subjektive fotografie
EXHIBITION Sep 21, 2013 — Jan 24, 2014









SAMEER MAKARIUS (1924–2009)
Kavanagh under fog, 1955
gelatin silver print, printed ca. 1955
60 x 41 cm
© Estate Sameer Marakrius; Makarius 2012 / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

PETER KEETMAN (1916–2005)
VW-Werk, Einstiegsbleche / VW-plant, entrance panels, 1953
gelatin silver print, printed later
29,3 x 30,5 cm
© The Estate of Peter Keetman; F.C. Gundlach Foundation / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

GERALDO DE BARROS (1923–1998)
Untited (Paris), 1951
gelatin silver print of a photogram, printed between 1973 and 1978
31,2 x 30 cm
© Fabiana de Barros / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

KAORO OHTO (*1929)
Untitled (Sickle), 1950s
gelatin silver print, printed 1950s
17,1 x 12,3 cm
© Kaoro Ohto / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

KAORO OHTO (*1929)
Untitled (Trousers), 1950s
gelatin silver print, printed 1950s
12,3 x 17,1 cm
© Kaoro Ohto / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

KAORO OHTO (*1929)
Untitled (Baggage), 1950s
gelatin silver print, printed 1950s
12,1 x 17,4 cm
© Kaoro Ohto / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

KAORO OHTO (*1929)
Untitled (Window), 1950s
gelatin silver print, printed 1950s
17,4 x 12,1 cm
© Kaoro Ohto / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

KAORO OHTO (*1929)
Untitled (Abstraction), 1950s
gelatin silver print, printed 1950s
17,1 x 12,3 cm
© Kaoro Ohto / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

KAORO OHTO (*1929)
Untitled (Roof), 1950s
gelatin silver print, printed 1950s
17,2 x 12,1 cm
© Kaoro Ohto / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

KAORO OHTO (*1929)
Untitled (Knives), 1950s
gelatin silver print, printed 1950s
12,3 x 17,1 cm
© Kaoro Ohto / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

KAORO OHTO (*1929)
Untitled (Clothes in Windows), 1950s
gelatin silver print, printed 1950s
17,1 x 12,3 cm
© Kaoro Ohto / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

KAORO OHTO (*1929)
Untitled (Door), 1950s
gelatin silver print, printed 1950s
17,1 x 12,3 cm
© Kaoro Ohto / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

LUDWIG WINDSTOSSER (1921–1983)
Schallplatten, ca. 1955
gelatin silver print, printed ca. 1955
29 x 22 cm
© Estate of the Artist / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

OTTO STEINERT (1915–1978)
Scherbentanz / Dance of broken fragments, 1948
gelatin silver print of a photogram, printed ca. 1948
40 x 30,2 cm
© Nachlass Otto Steinert; Fotografische Sammlung, Museum Folkwang, Essen / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

PIM VAN OS (1910–1954)
Light abstraction, ca. 1950
gelatin silver print, printed ca. 1950
24 x 18,1 cm
© Estate of the Artist / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

FERENC BERKO (1916-2000)
Chicago, 1947-48
gelatin silver print, printed ca. 1947-48
24,2 x 24,5 cm
© Estate of Ferenc Berko / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

ARTHUR SIEGEL (1913–1978)
Untitled, 1943
gelatin silver print, mounted, printed ca. 1943
11,7 x 8,8 cm
© Estate of the Artist / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

THOMAZ FARKAS (1924–2011)
Cachoeira I / Wasserfall I, ca. 1949
gelatin silver print, printed ca. 1949
28,8 x 40 cm
© Acervo Thomaz Farkas IMS; Courtesy Family Collection / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

MINOR WHITE (1908–1976)
Beginnings, Frosted Window, Rochester, NY, 1962
gelatin silver print, mounted on original cardboard, printed ca. 1962
31 x 24,3 cm
© Minor White Archive; Princeton University Art Museum / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

OTTO STEINERT (1915–1978)
Formenkomposition, 1949
photogram, gelatin silver paper, printed ca. 1949
22,9 x 28,8 cm
© Nachlass Otto Steinert; Fotografische Sammlung, Museum Folkwang, Essen / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

KELD HELMER-PETERSEN (1920–2013)
Fotogramm, 1949
gelatin silver print, printed ca. 1949
20,2 x 14,7 cm
© Estate of the Artist / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

OTTO STEINERT (1915–1978)
Lampen auf dem Place de la Concorde, Luminogramm, Paris, 1952
gelatin silver print, mounted, printed ca. 1952
18 x 26,7 cm
© Nachlass Otto Steinert; Fotografische Sammlung, Museum Folkwang, Essen / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

PIM VAN OS (1910–1954)
Abstraction (Photogram), ca. 1950
gelatin silver print, printed ca. 1950
29,9 x 23,9 cm
© Estate of the Artist / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

