It has taken a long time until photography became a recognized genre in the art world and beyond. Transforming from craft to art, photography is now a permanent part of many world class museums. For this summer, Hamburg offers some excellent exhibitions that are photography based or related. After Hamburg’s Deichtorhallen already showed Saul Leiter earlier this year, I’m very happy to see that this year’s museum season for photography aficionados offers a lot interesting museum visits!
Antony Gormley – Horizon Field Hamburg – Deichtorhallen
Not a photographic exhibition as such but certainly one of the coolest photo opportunities in Hamburg is Antony Gormley’s installation at Hamburg’s Deichtorhallen: Horizon Field. Walk upon a vast, floating structure, ~19 meters above the ground and reflect upon yourself and your environment thanks to the reflective, flat and black surface of the installation. This is a must-see visit if you’re in Hamburg.
Antony Gormley: “Horizon Field Hamburg”, until 9.9.2012, Deichtorhallen/Halle für aktuelle Kunst, Deichtorstraße 1-2, Tuesday to Sunday 11:00 to 18:00, every first Thursday of a month 11:00 to 21:00, more information here. Check the blog with visitor feedback here too.
New York Photography 1890-1950. From Stieglitz to Man Ray.
New York is the world’s most important stage for photography (sorry Paris, get in line). The Brucerius Kunst Forum is hosting an exhibition that illustrates the development of photography from craft to art as photographers from New York shaped the photographic art and its perception and expression. The show shows works from as early as 1890 to 1950, including artists such as Alfred Stieglitz, Lewis Hine, Man Ray, Berenice Abbott, Weegee, Gloria Swanson, Edward Steichen, Andreas Feininger, Paul Strand and Walker Evans. Most of the works shown are from collections at the Münchner Stadtmuseum, the Whitney Museum of American Art and the George Eastman House as well as the Museum of Modern Art New York and the F.C. Gundlach Collection.
“New York Photography 1890-1950. From Stieglitz to Man Ray.” until 2.9.2012, Brucerius Kunst Forum, Rathausmarkt 2, daily 11:00 to 19:00, Thursday 11:00 to 21:00. More information here.
“LOST PLACES. Sites of Photography” at the Hamburger Kunsthalle
If you’re a fan of the opposite of the “decisive moment” – a collection of places photographed to illustrate a surreal feeling of being lost or displaced – and you find the works of Thomas Demand, Andreas Gursky, Jan Köchermann, Alexandra Ranner, Guy Tillim, Sarah Schönfeld, Gregor Schneider, Beate Gütschow, Joel Sternfeld, Jörn Vanhöfen and Tobias Zielony among others appealing, you need to visit “Lost Places. Sites of Photography” at the Hamburger Kunsthalle.
“Lost Places. Sites of Photography” 8.6.2012 to 23.9.2012, Hamburger Kunsthalle, Galerie der Gegenwart, Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 to 18:00, Thursday 10:00 to 20:00. More information here.
Wim Wenders – “Places, Strange and Quiet”
Wim Wenders is mostly known as a genius German film director with the eye for beautiful placed and framed scenery that supports his movies which are many times sentiment driven with the actual story being an afterthought. What not everybody knows is that Wenders is also taking still images – not unlike the settings in his films. A collection of Wenders’ “Places, Strange and Quiet” is on show at the Sammlung Falckenberg in Hamburg-Harburg. Please notice that you need to register for a tour in order to visit.
Wim Wenders – “Places, Strange and Quiet”, until 19.8.2012, Deichtorhallen/Sammlung Falckenberg, Phoenix-Fabrikhallen, Wilstorfer Straße 71, Tor 2, 21073 Hamburg-Harburg, Check here for guided tours. More information on the exhibit here.
Bernt Federau’s black & white photographs at the Museum für Völkerkunde
Bernt Federau, born in 1930, is a scarcely known German photographer whose work can be categorized into travel, documentary, street and fine art photography. The Museum für Völkerkunde is showing Federau’s work over six decades, beginning with early works from Lübeck and Hamburg from the Fifties. Federau traveled a lot and one of the core parts of his work is from early visits to South-West Africa after World War II – what’s now known as Namibia. Images from this visit have already been exhibited in the Museum für Völkerkunde in 1958. Federau re-visited South-West Africa again in the 1970s. Also shown are images from various European countries and New York.
Bernt Federau: Schwarz bis Weiß. Fotografische Reisen, 3.6.2012 to 8.1.2013, Museum für Völkerkunde, Rothenbaumchaussee 64, Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 to 18:00, Thursday 10:00 to 21:00. More information here (in German).
ICHUNDICHUNDICH – Portraits of Picasso
The Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe is showing 250 portraits of Picasso by 34 photographers, including Richard Avedon, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Herbert List, Man Ray, Jean Cocteau, Brassaï, Robert Capa, Robert Doisenau and Edward Quinn among others. For fans of this exceptionally artist and good portrait photography, a visit at the museum will certainly pay off.
“ICHUNDICHUNDICH. Picasso im Fotoporträt”, 13.7.2012 to 21.10.2012, Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Steintorplatz, Tuesday to Sunday 11:00 to 18:00, Thursday 11:00 to 21:00, more information here (in German).