Walter Funkat, Glaskugeln, 1929
The Staatliche Bauhaus not only played a key role in the history of twentieth-century design and art, but also in photography. Through March 10, 2019, the exhibition Bauhaus and Photography – On New Visions in Contemporary Art at the NRW-Forum Düsseldorf brings together photographs by proponents of this “new vision” with works by contemporary artists. The exhibition is part of the centennial program 100 Years of Bauhaus.
László Moholy-Nagy, funkturm berlin, 1925 / Gotthard Fitting, Bauhausgebaude Dessau
Daniel T. Braun AZ Nr. 6, 2016 Fotogramm auf Farbfilm / C- Print analog © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2018
In what ways do the Bauhaus’ innovations still contribute to the development of photography’s visual language today? What role does avant-garde photography around 1930 play for contemporary artists? The exhibition Bauhaus and Photography – On New Visions in Contemporary Art brings together works that represent the new vision of Bauhaus practitioners like László Moholy-Nagy, Lucia Moholy, Marianne Brandt, Erich Consemüller and Walter Peterhans with contemporary artists including Antje Hanebeck, Daniel T. Braun, Dominique Teufen, Doug Fogelson, Douglas Gordon, Kris Scholz, Max de Esteban, Stefanie Seufert, Taiyo Onorato & Nico Krebs, Thomas Ruff, Viviane Sassen und Wolfgang Tillmans. Contemporary photographs, sculptures, and video installations enter into dialogue with the objective photography of the Bauhaus decade.
Daniel T. Braun Left: Overseer , 2003, Right: Rafael Shafir, 2006 Racketogramm / Farb- Fotogramm © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2018
Doug Fogelson: Left: Forms And Records No 6, 2014, Right: Forms And Records No 01, 2014, Fotogramm, Leuchtkasten © Doug Fogelson
Doug Fogelson: Left: Forms And Records No 13, 2014, Right: Forms And Records No 15, 2014, Fotogramm, Leuchtkasten © Doug Fogelson
Max de Esteban / © NRW-Forum Düsseldorf, Photo Katja Illner
The exhibition’s historical point of departure is the Werkbund exhibition Film and Photo, which was on view in 1929/30 in the cities of Stuttgart, Berlin, and Zürich, among others. Bauhaus artist Moholy-Nagy, who was known for his experimental photographic works, curated galleries dedicated to the history and future of photography respectively, and explored this new vision in photography. The 300 exhibits from the historical portion, which may be understood as a kind of manifesto by the artist as they addressed current debates about the significance of photography as art, will be virtually reconstructed. Furthermore, part of the exhibition as it was presented in Berlin is on view. Together with the photographic works by contemporary artists, the present exhibition opens a dialogue between the historical event and the present. By sharing their own forward-looking designs that utilize electronic and digital media, design students from the Hochschule Darmstadt and the Technische Hochschule Nürnberg offer a view to the future.
Douglas Gordon: Play Dead; Real Time, 2003 Courtesy Studio lost but found, Berlin © Studio lost but found / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn, 2018
Douglas Gordon: Play Dead; Real Time, 2003 Courtesy Studio lost but found, Berlin © Studio lost but found / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn, 2018
Kris Scholz, Left: Marks and Traces, Chongqing 5, 2018, Right: Marks and Traces, Xi’an Academy of Fine Arts 2, 2013, © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2018
Kris Scholz Marks and Traces, Caochangdi 1, 2013, Fine Art Print auf Leinwand © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2018 (detail)
Kris Scholz Marks and Traces, Left: Chongqing 7, 2018, Right: Golzheim 1, 2017, Fine Art Print auf Leinwand © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2018
Artists
Antje Hanebeck, Daniel T. Braun, Dominique Teufen, Doug Fogelson, Douglas Gordon, Erich Consemüller, Kris Scholz, László Moholy-Nagy, Lucia Moholy, Marianne Brandt, Max de Esteban, Stefanie Seufert, Taiyo Onorato & Nico Krebs, Thomas Ruff, Viviane Sassen, Walter Peterhans, Wolfgang Tillmans.
After the opening at the NRW-Forum Düsseldorf, the exhibition will be on view in Berlin and Darmstadt. It is curated by Prof. Dr. Kris Scholz (Hochschule Darmstadt), Prof. Dr. Kai-Uwe Hemken (Kunsthochschule Kassel), and Prof. Dr. Christoph Schaden (Technische Hochschule Nürnberg GSO). A comprehensive bilingual catalogue will accompany the exhibition.
Stefanie Seufert: Towers, Option #2, Just Yellow, Atlas Grey, Dark Aubergine, 2016
Ausstellungsansicht Bauhaus und die Fotografie / Viviane Sassen / © NRW-Forum Düsseldorf, Photo Katja Illner
Dominique Teufen Blitzlicht-Skulptur #5, 2013 Lambda Print, 60 x 90cm Bildrechte: Dominique Teufen Courtesy Christophe Guye Galerie, Zürich
The project is supported by the Kulturstiftung des Bundes, the Hessisches Ministerium für Wissenschaft und Kunst, and the Hochschule Darmstadt.
The exhibition is part of the Bauhaus anniversary in NRW. 100 years bauhaus im westen is a project of the NRW Ministry of Culture and Science and the Rhineland and Westphalia-Lippe Regional Associations. The patron is Isabel Pfeiffer-Poensgen, Minister for Culture and Science of North Rhine-Westphalia.
Bauhaus & Photography – On New Visions in Contemporary Art
December 18, 2018 – March 10, 2019 / NRW-Forum
Visit the exhibition page >
