| | | | | | | | Heinz Hajek-Halke
Ohne Titel, 1960s
Light Graphic, Gelatin Silver Print
© Heinz Hajek-Halke Estate / Courtesy CHAUSSEE 36 | | | Beyond the Photographic: | | | Heinz Hajek-Halke's Light Graphic & new Pioneers | | | | | | | 3 March – 29 April 2023 | | | Opening: Friday, 3 March, 6-10pm
On the occasion of the European Month of Photography 2023
Special opening hours EMOP Opening Days: Saturday & Sunday, 1-7 pm | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Jana Dillo
Polagramm 11, 2022 Photogram on Polaroid
8 x 11 cm
© Jana Dillo, Courtesy the artist | | | | | | On the occasion of the European Month of Photography in Berlin, the Heinz Hajek-Halke Estate presents its first exhibition at CHAUSSEE 36 PHOTO FOUNDATION.
The group exhibition "Beyond the Photographic" is dedicated to light graphics (1950-1960s) of Heinz Hajek-Halke in dialogue with emerging pioneers of the abstract image. Heinz Hajek-Halke (1898 - 1983) is one of the most important photographic artists of the 20th century with an extensive and entirely experimental body of work. From his first photomontages created in Berlin in the 1920s to his abstract works of the 1950s and 1960s, Hajek-Halke confirmed his position as an unclassifiable avant-gardist, while continually pushing the boundaries of the photographic medium.
Beginning in 1924, the young Berliner discovered experimental work in the darkroom, creating iconic photomontages and collages which were published in the illustrated press and used in advertisements. After retiring to Lake Constance during the Third Reich, he returned to his experimental work in the post-war period. From 1949 to 1952, he was a member of the group "fotoform" and developed contacts with local abstract artists.
Hajek-Halke is considered the inventor of light graphics, which he continued to refine from the early 1950s. With origins in the photogram, light graphics are a technical feat executed in the darkroom without the use of a camera. Instead of exposing (semi)transparent objects on photographic paper, the artist created a new negative from a small glass plate or film that was placed in the enlarger and exposed on photographic paper. Since the creation of this negative allows for numerous variations of the same subject, it requires a complete physical intervention by the artist. Dissolving in a warm bath, incisions, leaking ink or fixative, adding glue, foils, and color masks: all means were pursued to completely change the surface of the negative. Under the influence of "guided chance", Hajek-Halke transformed himself into an alchemist, combining techniques from photography, chemistry, and painting to create new textures and structures. Fantasy worlds emerged - from lush vegetation to cosmic landscapes.
The light graphics were the subject of numerous exhibitions during the artist's lifetime and were later rediscovered in the early 2000s. In the current exhibition, a selection of original prints from the Heinz Hajek-Halke Estate is confronted for the first time with contemporary experimental abstract art. From 1955 to 1967, Hajek-Halke was the first German photographer to teach "Foto-Grafik" at Berlin's Hochschule für bildende Künste. Through his teaching and numerous writings, Hajek-Halke's light graphics influenced an entire generation of experimental photographers, from his student Floris Neusüss to Gottfried Jäger, the leading exponent of "generative photography".
The exhibition "Beyond the Photographic" aims to shed light on the question of to what extent the complex subject of light graphics is still relevant today and what an abstract image means in the post-digital age. Based on Hajek-Halke's own classifications, works by six artists were selected for their potential for experimental innovation in direct response to the different variations of light graphics. Works ranging from analog photograms to abstractions created with the help of artificial intelligence are presented. | | | | | | | | | Hanno Otten
Lichtbild 102
Photogram on C-Print, 2002
© Hanno Otten / Courtesy the artist | | | | | | In 2020, the young artist Jana Dillo took on Hajek-Halke's direct legacy with her series ⁄ by developing a new photogram technique. The Polagrams, which were taken on instant film (Fuji FP-100 C) in the darkroom, consist of creating miniature color photograms. Through the use of colored light and stencils, angular shapes with bright colors and cast shadows emerge. Jana Dillo was born in 1992 in the Black Forest and has been studying photography at the Kunsthochschule Essen since 2018. Her recent, highly acclaimed series of Polagrams has already been shown in several exhibitions in Europe.
