Stojan Kerbler se je rodil 23. novembra 1938 na Ptujski Gori mami Antoniji, rojeni Cesar, in očetu Simonu, oba sta bila učitelja. Ko si je v tretjem razredu nižje gimnazije med smučanjem zlomil nogo in celo leto ni hodil v šolo, mu je mama v razvedrilo zaupala družinski fotoaparat. Prve »prave« fotografije je na družinsko mehovko (6 × 9 cm Agfa Billy Records, Anastigmat Jgestar F 7,7) posnel na Ptuju, ko se je vpisal v četrti razred nižje gimnazije. S sošolcem Tonetom Emeršičem sta pozitive izdelala v temnici Foto-kino amaterskega kluba Ptuj, katerega član je postal tudi Stojan.
V času šolanja na ptujski gimnaziji je stanoval v Dijaškem domu na Prešernovi ulici 29. V drugem nadstropju, kjer so štirje prostori namenjeni predstavitvi Stojana Kerblerja in hrambi njegove dokumentacije, je bila spalnica za fante, nadstropje višje, kjer od leta 2017 deluje Galerija mesta Ptuj, pa so bivala dekleta. Dijaški dom ima tudi pomembno umetniško preteklost: leta 1939 je tu razstavljal slikar France Mihelič (1907–1998).
Po maturi leta 1957 je Stojan Kerbler vpisal študij elektrotehnike na ljubljanski univerzi in se včlanil v fotoklub Študentsko naselje. Leta 1959 si je kupil kamero formata 6 x 6 cm (Flexaret, Prontor SVS, Belar 1:3, 5/80) in postal član kluba Akademski kolegij. Prvič je razstavljal leta 1960 v okviru fotokluba Stiv Naumov v Beogradu, predstavil se je s fotografijo Dimnik.
Istega leta je bila v Skopju na žirirani razstavi študentske fotografije nagrajena njegova kompozicija Skupna pomlad. Leta 1963 je prejel prvo nagrado za kolekcijo na republiški razstavi mladinske fotografije v Ljubljani in takrat je tudi postal fotoamater I. razreda. Z več kolegi je ustanovil Fotogrupo ŠOLT; mladi slovenski fotografi so se želeli odmakniti od piktorialistične tradicije in se osredotočiti na temeljne značilnosti fotografskega medija.
Leta 1965 je Stojan Kerbler diplomiral, se zaposlil v Tovarni glinice in aluminija v Kidričevem in se novembra poročil z Milko Štumberger; čez leto dni se je družina povečala za dvojčici Urško in Mojco. Včlanil se je v Fotoklub Maribor ter si za prvi kredit kupil opremo za lastno temnico. Uporabljati je začel tovarniški fotoaparat Contax z objektivoma Sonnar 1:2/50 in Sonnar 4/135, saj so ga v tovarni prosili za sodelovanje pri časopisu Aluminij; tovarniške fotografije so se postopoma oblikovale v pomemben del Stojanovega opusa.
Poleg formata 6 × 6 cm je vse več uporabljal leica format, zato si je leta 1968 kupil kamero Asahi Pentax Spotmatic z objektivom 1,4/50 in teleobjektiv Super Takumar 1:3,5/135. Uspeh fotografije Sam ga je prepričal v portretiranje s 135 mm objektivom. Leta 1969 je bil prvič proglašen za najboljšega razstavljavca v Sloveniji in leta 1970 za najboljšega razstavljavca v Jugoslaviji; laskava naslova je obdržal celih dvanajst let. Leta 1970 je prejel tudi naziv A FIAP in dokončno prešel na leica format.
Leto 1971 sta zaznamovali dve pomembni razstavi. Najvidnejši člani Fotokluba Maribor, med njimi Kerbler, so se v Razstavnem salonu Rotovž predstavili pod imenom Mariborski krog kot umetniško enovita skupina in nastopili z radikalno novimi pogledi na fotografski medij. Sledili so Kerblerjevi Portreti s ptujskih ulic v ptujskem muzejskem razstavišču, za katere je prejel nagrado Zlata ptica. Julija 1971 si je kupil objektiv Super Takumar 1:3,5/28, leta 1972, ko je dosegel naziva mojster fotografije in E FIAP, pa si je kupil avto in začel zahajati v Haloze. Za Deklico iz Haloz (1972), ki jo štejemo za začetek serije Haložani, je leta 1973 na mednarodnem Pentacon-Orwo natečaju v veliki konkurenci dobil prvo nagrado.
