Katalog Perspectives. The new Photography Collection

What would it look like if we could retell the history of photography? By purchasing the Kicken Collection, the Kunstpalast has devoted itself to a reappraisal of the history of photography from 1840 to today. In this acquisition of over 3,000 photographs, the museum combines icons of the avant-garde – from Man Ray to Bernd and Hilla Becher – with motifs from everyday photography through a multi-layered approach: individual images stand alongside series, early photographic techniques are shown alongside American color photography. In thematic chapters, viewers are invited to learn which photographic perspectives were driven by “curiosity,” which were dedicated to the task of “testimony,” and how these concerns characterized photography then and now.

Perspectives. The New Photography Collection with texts by Linda Conze, Thomas Weski and Janos Frecot, as well as short comments by seventeen photography-enthusiastic authors, documents fundamental questions about the collection and presentation of photography within a museum context.