So another issue of CAMERA AUSTRIA- no. 26- is coming out later than intended. Our long-time readers will probably for vie us the dealy willingly. Hopefully, our more recent subscribers will also contain their impatience with our magazine’s irregular publication. Even we never fail to be surprised by the fact that another issue does come about, after having suffered more than anyone under the completion prices, at the same time enjoying the cooperation with the artists to whop CAMERA AUSTRIA is dedicated.

“THE CONTEMPORARY” was the theme of the 9th Symposium on Photography taking place from October 16 to 18, 1987 within the program of the Styrian Autumn, and “THE CONTEMPORARY” is also the focus of the current issue. Contrary to our original announcement, the contributions to the symposium are now being published in two separate issues of CAMERA AUSTRIA, the current one and the next. Otherwise the volume would have amounted to a regular book since we wanted to avoid an abridgment.

“THE CONTEMPORARY” does not only refer to the parallelism of the positions presented here; with the wide disparity of approaches, it intends to I’ve a cross-section of contemporary photographic practice. We attempted to describe contempariness as a quality inherent to artistic work: the artis as a participants in his time, perhaps also as a  witness (as Rob Powell put it, for instance); furthermore, the artis as individual, concurring whom questions about his time must also, of necessity, be considered in decisions within his work and for his work.Not so much the factual contend(the description of “reality”), but the radicalization of the personal element in relation to this reality, is the point of departure and the motor of these works. This concept of “The Contemporary”- being the basis of the symposium and the accompanying exhibition – includes a plurality of obviously contrasting attires , the simultaneousness of positions(frightening to many because there is no organizing super-concept). For us, however, this is still the only feasible approach to the work of contemporary artists: searching for the essential rather than the exemplary quality of these works. Thus,decisions regarding the form of the work take on the same importance as the discussion about the context within which the work should be seen; the selection of technical means it taken just as seriously as the mental work, the concept unerlying the final artistic product.

We express our thanks to the Styrian Autumm especially to Peter Vujica, for sponsoring this event. We thank the artist for their contributions and cooperative in this issue. Last, but not least we hope that his first part of the overview will keep your interest in suspense until part two arrive.

Christine Frisinghelli, Manfred Willmann