LUDWIG WINDSTOSSER (1921–1983)
Beton-Ring-Werk (Photographik), ca. 1952
gelatin silver print, printed ca. 1950s
ca. 60 x 51 cm
© Estate of the Artist / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

PETER KEETMAN (1916–2005)
Öltropfen/ Oildrops, 1956
gelatin silver print, printed later
31,1 x 23,9 cm
© The Estate of Peter Keetman; F.C. Gundlach Foundation / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

HARRY CALLAHAN (1912–1999)
Kleenex and Penny on Opal Glass, ca. 1952
gelatin silver print, printed ca. 1952
9,6 x 12 cm
© The Estate of Harry Callahan / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

SIEGFRIED LAUTERWASSER (1913–2000)
Wasserspiegelung, 1950
gelatin silver print, printed ca. 1950
23,4 x 17,7 cm
© Siegfried Lauterwasser und Foto Lauterwasser / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

KORO HONJO (1907–1995)
Akt 3, ca. 1951-1954
gelatin silver print, printed before 1954
27,1 x 22,3 cm
© Estate of the Artist / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

JOSÉ YALENTI (1895–1967)
Panico, ca. 1950
gelatin silver print, printed ca. 1950
41 x 52,5 cm
© Estate of the Artist / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

TAKASHI KIJIMA (1920–2011)
Hermelin in der Falle / Trapped Ermine, 1949
gelatin silver print, printed ca. 1949
20,7 x 20,6 cm
© Setsuko Kijiama / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

FREDERICK SOMMER (1905–1999)
Untitled (Found painting), 1949
gelatin silver print, mounted, printed ca. 1949
12,8 x 24 cm
© Frederick Frances Sommer Foundation Courtes Kicken Berlin

HARRY CALLAHAN (1912–1999)
Proof Sheet, Chicago, 1953
gelatin silver print, printed ca. 1953
24,2 x 18,8 cm
©The Estate of Harry Callahan / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

OTTO STEINERT (1915–1978)
Saarlandschaft, 1954
gelatin silver print, printed ca. 1954
29,9 x 37,9 cm
© Nachlass Otto Steinert; Fotografische Sammlung, Museum Folkwang, Essen / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

MONIKA VON BOCH (1915–1993)
Struktur, 1959
gelatin silver print, printed ca. 1959
30,2 x 39,6 cm
© VG-Bild-Kunst, Bonn / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

KIYOSHI NIIYAMA (1911–1968)
Cocoons, 1937-1945
gelatin silver print, printed ca. 1937-1945
17,8 x 25 cm
© Estate of the Artist / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

HARRY CALLAHAN (1912–1999)
Wells Street, Chicago, 1949
gelatin silver print, mounted, printed ca. 1949
16,4 x 17,8 cm
© The Estate of Harry Callahan / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

HARALD BOOCKMANN (1932–1967)
Untitled (Abstraction), 1950s/60s
gelatin silver print, printed 1950s/60s
50 x 60,5 cm
© Harald Boockmann-Archiv / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

SIEGFRIED LAUTERWASSER (1913–2000)
Fischernetze, 1950
gelatin silver print, printed ca. 1950
23,5 x 17,7 cm
© Siegfried Lauterwasser und Foto Lauterwasser / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

GERALDO DE BARROS (1923–1998)
Fotoforma, Estacao da Luz, 1949
gelatin silver print, printed between 1973 and 1978
29,8 x 39,5 cm
© Fabiana de Barros / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

TONI SCHNEIDERS (1920–2006)
Schienenspinne, 1950
gelatin silver print,matted, printed ca. 1950
29,3 x 41,2 cm
© Estate of the Artist / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

OTTO STEINERT (1915–1978)
Segelschiff in Göteborg / Sailing ship in Göteborg, 1955–56
gelatin silver print, printed ca. 1955-56
60 x 51 cm
© Nachlass Otto Steinert; Fotografische Sammlung, Museum Folkwang, Essen / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

FERENC BERKO (1916–2000)
Music Tent, Aspen, 1949
gelatin silver print, printed ca. 1949
20,1 x 19,9 cm
© Estate of Ferenc Berko / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

AARON SISKIND (1903–1991)
Martha's Vineyard, 1949
gelatin silver print, printed 1957
34,3 x 23,4 cm
© Aaron Siskind Foundation / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

LUDWIG WINDSTOSSER (1921–1983)
Untitled (Woman's shadow on a tent), ca. 1950-1960
gelatin silver print, printed ca. 1950-1960
29,1 x 22,4 cm
© Estate of the Artist / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

CHRISTER STRÖMHOLM (1918–2002)
Switzerland, 1949
gelatin silver print, printed ca. 1949
18 x 24,5 cm
© Estate of the Artist / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

PETER KEETMAN (1916–2005)
Abendliche Straße / Evening street, 1956
gelatin silver print, printed later
49,4 x 40,1 cm
© The Estate of Peter Keetman; F.C. Gundlach Foundation / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

