From the photographic act to the possibilities of presentation: the fundamental conditions of photography
German photographer Timm Rautert’s (born 1941)
Bildanalytische Photographie
(Image-Analytical Photography) 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 analog 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.
Black-and-white photographs, passport photos, lab experiments and combinations of selected photo prints with their negatives are found here among Rautert’s 56 works, but also nonphotographic material such as a gray 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.