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(Deutsch) Berlinale 2017: Filme mit Kriegsbezug

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Steve McCurry: In the Flow of Time (Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg)

From 19 January until 16 June 2013, Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg shows the exhibition “In the Flow of Time – Photographs from Asia 1980-2011” with pictures by Steve McCurry. Thus, the colourful work by the US photographer (* 1950) will be presented in Germany for the very first time. The exhibition consists of 115 images by the Magnum photographer from countries such as Afghanistan, India, Cambodia, Kuwait, China or Nepal: “I see it was the vibrant colour of Asia that taught me to see and write in light”. While quite many of his photos appear to be arranged, he refuses this method and solely takes photos of moments happening, on which the exhibition’s title is referring to.

Ahmadi Oil Fields, Kuwait, 1991

Camels and oil fire, Kuwait, 1991

Sandwiched between blackened sand and sky, camels search for untainted shrubs and water in the burning oil fields of southern Kuwait. Their desperate foraging reflects the environmental plight of a region ravaged by the gulf war. Canby, Thomas Y. (August 1991)

"The first Gulf War taught us a new lesson in unconventional conflict. Saddam Hussain's army filled the skies of southern Kuwait with black poignant smoke from the burning oil lines. It was a powerful, debilitating symbol. And there was another. McCurry, who was covering the war, saw camels running in terror from the fires. Both images -whether of the fires or of the animals- were powerful representations of the chaos of that time. Central to McCurry's reputation as a journalist is his discipline to wait, and to search, and then to recognize the most telling image. The juxtaposition of the fire and smoke and camels running amok creates an icon of that war." - Phaidon 55

National Geographic, Vol. 180, No. 2, pgs. 2-3, August 1991, The Persian Gulf: After the Storm

Phaidon, 55, Iconic Images, final book_iconic, final print_milan, iconic photographs

As his army retreated from Kuwait, Saddam Hussein ordered the ignition of the oil fields that scatter the country. The effect was an ecological disaster of unimaginable scale. These camels are running from the fires. It is a futile effort: soon they will covered in oil that rails down from the sky.

Steve Mccurry_Book
Iconic_Book
Untold_book

final print_UrbanArt'12

final print_MACRO'11

Opening: The 3rd World in World War II (Osnabrück)

The ambitious exhibition “The Third World in World War II” travels to Osnabrück to the Erich Maria Remarque-Friedenszentrum. A “forgotten chapter in history” is to be illuminated, according to the curators.

African Colonial Soldiers in Boucle du Doubs

The Generational: Younger Than Jesus (NYC)

The New Museum in New York, founded in 1977, openes on 8 April 2009 its first triennale “The Generational: Younger Than Jesus” with works by 50 young artists from 25 countries, united by their age of less than 33. Some 145 works will be presented in the exhibit, making it quite varied, according to the background and themes of the artists, but also to the form, ranging from paintings and photography to film and animation, and from installation and performance to computer games. It remains interesting if the high artistic value implied in the exhibit’s title will meet its equivalent in reality.

Shilpa Gupta: Untitled, 2006. Photograph printed on Flex

1989 – Global Histories (House of World Cultures, Berlin)

The Haus der Kulturen der Welt (House of World Cultures) in Berlin has been founded 20 years ago. This jubilee will be accompanied by various events, starting with the theme daya “1989 – Global Histories” from February 19th to 22nd 2009. Continue reading “1989 – Global Histories (House of World Cultures, Berlin)”