RAY 2015
Imagine Reality
20.06.–20.09.2015
In the 20th and 21st centuries, photography has penetrated a wide variety of fields and spheres of activity: the media, and advertising, science, social life, and the arts. Its diverse applications and expressive possibilities have given rise to a universal visual language that is accelerating the globalization and transformation of various aspects of life and society. The increasing blurring of boundaries between categories of the photographic image, in turn, affects how it is received: the transitions between documentary, photojournalistic, applied, and artistic photography are fluid. The starting point for this large-scale exhibition is processes of transition and transformation: transitions—driven by growth, technology, and social processes—lead to changes in our living environments. The virtually unlimited possibilities for creating, editing, and disseminating images open up a multifaceted spectrum for capturing and interpreting these transitional scenarios. New visual worlds emerge that bear witness to our present while also pointing toward the future. How can and do we want to see the world today? How are new perspectives generated through and within photography by the alienation or dissolution of everyday reality? How do visual languages develop beyond the documentary to convey philosophical and existential aspects of human and material existence in our time?
RAY 2015 demonstrates how contemporary artists use fragments of reality as a starting point to create imaginary and visionary visual worlds. They break away from the pursuit of authenticity and consciously confront the flood of images depicting both private and social events. Real and virtual space, documentation, and staging intertwine in their works. The desire to move away from a faithful representation of the world leads to an expansion of the real. The photographic techniques employed are as diverse as the history of photography itself and reflect the medium’s transformation:
traditional photographic processes and new possibilities enabled by technological advancements coexist in contemporary artistic photography. Through the translation into the photographic medium, spatial planes and visual information merge. New and unexpected associations emerge. Despite the medium’s diverse techniques and possibilities, the exhibition reveals what the artists have in common: their images, by transforming the environment, lead us into a world where reality and fiction, facts and illusion, are inextricably interwoven.
Curatorial Team
Anne-Marie Beckmann (Art Collection Deutsche Börse, Eschborn), Peter Gorschlüter (MMK Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt), Jule Hillgärtner (Kunstverein Braunschweig), Alexandra Lechner (Darmstädter Tage der Fotografie), Celina Lunsford (Fotografie Forum Frankfurt), Matthias Wagner K (Museum Angewandte Kunst, Frankfurt)
Artists
Nicole Ahland (*1970 DE), Sonja Braas (*1968 DE/US), Barbara Breitenfellner (*1969 AT), Sophie Calle (*1953 FR), David Claerbout (*1969 BE), Jonas Dahlberg (*1970 SE), Cristina de Middel (*1975 ES), Klaus Elle (*1954 DE), Jan Paul Evers (*1982 DE), Lucas Foglia (*1983 US), Joan Fontcuberta (*1954 ES), João Maria Gusmão & Pedro Paiva (*1979/*1977 PT), Beate Gütschow (*1970 DE), Barbara Kasten (*1936 US), Annette Kelm (*1975 DE), Cinthia Marcelle (*1974 BR), Maix Mayer (*1960 DE), Abelardo Morell (*1948 CU/US), Sanaz Mazinani (*1978 IR/CA), Yamini Nayar (*1975 US), Hans Op de Beeck (*1969 BE), Trevor Paglen (*1974 US), Miguel Rio Branco (*1946 BR), Georges Rousse (*1947 FR), Viviane Sassen (*1972 NL), Kathrin Sonntag (*1981 DE), Simon Starling (*1967 GB), Anoek Steketee (*1974 NL), John Stezaker (*1949 GB), Jan Tichy (*1974 CZ/US), Jörn Vanhöfen (*1961 DE), Sascha Weidner (*1974–2015 DE), Ming Wong (*1971 SG), Wolfgang Zurborn (*1956 DE)
Exhibition Venues
MMK Museum für Moderne Kunst, Museum Angewandte Kunst, Fotografie Forum Frankfurt, Art Collection Deutsche Börse, DZ Bank Kunstsammlung
Partner Venues
Darmstädter Tage der Fotografie, Frankfurter Kunstverein, Kunst- und Kulturstiftung Opelvillen Rüsselsheim, Marta Hoepffner-Gesellschaft für Fotografie e.V. at the Stadtmuseum Hofheim, Museum Wiesbaden, NKV Nassauischer Kunstverein Wiesbaden
Support
RAY Imagine Reality was made possible by: Kulturfonds Frankfurt RheinMain, Seiko Deutschland
Supported by: Kulturamt Stadt Frankfurt am Main, The Kingdom of the Netherlands, represented by the Dutch Embassy in Berlin, Martincolor
Media Archive
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