Wanderlust and idleness
Of landscapes, paths and detours of leisure culture
Contemporary photography in dialogue with the collection
July 20.07 – September 29.09, 2019 | Curated by Barbara Hofmann-Johnson
Jürgen Nefzger, from the series: Fluffy Clouds: Nogent-sur-Seine, France, 2003 © Jürgen Nefzger, Courtesy Galerie Françoise Paviot, Paris
Boris Becker | Francis Bedford | Louis Auguste and Auguste Rosalie Bisson Katharina Bosse | Käthe Buchler | Rebecca Hackemann | Calvert Richard Jones Erik Kessel | Andreas Meichsner | Jürgen Nefzger | Christian Paier | Txema Salvans Charles R. Savage | Pascal Sebah | Christa Zeißig
Summer and the holiday season provide the perfect opportunity for the Museum of Photography to present an exhibition exploring the themes of travel, vacation, leisure, and a more relaxed approach to experiencing landscapes and life from an artistic perspective. The exhibition will showcase contemporary photographic works by international artists in dialogue with important pieces from the Museum of Photography's collection dating back to the 19th century.
Looking at the history of photography since its development in the 19th century and the parallel development of human mobility through technological progress, travel photography is one of its most important themes. While initially aspects such as the perception of the sublime and the culturally and historically significant were reserved for only a few in the context of travel, the 20th century saw the development of tourism, which made travel accessible to many. Whether by car, caravan, train, or plane – excursions, leisure time in nature, travel, or beach life are now common experiences, a development further enhanced by the social security of vacation days in the working world.
Artistic photography addresses this multifaceted topic with different thematic focuses, including critical aspects such as mass tourism or the alteration of the landscape through human intervention.
Special events will accompany the project. These include a renewed collaboration with the Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum and a lecture by the renowned actor, author, and photographer Hanns Zischler, who will discuss Jean-Luc Godard's first film, Opération Béton, from 1954 on September 28.9th. The documentary was filmed at the famous Grande Dixence dam in Switzerland, where Godard himself participated as a worker. Boris Becker's large-format photographic work, Lac de Dixence, also featured in the exhibition, was taken at this location in 2003.
