MADE REALITIES
Photographs by Thomas Demand, Philip-Lorca diCorcia, Andreas Gursky and Jeff Wall
Press Text
MADE REALITIES
Photographs by Thomas Demand, Philip-Lorca diCorcia, Andreas Gursky, and Jeff Wall
02.05.2021–25.07.2021
Draiflessen Collection
Georgstraße 18 | D-49497 Mettingen
+49 (0) 54 52. 91 68-0
info@draiflessen.com | www.draiflessen.com
The exhibition MADE REALITIES showcases the work of four photographers who meld the documentary – traditionally photography’s cardinal virtue – with the fictional. In their photographs, Thomas Demand, Philip-Lorca diCorcia, Andreas Gursky, and Jeff Wall analyse the possibilities and limitations of their chosen medium and of human perception itself. Time and again, they compel viewers to question their own impressions of reality with subjects ranging from fleeting everyday scenes to mysterious, half-told events and historical happenings.
Glimpses of Reality?
No medium is as closely associated with the authentic representation of reality, with capturing a moment, than photography. And yet images have been manipulated since the inception of the medium, be it through staged poses, camera angles and framing, or postediting and processing techniques. At first glance, the exhibited works seem to faithfully reproduce reality, offering an unambiguous glimpse of the world as it is. Only upon closer examination does the spectator begin to question whether the perspective, the pose, the frame, or the subject as a whole do in fact represent reality.
Visual Disorientation
Demand, diCorcia, Gursky, and Wall provoke a sense of visual disorientation in the spectator that directs their attention to the act of contemplation and sense-making. Consequently MADE REALITIES also entertains the question of how subjective experiences, expectations, and memories influence our understanding of reality. The exhibition is showing a total of 97 photographs by the four artists, displayed in four separate, open-plan rooms. In its first exhibition dedicated entirely to photography, the Draiflessen Collection explores different ways in which the medium – as an art form – can approach and engage with reality.
Catalogue
The catalogue published on the occasion of the exhibition is available in three languages (DE, EN, NL) and features large-scale reproductions of the artworks, as well as insightful essays by Julia Franck, Jonas Lüscher, George Pavlopoulos, and Angela Steidele.
Credits
Philip-Lorca diCorcia, New York City, 1983, aus der Serie A Storybook Life | © Philip-Lorca diCorcia. Courtesy of the artist and David Zwirner
Thomas Demand, Terrasse, 1998 | © Thomas Demand, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2021
Andreas Gursky, Beelitz, 2007 | © Andreas Gursky / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2021, Courtesy Sprüth Magers
Jeff Wall, Monologue, 2013 | Courtesy of the artist
Georgstraße 18 | D-49497 Mettingen
+49 (0) 54 52. 91 68-0
info@draiflessen.com | www.draiflessen.com
The exhibition MADE REALITIES showcases the work of four photographers who meld the documentary – traditionally photography’s cardinal virtue – with the fictional. In their photographs, Thomas Demand, Philip-Lorca diCorcia, Andreas Gursky, and Jeff Wall analyse the possibilities and limitations of their chosen medium and of human perception itself. Time and again, they compel viewers to question their own impressions of reality with subjects ranging from fleeting everyday scenes to mysterious, half-told events and historical happenings.
Glimpses of Reality?
No medium is as closely associated with the authentic representation of reality, with capturing a moment, than photography. And yet images have been manipulated since the inception of the medium, be it through staged poses, camera angles and framing, or postediting and processing techniques. At first glance, the exhibited works seem to faithfully reproduce reality, offering an unambiguous glimpse of the world as it is. Only upon closer examination does the spectator begin to question whether the perspective, the pose, the frame, or the subject as a whole do in fact represent reality.
Visual Disorientation
Demand, diCorcia, Gursky, and Wall provoke a sense of visual disorientation in the spectator that directs their attention to the act of contemplation and sense-making. Consequently MADE REALITIES also entertains the question of how subjective experiences, expectations, and memories influence our understanding of reality. The exhibition is showing a total of 97 photographs by the four artists, displayed in four separate, open-plan rooms. In its first exhibition dedicated entirely to photography, the Draiflessen Collection explores different ways in which the medium – as an art form – can approach and engage with reality.
Catalogue
The catalogue published on the occasion of the exhibition is available in three languages (DE, EN, NL) and features large-scale reproductions of the artworks, as well as insightful essays by Julia Franck, Jonas Lüscher, George Pavlopoulos, and Angela Steidele.
Credits
Philip-Lorca diCorcia, New York City, 1983, aus der Serie A Storybook Life | © Philip-Lorca diCorcia. Courtesy of the artist and David Zwirner
Thomas Demand, Terrasse, 1998 | © Thomas Demand, VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2021
Andreas Gursky, Beelitz, 2007 | © Andreas Gursky / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2021, Courtesy Sprüth Magers
Jeff Wall, Monologue, 2013 | Courtesy of the artist
MADE REALITIES
| © Draiflessen Collection
MADE REALITIES
MADE REALITIES
MADE REALITIES