24.04.–06.07.2008
Exhibition

Picture Politics

Opening: 23 April, 2008, 7 pm

Thinking in images: Discussion with the participating artists 24 April, 2008, 7 pm

SOME: houses, women: Slide projection and text performance with Judith Fischer, artist and writer, 27 May, 2008, 7 pm

Guided tour: 29 May, 2008, 7 pm

About Picture Libraries: Lecture with Antje Ehman und Harun Farocki, 1 July, 2008, 7 pm

The subject of the group exhibition was a collection of artists’ image archives with a political background or motivation. The show was based on Christian Boltanski’s artwork, which should not be forgotten, especially in 2008, 70 years after Germany’s “annexation” of Austria. The collecting, archiving, organizing and rearranging of found pictures function as “visual thinking” for a number of artists, in this manner they try to bestow structure and sense upon the flood of pictorial information. Several artists use these archives predominantly as material for their work, which is never used directly in artwork, perhaps comparable to a scientific collection of citations. Others present their collections of images in continually new arrangements. Alongside the psychological or manic aspect that underlies all passionate collecting and does not allow the artist to reach the end of his or her search, the exhibition predominantly focused on political aspects, which, with female artists, also often involved reflection upon questions relating to the body and female identity.

Artists: Christian Boltanski, Daniela Comani,
Ines Doujak, Peter Friedl, Isa Genzken,
Bernhard Gwiggner, Marcin Maciejowski,
Lia Perjovschi, Ingeborg Pluhar,
Martha Rosler, Stefanie Seibolt, Ann-Sofi Sidén

Curator: Hemma Schmutz
Exhibition Architecture: Nicole Six/
Paul Petritsch