A new main exhibition at the Pēteris Upītis Horticultural Museum – The Joy of Being!
Breeder Pēteris Upītis (1896–1976) became a legend already during his lifetime. His extraordinary personality has connected representatives of various cultural fields – poets, film directors, artists, musicians and other servants of the muses – who have dedicated their creative works and many kind words to the outstanding horticulturist. Contemporaries, breeders, students sent on internships, young agronomists, neighbors and visitors have shared their memories of his passionate life and work.
Today, when it seems that everything has already been said, we are looking for a new approach, a new point of view for exploring the personality of Pēteris Upītis and the legacy he left behind. The Pēteris Upītis Gardening Museum was created on the initiative of the master himself. According to Pēteris Upītis's will, after his death, all the collected materials - notes, photographs, collections of various objects - are bequeathed for scientific purposes and the creation of a museum.
When creating the new exhibition, we understood our great responsibility towards such a broad and versatile personality. One of the integral facets of Pēteris Upītis' personality is his passion for photography. His photographs of various plant cultures are not a simple fixation of the results of scientific work. They were taken with great care, studying the species, at different stages of maturity, in different weather conditions, in different daylight, from different angles. Among the memories of Pēteris Upītis, there are also those that allow us to look behind the scenes of the creation of his photographs:
“The following spring, I started my career in the nursery of the Dobele fruit growing experimental farm. Once, while riding my bicycle to “Skujās”, where the farm administration was located, P. Upītis approached me to help photograph apricots on my day off. At that time, there was only one day off – Sunday. So I reluctantly agreed. Apricots bloom early. The day was clear, but cool. I was wearing a coat. The spring wind is sometimes chilly, clouds form in the distance, but the sky is blue, blue, like in Dobele.
Leaning his shoulders on the spokes of his bicycle, holding his crutches in the middle, Pēteris Upītis pushes. I walk alongside him, loaded down with seven cameras and the indispensable box, which is very heavy. Yes, seven really, like in the fairy tale about Snow White. I remember it well. We go to the long apricot quarter and now to the new garden, the outline of which is still visible today. My day dragged on slowly. Every now and then I have to warn him about the clouds that are approaching and covering the sun, I have to give him the necessary camera, he is so dissatisfied, but then the weather becomes sunnier, P. Upītis bursts into a smile and starts quoting the oriental poet Omar Khayyam about roses and wine. I spend the day somehow happily, and I also have a couple of photos from it, which is why I remember it so well.”*
Nowadays, when we all have a pocket-sized camera that not only takes photos, but also connects us to the whole world, it is hard to imagine how much delicate and meticulous work had to be invested in order to visually enjoy the fruits of a breeder's labor. We, the creators of the exhibition, also want to try what it would be like if we tried to capture the life and legacy of Pēteris Upītis in his own way – through the angles of seven cameras.
Each camera in the exhibition is associated with one significant episode from Pēteris Upītis's life and a photograph characterizing it, from his childhood to the maturity of his work. All the cameras in the exhibition come from the master's private collection, including several unique models from the history of photography. Also noteworthy is the fact that the exhibition is located in the room where Pēteris Upītis's photo laboratory was once located.
*Anna Sīmansone. Pēteris Upītis in the memories of his contemporaries. Dobele: Breeder Pēteris Upītis Society, 2017, p. 35.
The creative team of the exhibition: Inese Šinta, Agnija Berķe, Katrīna Kūkoja, Ineta Sipunova, Maksims Šenteļevs, Gerds Lapoška.
The exhibition was created in collaboration with the Riga Motor Museum.
Supported by: Dobele County Municipality