Adolphe Braun Little Matterhorn, 1858-1877 Stereographic photograph © Albertina - On permanent loan from the Austrian Federal Education and Research Institute for Graphics (Höhere Graphische Bundes
Albertina Albertinaplatz 1 A-1010 Vienna Autriche
Infinite Ice
Traversing the Arctic and the Alps from 1860 to the Present
20 August - 23 November 2008
Throughout history largely inaccessible tracts of land have always exerted a great fascination on people as did the Eternal Ice. From the middle of the 19th century onwards, photography made it possible to capture a single instant of nature and to reproduce it. What proved to be of particular attraction to photographers were glaciers and Arctic landscapes. The Albertina devotes its annual photographic exhibition this year to this very special type of landscape photography, contrasting early works of the 19th century with positions of today.
Apart from the documentations on the two Austrian polar expeditions of the photographer Wilhelm Burger and the alpine series of Friedrich Simony, the Albertina also presents photographs by Gustav Jägermayer and works from the publishing house of Würthle. Contemporary positions are the exploration of the arctic night by Darren Almond or the aerial shots by Olafur Eliasson. Walter Niedermayr s overlapping sequential images of alpine landscapes reveal an extended view of the world of the Alps.
Catalogue in German:
Die Weite des Eises. Vom Durchmessen von Arktis und Alpen 1960 bis heute (Edited by Monika Faber. Hatje Cantz, 2008. 114 pages and 100 coloured images. Available at the Albertina shop. € 19,50. shop@albertina.at
