Contemporary photography: is it thriving or dying?
The Biennale for Contemporary Photography looks at current photography and it's questionable future direction. DW highlights six exhibited artists whose works examine the role photography plays in a digital world.
Peter Miller: 'Selfportrait'
Digitization has changed not only the chemical basis of photography, but also the conditions surrounding the production of pictures. This is shown by Peter Miller's "Selfportrait," one photo on display in the Wilhelm Hack Museum in Ludwigshafen. The exhibition doesn't look at the view the lens captures but rather focuses on the interior of the camera, the logic of photography and its change.
Peggy Buth: 'Finger it out!'
The hand in front of the face - a defensive and protective gesture. The Berlin artist Peggy Buth is part of the tradition of art as critical documentation. Fear is a common theme of her work. The Bienniale for Contemporary Photography is presenting her photographic work "Finger it out!"
Arwed Messmer: 'Stammheim #12, Cell 720 (Ensslin)'
What can individual photos reveal about a historic event? What realities are visible? What is the function of such images, and how do we interpret them? Is there a setting behind the setting? These are some of the questions Arwed Messmer asks with his photo "Stammheim #12, Cell 720 (Ensslin)" in the Mannheim photography museum ZEPHYR.
Marc Lee: 'Bundestag Election'
Media artist Marc Lee makes the dynamism of the social media election campaign visible in "Bundestag Election." The Swiss programmed a software that filters the latest Twitter, Instagram and Youtube messages for the German federal election campaign and compiles them into a live TV broadcast. Images, tweets and videos flicker on screens in real time. Icons show the market value of the combatants.
Natalie Bookchin: 'My meds'
Sharing pictures is the order of the day - literally every second. The stand-alone photograph is out of date. Photographs posted online demand comments, likes and shares. They spread even faster on the internet as memes. The circulation of photos become has become the norm - and the main topic in Natalie Bookchin's video installation "My Meds."
Merle Kröger und Philip Scheffner: 'Distress'
Photographs can trigger both sympathy and outrage. They can lead to action and revolt, foster prejudice or trigger distance. Merle Kröger and Philip Scheffner's project "Distress" illustrates this tension. Kröger's work is exhibited in the Heidelberg Kunstverein under the title "Resistant Images."