Michael Wesely. Berlin 1860 – 2023
In the organizer's words:
How can the spatial and architectural development dynamics of a city be visualized photographically? How can photography capture time and life? In two new bodies of work, the internationally renowned photographer Michael Wesely traces the fragments of past realities preserved in historical architectural photographs of Berlin. In doing so, he explores the archival dimensions of the medium of photography.
For Doubleday, Wesely superimposes his own photographs precisely over old photographs of Berlin architecture from the 19th and 20th centuries, creating breathtaking leaps in time between the past and the present: 19th century strollers on Alexanderplatz encounter tourists from today, ruins are superimposed on reconstructed copies of the buildings, a park has taken the place of Monbijou Palace.
In the Human Conditions series, the artist focuses on the traces of people's lives around 1900 captured in the large-format photographs of the Prussian Measuring Institute. Wesely is particularly fascinated by the spooky disappearance of people in motion, whose contours were not captured due to the long exposure times and whose outlines he meticulously prepares.
The Museum of Photography is also presenting works by Michael Wesely from previous years. These include the recently completed cycle on Leipziger Platz and Potsdamer Platz, which followed the development of the new city quarter from 1997 to 2021. Another group of works shows demonstrations and protest gatherings, each of which Wesely photographed for a few minutes, leaving behind only traces and outlines in their fleeting nature. They are brought into conversation with photojournalistic images of urban life and demonstrations by photographers Willy Römer and Bernard Larsson from the Art Library's photography collection.
A special exhibition of the Kunstbibliothek - Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
https://www.smb.museum/ausstellungen/detail/michael-wesely/
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