Passage Fotobibliothek – IN A STATE OF FLUX
Passage Fotobibliothek
IN A STATE OF FLUX
Photo Flaws in the Course of Time
"Ever since the invention of the medium, photographic flaws have been the express enemy of every photographer. At the same time, however, they have always provided a source of artistic creativity and reflection. In a State of Flux charts the ever-changing path of such developing flaws, from the accidental to the artistically strategic, and also presents digital examples of so-called Glitch Art.
By imitating reality as closely as possible, photographic images were meant to show precisely what was there at the moment the camera was triggered. Yet the path towards perfecting this medium was strewn with chance occurrences and accidents, mishaps and malfunctions -- in short: flaws. Material phenomena such as a grainy structure in the silver gelatine or stains left by developer fluid were inscribed visibly into the surface of the image, distorting the actual motif. Photographic journals and handbooks responded to this by analysing such deviations with great precision and discussing them with their readership. In the course of time, however, the handling of these ""mistakes"" shifted: So-called spirit photographers used them to supposedly depict the supersensible, commercial artists recognised their creative potential, artists created works that played with the perception of the viewer, and in the digital, the faulty also advanced to an art form.
Curated by Franziska Kunze, Fellow of the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach-Stiftung at Fotomuseum Winterthur.
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Photo: Franziska Kunze