Vendredi 03 Août 2012 15:13:22 par actuphoto dans Expositions

Two Collections of Austrian Photography. From the Collections of the Federal Chancellery and the Museum der Moderne Salzburg Participating Artists: Heimrad Bäcker | Sabine Bitter / Helmut Weber | Günter Brus | Heinz Cibulka | Georgia Creimer | Peter Dressler | Valie Export | Rita Fabsits | Seiichi Furuya | Gelitin | G.R.A.M. | Ernst Haas | Maria Hahnenkamp | Ilse Haider | Raoul Hausmann | Matthias Herrmann | Tamara Horáková / Ewald Maurer | Dieter Huber | Franz Hubmann | Helmut Kandl | Leo Kandl | Herwig Kempinger | Aglaia Konrad | Elke Krystufek | Friedl Kubelka-Bondy | Wolfgang Kudrnofsky | Hans Kupelwieser | Paul Albert Leitner | Branko Lenart | Erich Lessing | Ulrike Lienbacher | Michael Mauracher | Inge Morath | Otto Muehl | Hermann Nitsch | Friederike Pezold | Cora Pongracz | Arnulf Rainer | Lois Renner | Gerhard Rühm | Alfons Schilling | Markus Schinwald | Eva Schlegel | Michael Schuster | Rudolf Schwarzkogler | Günther Selichar | Margherita Spiluttini | Octavian Trauttmansdorff | Peter Weibel | Manfred Willmann | Eva Wohlgemuth | Erwin Wurm | Gregor Zivic The four cornerstones of Austrian photography since the 1950s have been, firstly, the gradual emergence of a self-analysis verging on deep psychology, spawned by the often physical struggle of Wiener Aktionismus to explore issues of identity; secondly, a distinct tendency towards visual puns in a rigorous yet playful approach to the question of defining an image that appears to reflect the Austrian love of wordplay in literature and philosophy; thirdly, and unsurprisingly, an unmistakable affinity to all things theatrical, with a striking number of works that are staged or involve acting out a scene in front of the camera; and finally, an intense and densely woven documentation of Austria and the Austrians, forming a complex and critical examination of the nation's social fabric. The enormous range covered by Austrian photography from 1950 to the present day is reflected in the collections of the Federal Chancellery and the Museum der Moderne in Salzburg. Austria has no national photography centre, photography archive or photography museum. Instead, a number of decentralised forums have made photography their theme over the past 25 years, above all "Camera Austria", in connection with its exhibitions in the Forum Stadtpark and, more recently, in the new Kunsthaus in Graz, as well as the Fotohof in Salzburg with its exhibitions, publications and extensive library of photo-books. Then there is the magazine "Eikon" with its on-going media discourse, the Fotogalerie in Vienna, the initiative "Fluss" in Lower Austria, the Fotoforum West in Innsbruck and, since the spring of 2003, the Albertina in Vienna with the emphasis on historic items, and many others. These remarkable and successful initiatives have been combined into a national network on the platform "Fotonet.at". This Austrian photo-federalism has an exception: during the past two, three decades, Salzburg has developed into a central collection venue for photography in Austria after World War II, largely thanks to the collection of the Province of Salzburg, initiated by Otto Breicha in collaboration with Margit Zuckriegl, at the Rupertinum, and the collection of the Federal Chancellery, which has given the major part of its stocks to Salzburg for safe keeping. The two collections, both located at Museum der Moderne in Salzburg, grew parallel to one another in terms of both time and content. In both, the emphasis is primarily on contemporary events, thereby promoting topical photography and continually adding to their stocks for the future. Up till now, the two collections contain around 16,000 photographs, which cover the basic fields of photography in Austria after 1945. The exhibition was primarily compiled for the Museum der Moderne in Salzburg. A new selection will be made for the Fotomuseum Winterthur. The curator is Urs Stahel. The exhibition is accompanied by a comprehensive catalogue. Publication on the exhibition: Simultan - Zwei Sammlungen österreichischer Fotografie. Aus den Beständen des Bundes und des Museum der Moderne Salzburg. Published by Museum der Moderne Salzburg Mönchsberg / Christian Brandstätter Verlag, Vienna. With texts (German/English) by Agnes Husslein-Arco, Urs Stahel, Margit Zuckriegl, Hubert Klocker, Monika Faber, Ruth Horak, Marie Röbl, Martin Hochleitner, Marc Ries. 284 pages, numerous colour and b/w illustrations, format 25 x 28,5 cm, Hardcover with dust jacket. Exhibition price: CHF 69.-