Serijo Haložani je prvič razstavil leta 1974, sledile pa so številne javne predstavitve, objave in prestižne nagrade, med njimi tudi nagrada Prešernovega sklada (1979) in velika oljenka Kulturne skupnosti Ptuj (1981). Leta 1992 so v Moderni galeriji odkupili nekaj njegovih del, tovarna aluminija v Kidričevem pa je izdala mapi izvirnih fotografij Srečanja (1993)
in Haložani (1994). Kerbler se je vse bolj posvečal tudi proučevanju zgodovine slovenske fotografije,za kar je leta 1994 prejel Valvasorjevo priznanje Društva slovenskih muzealcev. Leta 1982 je v Razstavnem salonu Rotovž v Mariboru prvič predstavil Koline, ki jih mnogi postavljajo v sam vrh Kerblerjeve fotografije.
Monografija Haloški človek je izšla leta 1981, leto kasneje ji je sledila razstava v Cankarjevem domu.
V Salonu fotografije v Beogradu so mu leta 1983 ob veliki pregledni razstavi izdali monografijo, Pokrajinski muzej Ptuj pa je ob umetnikovi petdesetletnici priredil retrospektivo z obsežnim katalogom. Leta 1996 si je kupil kamero Canon EOS 5 z objektivom Canon EF 28–105 mm, 1:3,5-4,5; nakup je leta 1998 dopolnil z objektivom Canon EF 28–70 mm, 1: 2,8 L. Tudi šestdesetletnico je praznoval z razstavo v muzejskem razstavišču, ob tem pa je bila prvič v večjem obsegu izpostavljena Kerblerjeva tovarniška fotografija.
Stojan Kerbler se je leta 2000 upokojil in se naslednje leto posvetil projektu Obmejni prostori, ki je dokumentiral življenje slovite avstrijsko-ameriške fotografinje Inge Morath (1923–2002), Kerbler pa je sodeloval kot njen portretist. Fotografska zveza Slovenije se je Kerblerju za njegov opus oddolžila z nagrado Janez Puhar (2002), leta 2003 pa je izšla fotomonografija Ljudje/People z besedili več avtorjev. Leta 2004 je postal častni občan Občine Majšperk in leta 2008 še častni občan Mestne občine Ptuj.
Na Kerblerjevi rodni Ptujski Gori so leta 2007 odprli stalno fotografsko razstavo z naslovom Haložani, v razstavišču Knjižnice Ivana Potrča na Ptuju pa je ob svoji sedemdesetletnici (2008) obiskovalce presenetil z novo serijo fotografij Dvorišča, ki pomeni nov pristop k fotografiji – mojster ne išče več ljudi in njihovih zgodb, pač pa sledi, ki jih puščajo za sabo. Leta 2015 je umrla njegova soproga Milka Kerbler. Fotografije iz serije Dvorišča so sčasoma prerasla v Prostore, še vedno pa nastajata seriji Minljivost in Šelestenja.
Ob Kerblerjevi osemdesetletnici (2018) so v Moderni galeriji v Ljubljani pripravili retrospektivo z obsežnim katalogom, na Ptuju pa se je v Galeriji mesta Ptuj trideset slikarjev, kiparjev in fotografov poklonilo velikemu mojstru fotografije s posebej za to priložnost ustvarjenimi deli; številni so se odločili reinterpretirati najbolj znane Kerblerjeve fotografije. Leta 2020 je Stojan Kerbler prejel Prešernovo nagrado, najvišje slovensko priznanje za umetniške dosežke. Je prvi fotograf, ki mu je bila odmerjena ta čast, in prvi Ptujčan, ki je dosegel prestižni naslov Prešernovega nagrajenca.
