Barbican Art Gallery Shows European Photographers in the 20th Century

Thursday, 23 November 2006 17:17

LONDON - Bringing together the work of many of the greatest photographers of the 20^th century, In the Face of History is the first major exhibition to chart the history of European photography from 1900 to the present day.  With a vast range of portraits, landscapes, street scenes and still life on display, the work, defined as “subjective documentary”, is characterised by an intense closeness between the photographer and their subject.  On exhibit until 28 January 2007.

From images of decadent Paris in the 1930s to flower power in1960s Amsterdam, moments in history are captured by photographers who are immersed within the world they portray.  With many works never before seen in the UK, images by previously undiscovered photographers from the former Eastern bloc are shown alongside iconic images by Brassai, Robert Doisneau and Wolfgang Tillmans.

Set within a period of immense social and historical change, momentous events are brought to life with startling immediacy by photographers operating from the inside.  Photographer André Kertész carried his camera to the front as a conscript in the Austro Hungarian army, whilst Henryk Ross was employed as the official photographer of the ghetto at Lodz.  Ross’s horrifying images, which were buried in barrels in the frozen earth, were later rescued and used in the 1961 trial of Adolph Eichmann.

Alongside dramatic world events, slower social and cultural change is tracked by photographers operating outside the mainstream.  Christer Strömholm, a precursor to Nan Goldin, lived amongst and photographed a community of transsexuals in 50s Paris, whilst Anders Petersen’s Café Lehmitz chronicles the lives and loves of prostitutes and addicts in Hamburg’s notorious red light district. Technicolour images of the aftermath of rock concerts and street fashion by Ed van Elsken summon the energy, optimism and spontaneity of the 60s and 70s.