Preface

It has already been seven years since Otto Breicha sent his exhibition “Kreative Fotografie aus Österreich” (Creative Photography from Austria) through Austria and other countries. So to us, it seemed to be time to once again make the theme “Photography from Austria” the focus of an exhibition. The current constellation of contemporary photographers was decided based upon the vantage point that their work should engage with their environment, the country in which they live, meaning that in these works photography’s crucial task of creating documents should be perceptible, even if the subjective view of a documentary work is reflected by very different solutions.

“Neue Fotografie aus Österreich” (New Photography from Austria, and not Austrian Photography, like, for example, Austrian Loden, where the origin becomes a mark of quality): it is the objective of the exhibition, which is documented in this issue of CAMERA AUSTRIA, to introduce the subject matter being explored in the work of photographers in Austria. It is meant to be shown, after “steirischer herbst” in Graz, in other provinces as well, and also abroad. If the works of these ten photographers were viewed with the same seriousness that characterizes their execution, and if they were able to initiate a process of exploring photography as a viable option for making and articulating experiences, then we may speak of a good point of departure!

Manfred Willmann in steirischer herbst ’81