V zadnjem obdobju Stojan Kerbler po skrbnem izboru donira svoje fotografije najpomembnejšim slovenskim ustanovam. Tako v Moderni galeriji hranijo vsa dela, ki so bila razstavljena na retrospektivi leta 2018, v Pokrajinskem muzeju Ptuj pa je njegov opus predstavljen z okroglo stotimi fotografijami. Hkrati je dozorela odločitev, da Galeriji mesta Ptuj preda skrbno zbrano in urejeno osebno dokumentacijo ter pretehtan izbor iz svojega celotnega opusa: 1650 avtorskih črno-belih in barvnih fotografij, od katerih je tretjino izdelal v dveh različnih formatih. Štirje prostori v stavbi, kjer je Stojan Kerbler preživel dijaška leta in se še skoraj otrok podal na fotografsko pot, so postali osrednje študijsko središče za proučevanje Kerblerjevega fotografskega opusa.
Stojan Kerbler was born on 23 November 1938 in Ptujska Gora to his mother Antonija, née Cesar, who moved to Štajerska from Ljubljana, and his father Simon from Kozjak, who were both teachers. When he broke his leg skiing in the third grade of junior high school and did not go to school for a whole year, his mother gifted him the family camera so he could entertain himself. He took his first photos with a folding camera (6 x 9 cm Agfa Billy Records, Anastigmat Jgestar F 7.7) in Ptuj, when he enrolled in the fourth grade of junior high. He and his classmate Tone Emeršič made positive prints in the darkroom of the Ptuj Photo and Cinema Amateur Club in the basement of the town hall, and Stojan joined the club soon after that. While studying at the Ptuj grammar school, he lived in the dormitory at Prešernova Ulica 29. The second floor, where Stojan Kerbler is presented and his documentation is kept in four rooms, used to be the boy’s bedroom, while the next floor, where the Ptuj City Gallery has been operating since 2017, housed girls. The dormitory also played an important role in art in the past: in 1939, the painter France Mihelič (1907-1998) exhibited here.
After graduating high school in 1957, Stojan Kerbler went to study electrical engineering at the University of Ljubljana, and joined the Student Campus Photo Club. In 1959, he bought a 6 × 6 cm format camera (Flexaret, Prontor SVS, Belar 1:3, 5/80) and became a member of the newly established Akademski Kolegij Club. He first presented his work publicly in 1960 at the juried exhibition of the Stiv Naumov Photo Club in Belgrade; his photo Chimney was selected. In the same year, his composition Spring Together was awarded at the student photo exhibition in Skopje. In 1963, he won the first prize for his collection at the state exhibition of youth photography in Ljubljana, became a grade I amateur photographer, and founded the ŠOLT Photo Group with several colleagues. Young photographers wanted to move away from the pictorialist tradition and focus on the fundamental characteristics of the photographic medium.
In 1965, Stojan Kerbler graduated, started a job as an energy engineer at the Alumina and Aluminum Factory (Tovarna glinice in aluminija) in Kidričevo, and married Milka Štumberger in November; a year later, they welcomed twins Urška and Mojca to their family. He joined Maribor Photo Club and took out his first loan to buy equipment for his own darkroom. He started using the company Contax Leica format camera with Sonnar 1:2/50 and Sonnar 4/135 lenses, as the factory asked him to contribute to the Aluminum (Aluminij) periodical. Factory photos gradually became an important part of Stojan’s oeuvre. He started using the Leica format more in addition to the 6 x 6 cm format, so in 1968 he bought an Asahi Pentax Spotmatic camera with a 1.4/50 lens and a Super Takumar 1:3.5/135 telephoto lens. The success of his photo Alone (1966) convinced him to shoot portraits with a 135 mm lens. In 1969 he was named the best exhibiting artist in Slovenia for the first time, and in 1970 the best exhibiting artist in Yugoslavia; he kept both flattering titles for twelve whole years. In 1970, he also received the AFIAP distinction and finally switched to the Leica format.
