RealSurreal. Masterpieces of Avant-Garde Photography.
Das Neue Sehen 1920–1950. Siegert Collection
15 November 2014–6 April 2015
Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg
Hollerplatz 1
38440 Wolfsburg
Germany
Hours: Tuesday–Sunday 11am–6pm
T +49 (0) 5361 26690
F +49 (0) 5361 266966
info [at] kunstmuseum-wolfsburg.de
“Nothing gives Surrealism as much meaning as photography.”
–Salvador Dalí, 1929
Is a photograph a true-to-life reproduction of reality, or is it merely a staged image? This year—the 175th anniversary of the invention of photography—the Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg responds to this question with a comprehensive survey of avant-garde photography between 1920 and 1950. The exhibition, RealSurreal, presents around 200 masterpieces from the eminent Siegert Collection in Munich. This collection, which has never been shown in its entirety, contains photographs from the Neues Sehen (New Vision) movement, covering everything from New Objectivity to Surrealism in Germany, France, and Czechoslovakia.
Opening with a prologue of exemplary 19th-century photographs, the exhibition will enable visitors to rediscover the broad range and the multiple facets of photography from the real to the surreal via rare original prints by notable photographers of the era. In addition, historical photography books and magazines, artists’ books, and examples of avant-garde cover designs will allow visitors to experience this new view of the world. A 45-minute loop featuring clips from key films by Luis Buñuel, László Moholy-Nagy, Hans Richter, and others will also be shown continuously throughout the exhibition, examining the fruitful relationship between avant-garde photography and the-then contemporary cinema.
