Timm Rautert - Bildanalytische Photographie, 1968–1974

Timm Rautert’s Bildanalytische Photographie [Image-Analytical Photography], from 1968 to 1974, highlights the fundamental conditions of photographic work—from the photographic act and the development of photographic images under an enlarger in the lab to the various possibilities of presentation. A systematically elaborated ensemble of analogue black-and-white and color photographs, of image-text compilations, and of manuals and photographic material provokes elementary questions about what photography means as a medium, what is expected from it, and how it has shaped the perception of the world. Scenic black-and-white photographs, passport photos, lab experiments, combinations of selected photo prints with their negatives are found here among Rautert’s 56 works, but also non-photographic material such as a grey card (used for measuring light mainly in photo studios), postcards and graphic manuals. Each work becomes an element of “analysis” showing the numerous potential scenarios of photography.

I wanted to trace photography to the conditions of photography. I no longer wanted to say: that’s how it is or that’s what it looks like, rather, I wanted to say: that’s how it is with photography, and then I started my photography experiments. Timm Rautert, 2005

Exhibition: Museum Folkwang, Essen, 2021