The year 1971 was marked by two important exhibitions. The most prominent members of the Maribor Photo Club, including Kerbler, presented themselves in the Salon Rotovž gallery as the Maribor Circle, an artistically unified group, expressing radically new views on the photographic medium. In the same year, Kerbler’s Portraits from Ptuj Streets were exhibited at the Ptuj Museum, and the series earned him the Golden Bird award. In July 1971, he bought a Super Takumar 1:3.5/28 lens, and in 1972, when he achieved the master photographer and EFIAP distinctions, he bought a car and started visiting Haloze. His Girl from Haloze (1972), which is considered to be the beginning of his People of Haloze series, won the first prize at the Pentacon-Orwo international competition in 1973. He first showed the series in 1974 in Ptuj, followed by numerous public exhibitions, publications and prestigious awards around the world, including the Prešeren Fund award (1979) and the grand oil lamp recognition from the Ptuj Cultural Community (1981). In 1992, the Museum of Modern Art bought some of his works, and the aluminum factory in Kidričevo published a folder of original photos Meetings (1993) and People of Haloze (1994).
Kerbler was a pioneer of systemically collecting photographic documentation, and also studied the history of Slovenian photography, which greatly contributed to its inclusion in the research work of Slovenian museums. In 1994, the Slovenian Museums Association awarded him with the Valvasor recognition for this. In 1982, he presented Pig Slaughter for the first time in the Salon Rotovž gallery in Maribor, which many consider to be the very top of Kerbler’s oeuvre. The Man from Haloze monograph was published in 1981, and a year later it was followed by an exhibition of the same name in Cankarjev Dom cultural and congress center. Another monograph was published on the occasion of the retrospective exhibition at Salon of Photography in Belgrade in 1983, and the Ptuj Regional Museum put on a retrospective with an extensive catalogue to celebrate artist’s fiftieth birthday. In 1996, he bought a Canon EOS 5 camera with a Canon EF 28-105 mm, 1:3.5-4.5 lens; in 1998, he completed the purchase with a Canon EF 28-70 mm, 1:2.8 L lens. He celebrated his sixtieth birthday with another exhibition at the Ptuj Museum, and for the first time, Kerbler’s factory photos were exhibited more prominently.
Stojan Kerbler retired in 2000 and the following year he devoted himself to the Border Spaces project, which documented the life of the famous Austrian-American photographer Inge Morath (1923-2002), and Kerbler participated as her portraitist. The Photographic Association of Slovenia rewarded Kerbler for his oeuvre with the Janez Puhar award (2002), and in 2003 the photo monograph Ljudje/People was published with texts by several authors. In 2004, he became an honorary citizen of the Municipality of Majšperk, and in 2008 an honorary citizen of the Municipality of Ptuj. In 2007, Kerbler’s native Ptujska Gora opened a permanent photo exhibition with the title People of Haloze, and he celebrated his seventieth birthday (2008) by surprising visitors of the Ivan Potrč Library and the Magistrat Gallery in Ptuj with a new series of photographs – Courtyards, which represents a new approach to photography, as the master is no longer looking for people and their stories, but for the traces they leave behind. In 2015, his wife Milka died. The photos from the Courtyards series eventually grew into Spaces, while the Mortality and Rustles series are still ongoing projects.
To mark Kerbler’s eightieth birthday (2018), the Museum of Modern Art in Ljubljana prepared a retrospective with an extensive catalogue, and at the Ptuj City Gallery, thirty painters, sculptors and photographers paid tribute to the great master of photography with works created especially for this occasion; many chose to reinterpret Kerbler’s most famous photos. In 2020, Stojan Kerbler received the Prešeren Award, the highest Slovenian award for artistic achievements. He is the first photographer to receive this honor, and the first person from Ptuj to achieve the prestigious title of Prešeren laureate. In recent years, Stojan Kerbler has been carefully selecting and donating his photographs to the most important Slovenian institutions. The Museum of Modern Art keeps all the works that were exhibited at the retrospective in 2018, while at the Ptuj Regional Museum around a hundred photos from his oeuvre are presented. At the same time, he came to the decision to hand over diligently collected and arranged personal documentation and a carefully made selection from his entire oeuvre: 1,650 author’s black-and-white and color photos, a third of which he produced in two different formats, to the Ptuj City Gallery. The four rooms in the building, where Stojan Kerbler spent his school years and embarked on his photographic journey as a child, became the central point for studying Kerbler’s photographic oeuvre.
UREDITEV KABINETA STOJANA KERBLERJA SO OMOGOČILI:
Mestna občina Ptuj
TALUM tovarna aluminija d.d. Kidričevo
Zavod za turizem Ptuj
Galerija mesta Ptuj
