Fotografie | Wartist

Upper-Class Barbarians: Masquerades of Systemic Violence (ratskeller, Berlin)

From 8 November 2012 until 18 January 2013, ratskeller – Galerie für zeitgenössische Kunst (town hall cellar – gallery for contemporary art) in the basement of the town hall of Berlin-Lichtenberg presents the group show Barbaren der Oberschicht – Maskeraden systemischer Gewalt (Upper-Class Barbarians – Masquerades of Systemic Violence). An interesting contribution are Florian Göttke’s book and video installation “toppled”, addressing the countless statues of Saddam Husseins in Iraq: after Hussein was toppled, his statues shared the same fate. From symbols of his power, they became icons of his downfall, quite fitting to the dictator who at the end was pulled from a hole in the ground as dirty fugitive with a matted beard.

Tony Vaccaro: Retrospective – 70 Years of Photography (Willy-Brandt-Haus Berlin)

© Tony Vaccaro, Camilla-Mayer-Truppe beim „Todeslauf”, Frankfurt/Main, March 1948

From 22 November 2012 until 27 January 2013, Freundeskreis Willy-Brandt-Haus Berlin presents a retrospective with 100 photos spanning seven decades by the US photographer Tony Vaccaro. Not the least in Germany, Vaccaro – who will turn 90 years on 20 December this year – is known best for his pictures from the Second World War and post-war Germany: since the Normandy landings in 1944, he fought in the European theatre of war. Until 1949, he worked for Weekend, a supplement to the magazine Stars and Stripes. After his return to the USA, he was photographer for magazines such as Life, Look and Flair.

Continue reading “Tony Vaccaro: Retrospective – 70 Years of Photography (Willy-Brandt-Haus Berlin)”

On Borders (Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin)

From 9 November until 30 December 2012, Berlin-based Haus der Kulturen der Welt (House of World Cultures) presents the photo exhibition “On Borders” as their second cooperation with the photo acency “Ostkreuz”. The agency’s 18 photographer addressed various issues of the exhibition’s subject: borders can be territorial, but they also divide social spheres or can divide inner and outer boundaries. Borders can be visible and invisible, cross-social or individual. Continue reading “On Borders (Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin)”

Peter Piller: Tatsächliche Vermutungen (Capitain Petzel, Berlin)

From 3 November until 22 December 2012, the Berlin-based gallery Capitain Petzel presents the exhibition “Tatsächliche Vermutungen” (real assumptions) of its artist Peter Piller, represented by the gallery since earlier this year. Piller, born in 1968, often uses his huge newspaper and image archive for his works, for which he applies a new classification system to the results.

Peter Piller: Umschläge #13, 2011-2012, Archival pigment print on Alu-Dibond, 63 x 84.5 cm, © Peter Piller, Courtesy Capitain Petzel, Berlin.

Matthias Ley: Remembering Gwangju (Bürgerforum Wunsiedel)

From 27 October to 2 December 2012, photographer Matthias Ley presents photos from his series “Remembering Gwangju” at Bürgerforum Wunsiedel. Made 2009 to 2010, the work remembers a central event for the development of democracy in South Korea: the revolt in the city of Gwangju against the military dictatorship after the declaration of martial law on 18 May 1980, up to the “Gwangju massacre” on 27 May 1980. While the crushing of the protests at Tiananmen Square in Beijing on 4 June 1989 received worldwide attention, there was hardly any coverage of the Gwangju massacre in Western media.

The Desire for Freedom – Art in Europe since 1945 (DHM Berlin)

From 17 October 2012 to 10 February 2013, the Deutsche Historische Museum (German Historical Museum, DHM) Berlin presents the 30th Council of Europe Art Exhibition “The Desire for Freedom – Art in Europe since 1945”. Not the least it is most interesting that the tradition of Enlightenment is the centre of reference instead of the two-bloc confrontation between the East and the West Cold War, as one might have assumed. Thus, multifaceted approaches towards freedom by 113 artists from 28 countries can be seen; paintings, drawings, photos, videos and installations by e.g. Ian Hamilton Finlay, Gerhard Richter, René Magritte, Richard Hamilton, Tadeusz Kantor, Erik Bulatov, Aurora Reinhard and Christo, to name a few. Continue reading “The Desire for Freedom – Art in Europe since 1945 (DHM Berlin)”

Markus Georg Reintgen: “War – Fathers and Sons” (Anti-War Museum Berlin)

© Markus Georg Reintgen: Deutscher Panzer (C-Print, 81 x 54 cm, 2009)

Photo artist Markus Georg Reintgen is addressing war and violence in his work (see also the Wartist article about his series “Remember September”). The exhibition “Krieg – Väter und Söhne” (War – Fathers and Sons) at Anti-War Museum in Berlin (20 October 2012 to 6 January 2013) will show (digitally altered) photos on this subject. Continue reading

Fortresses: Inside and Outside – Young Art from Leipzig (Festung Rosenberg, Kronach)

The exhibition “Festungen: Innen und Außen” (Fortresses: Inside and Outside; 5 July to 31 October 2012) presents position from 22 artists on the meaning of fortresses in our time. It forms the artistic complementary exhibition to this year’s Bayern-Ausstellung (Bavaria Exhibition) “Festungen – Frankens Bollwerke” (Fortresses: Franconia’s Strongholds) at Festung Rosenberg in Kronach (17 May to 21 October 2012). Continue reading

Opening: Metamorphosis of Japan after the War. Photography 1945-1964 (Berlin)

Kikuji Kawada: The Map. The A-Bomb Memorial Dome and Ohta River, Hiroshima 1960-65 (© Kikuji Kawada)

“The Prose of Events” Opened at ARD-Hauptstadtstudio, Berlin

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