#women- photographer Vol. I

#womenphotographer Vol. I with works by Berenice Abbott, Merry Alpern, Diane Arbus, Elinor Carucci, Nan Goldin, Germaine Krull, Dorothea Lange, Vivian Maier, Inge Morath, Ruth Orkin, Rosemarie Pierer, Dayanita Singh, Annette von Keudell and Karin Székessy.

Women conquered the new medium of photography in the 19th century. As pioneers, they contributed essentially to its development and the emergence of new photographic ways of seeing. The Cyanotype Photograms by Anna Atkins are among the first photographs published as scientific illustrations.

Photography enabled women to realize their idea of a self-determined, creative life, to travel and to earn their own living. In addition to portrait, fashion, and architectural photography, female photographers also excelled in photojournalism from the 1920s onwards. Often they focused on the everyday, on the living conditions of women and children, documented social marginal groups and examined the female body relentlessly with the camera.

Did they choose themes that are off the beaten track of world politics, as they have always been attributed to them by society? Or because they can gain intimate access to their subjects, which is denied to their male counterparts? Or does it finally exist, the female gaze?

The exhibition #womenphotographer Vol. I wants to provide insights into the diverse work of female photographers and to initiate a deeper study of their view of the world.

Photo: © Ruth Orkin Photo Archive.