LUDWIG WINDSTOSSER (1921–1983)
Untitled (Mountain landscape with serpentines in bird's view), ca. 1950-1960
gelatin silver print, printed ca. 1950-1960
23,3 x 28,8 cm
© Estate of the Artist / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

FERENC BERKO (1916–2000)
Aspen Tree Trunk, 1949/ early 1950s
gelatin silver print, printed 1949/ early 1950s
17,9 x 14 cm
© Estate of Ferenc Berko / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

CHRISTER STRÖMHOLM (1918–2002)
Untitled (Switzerland), ca. 1950
gelatin silver print, printed c. 1950
13,9 x 23,9 cm
© Estate of the Artist / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

OTTO STEINERT (1915–1978)
Mond überm Dach, 1949
gelatin silver print, mounted to cardboard, printed ca. 1949
60,7 x 38 cm
© Nachlass Otto Steinert; Fotografische Sammlung, Museum Folkwang, Essen / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

ADEMAR MANARINI (1920–1989)
Untitled (Shirts), ca. 1950
gelatin silver print, mounted on paper, printed ca. 1950
27 x 39,1 cm
© Estate of the Artist / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

ARTHUR SIEGEL (1913–1978)
Photogram, 1960s
gelatin silver print, printed 1960s
42,8 x 35,5 cm
© Estate of the Artist / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

PAULO PIRES (*1928)
Sinantereas, 1964
gelatin silver print, printed ca. 1964
29 x 39 cm
© Paulo Pires / Courtesy Kicken Berlin

KIYOSHI NIIYAMA (1911–1968)
Untitled (Waves), 1950s-1960s
gelatin silver print, printed ca. 1950s-1960s
20 x 24,5 cm
© Estate of the Artist / Courtesy Kicken Berlin
Exhibition Text
In the current exhibition, Kicken Berlin explores the international movement of subjective photography in the late 1940s to the early 1960s. With its origins in the subjektive fotografie exhibits organized by Otto Steinert in 1951, 1954 and 1958 in Germany, subjective photography found important equivalents in North and Latin America as well as in Asia. From the late 1940s on, an international movement in photography was responding to the challenge of the pre-war avant-garde. Its goals were to go beyond the mimetic representation of the visible and to create artistic images by purely photographic means and experimental techniques. Kicken considers subjective photography a global movement and will therefore explore the diversified approaches of European, American and Asian artists in its exhibition.
Key pieces demonstrate the direct and subjective approach of German artist Otto Steinert and his international contemporaries such as North Americans Harry Callahan and Aaron Siskind; Latin Americans Sameer Makarius, Geraldo de Barros, and Thomaz Farkas; and Japanese photographers Kiyoshi Niiyama and Takashi Kijima, among others. Callahan and Siskind were based at the Chicago Institute of Design, which László Moholy-Nagy founded as the “New Bauhaus” in 1937; this anchor in the pre-war avant-garde facilitated the subjective movement to draw explicitly on the work of forerunner artists such as Moholy-Nagy, Man Ray and Herbert Bayer.
The main focal point of the presentation will be on abstraction, or what Otto Steinert called the fifth and highest level of creative photography: the “absolute fotografische Gestaltung,” or absolute photographic design. It realized its ideals in works like Steinert’s luminograms, photogram work by Arthur Siegel and Pim van Os, Harry Callahan’s and Geraldo de Barros’ abstract grids of architecture and Monika von Boch’s rhythmic black-and-white structural works.
The aim of our exhibition and catalogue will be to highlight the variety in the mid-twentieth-century avant-garde photography movement in Europe, North America, Latin America and Japan. The show aims to provide an overview of the photographic image as an aesthetic graphic exercise – a realm of signs that relates to visible reality but extends beyond a simple representation of common things.
Artists
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FERENC BERKÓ
1916–2000
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Geraldo de Barros
1923–1998
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Harald Boockmann
1932–1967
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HARRY CALLAHAN
1912–1999
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THOMAS FARKAZ
1924–2011
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Keld Helmer-Petersen
1920–2013
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Kōrō Honjō
1907–1995
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Peter Keetman
1916–2005
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Takashi Kijima
1920–2011
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Siegfried Lauterwasser
1913–2000
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Sameer Makarius
1924–2009
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Ademar Manarini
1920–1989
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Kiyoshi Niiyama
1911–1969
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Kaoru Ohto
1929–2020
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Paulo Pires
*1928
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Toni Schneiders
1920–2006
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Arthur Siegel
2013–1978
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Frederick Sommer
1905–1999
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Aaron Siskind
1903–1991
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Otto Steinert
1915–1978
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Christer Strömholm
1918–2002
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Pim van Os
1910–1954
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Monika von Boch
1915-1993
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Minor White
1908–1976
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Ludwig Windstosser
1921–1983
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José Yalenti
1895–1967