Traces of Reality
200 Years of Photography from the Collections of the Museums of the City of Linz

Some 200 years ago, the French inventor Joseph Nicéphore Niépce succeeded in permanently capturing the view from his study on a specially coated pewter plate. Today, this event is regarded as one of the defining moments in the birth of photography. Since then, the medium has not only transformed our perception of the world, but has also had a profound impact on the way artists produce images and practise their craft. To mark this anniversary, the exhibition places works from different historical periods drawn from the collections of the Museums of the City of Linz in dialogue.
 

The exhibition explores the fundamental conditions of the medium itself. Focusing on five core themes, it explores the parameters that are key to creating a photograph. Technical aspects of photography are just as important as the choice of subject matter. As a result, viewers are given a rich insight into the various approaches adopted by artists to using the medium in their image-making processes since its inception: from the earliest photographic methods of the 19th century and darkroom experiments of classical modernism through to contemporary works that exploit digital processes.

Curator: Sarah Jonas