Archaeology of the Present - Photographs by Gerhard Faller-Walzer
Exhibition at the German Historical Institute and the Goethe-Institut Inter Nationes, Washington D.C. March 12 to April 30, 2001
The vernissage at the GHI, to be held on Wednesday, March 14, at 5:30 p.m., provides an introduction into the historical and artistic background of the art on display. It features presentations by Werner Ott on the exhibition project, Marion Deshmukh on Germany's unification, Wendy Grossman on the history of photography, and Cordula A. Grewe on the artist and his work. The opening reception for the main part of the exhibition will be held at the Goethe-Institut on Thursday, March 15, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. The artist, Gerhard Faller-Walzer, will be present at both events. All are welcome.
Together with the Goethe-Institut and the WPA\Corcoran Museum, the GHI has organized an exhibition of the work of Berlin photographer Gerhard Faller- Walzer. In his photographs the artist interweaves a documentation of Berlin life after the fall of the Berlin Wall and his interpretation of what his camera lens excavates. The photographs thus paradigmatically embody the intersection of art, history, and the search for memory in contemporary Germany. In his artistic quest for the archaeological traces of our times Faller-Walzer focuses on a variety of objects, from disregarded mechanical parts to the deserted Potsdamer Platz, from the dead bodies of mice and rats to the symbolic monument of the Reichstag. Preserving images of the present, the photographer creates pieces of historical memory. The double nature of Faller-Walzer's photography - as documentation and as interpretation - also inspires his technique, one that aims to mirror the artist's subjective impression of his documentary scenarios by transforming the appearance of the prints using such techniques as partial bleaching and manipulation of color. Whereas some of the photographs will be on display at the GHI, the main body of the exhibition will be shown at the Goethe- Institut.
German Historical Institute, 1607 New Hampshire Avenue, N.W.,
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R.S.V.P. (Acceptances only) Tel. (202) 387-3355, Fax. (202) 387-6437,
Email c.brown@ghi-dc.org
http://www.ghi-dc.org/Gerhard/exhibition.html
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