Tag: documentary photography
-

Capturing a labour of love
On Sunday evening, the exhibition “Ehrensache – A Matter of Honour” by photographer Jutta Fischel opened at the Fine Art Galerie in Traismauer. This fine exhibition pays tribute to 42 female volunteers in photographs. Fischel´s pictures are a touching portrait of these women and their diverse activities. They show the pride and commitment with which…
-

Hidden Natural Histories
It is quite special to get a behind-the-scenes view at a museum. Now in Vienna, one can do so from the comfort of one´s cinema chair: Archiv der Zukunft is a new film by Joerg Burger that offers insights into the collections and work of Vienna´s Natural History Museum, the NHM Wien. Last week I…
-

The brand-new Pratermuseum
I had the pleasure of attending a preview into Vienna´s brand new Prater museum, which opened last week The museum is one of the several Wienmuseum (Vienna Museum) locations. The old location at the Planetarium has been closed for a couple of years, while construction of a new modern venue and restoration works of some…
-

Floral visions
“The Secret Service of Flowers” – a nice pun, is the title of the new photography exhibition at Galerie Anzenberger in Vienna´s former Anker bread factory. It opened last week, and I went to the opening night. The Gallery currently offers a sort of refuge from the urban every day, a place to figuratively breathe…
-

Sternfeld’s America: A Palette of Colour and Narrative
I had the privilege of attending an artist talk with Joel Sternfeld at the Albertina Museum, which is currently showing a major exhibition of his series “American Prospects”. Listening to Sternfeld was an enlightening opportunity to gain insights into his creative process and the inspirations behind his captivating large format work. It was a remarkable…
-

The Eternal Question: Art’s Take on Mortality
The Dom Museum Wien’s latest exhibition “Sterblich sein” (being mortal) is a poignant exploration of mortality, art, and the human condition. This thought-provoking showcase delves into the intricate interplay between life and death, offering a visual narrative that transcends time and cultural boundaries. From contemporary responses to the pandemic, such as Günter Brus’ “Young Death,”…
-

Back to analogue – Part 7: testing my “new” Exakta Varex IIb
Back when my analogue passion was reignited, for the Seven Sisters exhibition I was originally lent an Exakta Varex V. After bringing it to Hamburg and very carefully exposing a film with it (or so I thought) I was totally frustrated to find out on return that the film had not been properly transported and…
-

Iconic photography at the Semper Depot
Today I went to see the special exhibition of one hundred of Steve McCurry´s photographs from around the world at Vienna´s Semper Depot. This exhibition had previously hung in Graz, Styria, and I had missed it there, so was really pleased that they decided to show it in Vienna as well. Steve McCurry is one…
-

Back to analogue – Part 6: on tour with the Contax IIIa
This was my most “should I really?” purchase when I got the “back to film” bug: A Contax IIIa with a Zeiss Sonnar 1:1.5 50mm lens and leather case, all in near pristine condition. I had spotted it on Ebay after buying “Das Contax Buch”, a really old and really wonderful book, from which incidentally…
-

Back to analogue – Part 5: Vienna Pride with the Praktica B200
When I was working on my portrait project for the “17 Sisters” analogue exhibition at Fine Art Galerie Traismauer with Reinhard Prenn´s Yashica Electro 35, the analogue bug got me and I went a little bit crazy and began accumulating a whole bunch of old cameras (bought cheaply on a used goods platform or inherited)…