In 1936, at the “Fiera del Levante” fair in Bari (Italy), Gegë Marubi was awarded a “Certificate of Honor”. In 1937, Gega together with the best photographers of the time, such as Ymer Bali, Mandi Koçi, Dede Jakova, Kol Maca, Vasil Ristani, Ali Bakiu, Shan Pici, etc., photographed the celebrations of the 25th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, in Tirana . That same year, with the artist’s courage, Gega opens a personal exhibition in Tirana with photographic works in many genres, using autochrome plates of Lymjers. Historically, this is the first photography exhibition in Albania. In February 1938, he made the picture “The Four Great Writers,” featuring Fishta, Asdreni, Koliqi, and Poradeci, prominent people of Albanian letters. The photograph was taken in the studio and is quite studied, both from the symbolic placement of the persons and from the graphic contouring and the tonal distribution of white and black. That same year, he participates with photographs in the Fair of Thessaloniki (Greece), where his work is appreciated; Gega is awarded with “Gold Medal”. After 1944, he continues as a private photographer, an activity that lasted until 1949, when all private photography studios were nationalized by government decision. After that, Gega almost does not take pictures, but preserves and maintains the large fund of ancestors. Towards the end of his life, in 1984, Gegë Marubi entrusted an envelope to his faithful archivist of the photo library with ten photos (celluloid negatives) of female nudes taken in Shkodra from 1927-1940. He, too, like all the photographers of all time, has cultivated the sweet nude genre despite the low state of female emancipation in the country. He probably wanted to show that, in photography, Albanians are not far behind other countries and have mastered every genre of photography. (In the photo: Gegë Marubi)
Text: https://www.albertvataj.com/
Photo: © https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geg_Marubi
Graphic processing: AHCF
