FRANCIS BACON – IN THE MIRROR OF PHOTOGRAPHY

Posted on November 9, 2021 by katharina guenther

I am very proud that my book Francis Bacon – In the Mirror of Photography. Collecting, Preparatory Practice and Painting was published by De Gruyter in May 2022. It is based on my PhD research and thus marks the end of a long and exciting journey.

Francis Bacon consistently and deliberately based his paintings on the photographic material he collected in his studios, most famously so in the last one at 7 Reece Mews, London, for this purpose. Francis Bacon – In the Mirror of Photography brings together Bacon’s pictorial springboards for the first time and delineates and interprets recurring patterns and methods, but also highlights the limitations of Bacon’s interest in photography.

Francis Bacon – In the Mirror of Photography was favourably reviewed in Fotolot (October 2022), The Burlington Magazine (March 2023, Vol. 165 | No. 1440) and the The British Art Journal (Vol. 23, No.2, Autumn 2022). It won the Offermann-Hergarten Award (University of Cologne) and the gold medal at DeutscherFotobuchpreis 2023 (German Photo Book Price) at Internationales Festival Fotografischer Bilder.

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LEE MILLER PAPER

Posted on December 3, 2025 by katharina guenther

Lee Miller‘s war photographs are extraordinary. Do they – sometimes – represent a somewhat “curated reality”? I presented a paper on this topic at the International Festival of Photographic Images‘ symposium FACT/FAKE – Bild. Gesellschaft. Zukunft (20 to 23 November 2025) in Regensburg on 21 November.

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LEE MILLER LECTURES

Posted on February 24, 2025 by katharina guenther

Join me for two lectures on Lee Miller: In the one at the Museum Ludwig, Cologne on 18 March, I will be discussing her war photography oscillating between documentation and art. The second one on 9 March at the Centre for Persecuted Arts on the occasion of International Women’s Day (8 March) will focus on her as an original artist and independent woman. Come and look at Miller’s extraordinary life and work with me!


More info Museum Ludwig and Centre for Persecuted Arts

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KUNSTTEXTE REVISIONS

Posted on January 21, 2025 by katharina guenther

OUT NOW: Jule Schaffer and I edited the first issue of the new section “photography” of the online magazine kunsttexte.de – Journal für Kunst und Bildgeschichte (University of Heidelberg).
Available here (open access)
Under the title “Re:Visions”, four essays and two interviews build bridges between different temporal poles: 20th century working methods are linked with 19th century ideas, classical positions are read anew with contemporary concepts and also against the grain, and the historical roots of prominent photographic phenomena of our time are examined. I had the great pleasure of interviewing the fantastic photographer Michael Wesely.

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NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY

Posted on November 7, 2024 by katharina guenther

Francis Bacon’s portraits and photography is the title of the lecture I will be presenting at The National Portrait Gallery in London on 12 December. What does Francis Bacon‘s use of photographs mean for his understanding of portraiture and his concept of identity? What art historical traditions can he be placed in? What sources did he use? Come and join me to discuss these questions, and many more! The event is part of the programme accompanying the exhibition Francis Bacon: Human Presence, on until 19 January 2025.

More information here.

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OLAF METZEL BLOG POST

Posted on October 23, 2024 by katharina guenther

Sometimes art can teach you a thing or two about the times and the world we live in. This certainly is the case with Olaf Metzel‘s exhibition “Deutschstunde“, which is on display at Weimar’s Belvedere Castle until 1 November. I wrote a little something on the show and its relationship to the place where it is staged. You can read it here on Klassik Stiftung Weimar’s blog. Learned something?

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ARIS KALAIZIS

Posted on October 15, 2024 by katharina guenther

Delivered today: Aris Kalaizis, Aris Kalaizis and Ralf Heipmann (eds.), Petersberg: Michael Imhof Verlag, 2024, to which I contributed a short text on the New Leipzig School painter’s recent work Novus Mundi. Check it out!

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CONFERENCE “SPACE – OBJECT”

Posted on July 23, 2024 by katharina guenther

Temporary exhibitions and permanent collection displays and the objects shown in them are inextricably linked with the spaces, buildings and places they are shown at. I conceptualised and organised the conference “Space – Object. Exhibitions and Collections in their spaces” (30./31. August) for Klassik Stiftung Weimar to discuss the tight relationships between them from diverse angles ranging from practical, curatorial, ethical, historical and political perspectives, taking into account ideas and methods from, for example, curatorial studies and spatial humanities.

Emerging from the research group “Space” of the Marbach Weimar Wolfenbüttel Research Association it will also be discussed how and in what form this exchange can be continued in the future.

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UNIVERSITY HALLE-WITTENBERG

Posted on July 1, 2024 by katharina guenther

Last week I had a wonderful time talking about Francis Bacon to students and colleagues at Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg. I especially enjoyed the great questions and the discussion after my guest lecture ,One’s always hoping to renew them‘ – Francis Bacons fotografische Bildvorlagen (26/6/2024).

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AUGMENTED REALITY IN FINE ART

Posted on May 4, 2024 by katharina guenther

Augmented Reality is an insubordinate medium. Read in my latest essay how it pushes the physical boundaries of the museum space and defies conventional ideas of exhibitions, ownership and power in the art world. You can read the text with the title Systemsprenger – Augmented Reality in der zeitgenössischen Kunst open access in the edited volume Wohnen – Sammeln – Erinnern – Visualisieren. Raumpraktiken gestern und heute which has just been published at Wallstein. Download the text here.


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LEE MILLER BLOG POST

Posted on April 15, 2024 by katharina guenther

Last Thursday, 11 April, marked the 79th anniversary of the liberation of the Buchenwald concentration camp. I wrote a little something on Lee Miller‘s photographs of the first funeral procession to mark this day. You can read it on Klassik Stiftung Weimar‘s blog. It is there interlinked with my previous text on Miller for their magazine, klassisch modern. In case you have not read this one, here is the direct link.

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