Color is at the heart of the research of the artist Hanno Otten (b. 1954, Cologne). Otten's training as a painter was decisive in his use of photography. As in his paintings, his photograms focuse on experimenting with the materiality of the medium, eliminating all superfluous motifs. Similarly to the colored light graphics, Otten's works take as their subject light and its interaction with color. Hanno Otten lives and works in Cologne. Since the 1990s, he has been most well known for his works on color, which have been the subject of numerous exhibitions in Germany and the United States. His work can be found in important private and public collections, including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and the Houston Museum of Fine Art. | | | | | | | | | Banz & Bowinkel
Bodypaint V 15, from the series Bodypaintings, 2019
CGI Fine Art Print
140 x 105 cm
© Banz & Bowinkel / Courtesy Priska Pasquer and Banz & Bowinkel | | | | | | | In their Bodypaintings, the German artistic duo Banz & Bowinkel creates a new visual language through a complex working method using highly advanced technologies. The Drop Paintings have a physical starting point which is then developed through augmented reality and visually reminiscent of some ink lucidograms aesthetics. The artists record the movements of performers in the studio before transferring them into a virtual space. The result produces awe-inspiring splashes of color that can be discovered in virtual reality or immortalized in large-scale photographs. Giulia Bowinkel (b. 1983) and Friedemann Banz (b. 1980) both studied at the Kunstakademie in Düsseldorf. Their photographs, videos, installations and virtual sculptures have been exhibited internationally. | | | | | | | | | Casey Reas
Process 20 (Software 2), 2014
Custom software
© Casey Reas / Courtesy the artist and Fidelity International | | | | | | Like Hajek-Halke, Casey Reas (b. 1972, USA) places the experimental act of creation -in this case, programming- at the center of his research. But what happens when computer software overcomes the artist's hand? In Process Compendium (2004-2014), a series particularly representative of his work, the pioneer of digital art created an ingenious custom software that allows him to develop infinite visual combinations of organic forms and mechanical structures. Casey Reas lives and works in Los Angeles, where he teaches at the University of California. His works have been exhibited in the U.S., Europe and Asia and are in the collections of national museums such as the Centre Pompidou and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
In Daisuke Yokota's Color Photographs, a cosmic world of transparent forms emerges. To achieve this, the young Japanese artist developed radical methods such as developing color negatives in boiling water. The negatives with altered emulsion are then scanned and digitally overlaid. In the post-digital age, dominated by a flood of immaterial images, Yokota decided to explore the materiality of photographic film, following the process of creating light graphics. Daisuke Yokota (b. 1983, Japan) is one of the most innovative experimental photographers of his generation. He lives and works in Tokyo and has received numerous awards for his photographs and books. Since receiving the Foam Paul Huf Award in 2016, his work has been presented worldwide. | | | | | | | | | Daisuke Yokota
Untitled from the series Sludge, 2022
Archival Pigment Print
© Daisuke Yokota / Courtesy Stieglitz19 | | | | | | Framework Program
Saturday, 4 March, 2pm – 4pm
"About the vocabulary of photography"
Artist talk with the exhibited artists Banz & Bowinkel, Jana Dillo und Hanno Otten
Moderation: Simone Klein, Language: German
The number of participants is limited.
Pre-registration by e-mail is requested at: [email protected]
25 & 26 March and 15 & 16 April 2023, each 10am – 7pm
Light graphics workshop according to the principles of Heinz Hajek-Halke
with Björn Albert
The workshop closely follows the techniques used by Hajek-Halke.
Mainly no camera is used in the production of light graphics. The images are created as self-produced templates that are used like negatives. These templates are created through experimental procedures. They can be processed materials as well as crystalline/chemical or other structures created on glass. There are practically no limits to the imagination.
In the workshop, participants experience the amazing results of such image creations for themselves. Under professional guidance, a gradual exploration into the complex world of light graphics by Heinz Hajek-Halke will be given.
The participants will briefly practice the principle of exposure and development of light-sensitive materials on the available equipment, followed by exposure and development of 18 x 24cm light graphics from self-created templates on baryta paper.
Location: Fotofachlabor BA AP Björn Albert
Costs: 240€ per person incl. material for tests and five 18 x 24cm light graphics
Max. 4 participants, Language German/English
Registration with short description of motivation until 13 March to: [email protected] | | | | | | unsubscribe here
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© 24 Feb 2023 photography now UG (haftungsbeschränkt) i.G.
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Editor: Claudia Stein & Michael Steinke
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