WestLicht

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WestLicht. The location for photography is a museum for photography and photo art in Vienna's 7th district of Neubau .

In addition to changing exhibitions of important photographs, the museum also houses an extensive collection of historical cameras. Since it was founded in 2001, the privately run museum has held over 120 exhibitions. The program includes monographic and thematic shows on international and Austrian photography history. We work with the holdings of the OstLicht photo collection and other leading houses and experts for photographic cultures.

history

WestLicht was founded on June 11, 2001 as a non-profit association which, according to its statutes, advocates the promotion of photography. The photo museum was founded from a private initiative of lovers and camera collectors around the collector of photography and cameras Peter Coeln .

The team of architects Eichinger or Knechtl supervised the renovation of the 1950s loft, which was previously used as a glass factory and later as a photo studio . In the middle of the 7th district of Vienna, where the first building of the Federal Graphical Education and Research Institute was located in the immediate vicinity, the photo museum has become a fixture in the Austrian cultural landscape. Today the district is an area valued by creative people, whose infrastructure serves photographers.

On the occasion of the opening of the World Press Photo exhibition on September 14, 2017, Coeln expressed the fear that the gallery would close at the end of the year because the previous main sponsor Leica had not made any further funding commitments. A petition started by Westlicht on change.org was signed by around 20,000 supporters. On the occasion of this success it was possible to negotiate new sponsorship opportunities with the companies Polaroid and Leica .

The association has been co-financed by private sponsors and the public sector since 2018.

Photo and Camera Museum


and display information about the image
Panorama WestLicht

The photo museum

The museum shows six to eight exhibitions a year, ranging from current trends in photography to classics of the medium to group and themed exhibitions. Photographers such as Henri Cartier-Bresson , Elliott Erwitt , Herbert List , Inge Morath , Ansel Adams , Nobuyoshi Araki , Franz Hubmann , René Burri , Christine de Grancy and many more will be presented. Since 2001, World Press Photo has hosted the largest exhibition on the subject of photojournalism every year.

The photo collection

The photo collection includes around 120,000 objects in a wide variety of photographic production techniques, from plate photographs and glass slides to the various printing processes on paper. The spectrum includes historical and classic photography from the museum's holdings, as well as works of contemporary photographic art, located in OstLicht . Two interests have shaped this collection in particular: on the one hand, the awareness of the technical requirements of photographic images, such as historical cameras and viewing devices as well as newer technologies, on the other hand, access to photography, which not only focuses on artistic and documentary-historical aspects, but also its popular-cultural aspects and reflects the political perception effects of photographic images.

The collection focuses on daguerreotypes , early paper prints, international photojournalism , nude photography, Austrian photography from the interwar period, Viennese actionism and the 1970s. In addition to individually purchased objects, the collection includes a number of partial bequests and larger work blocks (Studio Manassé, Olga Wlassics, Photo Simonis, Gustav Schikola, Udo Proksch, Roland Pleterski, Stefan Kruckenhauser , Walter Henisch, Trude Fleischmann ). In addition, by taking over bundles from international collections, valuable holdings were acquired, such as the Japanese Pentax collection or a Polaroid collection.

Polaroid collection

In 2011 the WestLicht Collection acquired the European part of the unique Polaroid Collection, consisting of more than 4,400 works of art by the most famous photographers who worked with Polaroid between 1960 and 1990. Among them are well-known names such as Ansel Adams , Luigi Ghirri, David Leventhal, Helmut Newton , Robert Rauschenberg, Andy Warhol , Lucas Samaras, William Wegman , Robert Mapplethorpe etc.

Camera museum

The camera museum

The museum has a collection of historically and technically important cameras. The permanent camera exhibition, consisting of private loans and the company's own collection, comprises around 500 devices from all eras. It presents the milestones of camera technology in chronological order, starting with the prehistory of photography (drawing and projection apparatus) up to the beginnings of digital photography. The main focus is on the collection of 300 different Leica viewfinders, an extensive collection of spy and miniature cameras and cameras from before the 20th century.

Camera auction

Auction house

The WestLicht Photographica Auction takes place twice a year in the museum . Since 2009, a selection of high-quality photographs has also been up for auction as part of the auction, most of them vintage prints. The program includes works by major national and international photographers.

In 2018, a Leica from the 0 series from 1923 was auctioned for 2.4 million euros.

Publications

  • Peter Coeln, Anna Auer (ed.): Ferdinand Schmutzer . The unknown photographic work. Vienna: WestLicht. Scene for photography, 2001.
  • Peter Coeln (Ed.): Franz Hubmann . Waldviertel. Catalog on the occasion of the exhibition in the Westlicht. Location for photography. Vienna: WestLicht. Scene for Photography, 2005.
  • Peter Coeln (Ed.): Roland Pleterski. Drawn by the light. Catalog on the occasion of the exhibition in WestLicht. Vienna: Christian Brandstätter Verlag, 2007.
  • Uwe Schögl (Ed.): Photo Simonis, Celebrities and Advertising 1960s & 70s. Catalog on the occasion of the exhibition in WestLicht. Vienna: Christian Brandstätter Verlag, 2010.
  • Rebekka Reuter; Achim Heine, Ulrike Willingmann (eds.): From Polaroid to Impossible, Masterpieces of instant photography - the WestLicht Collection. Catalog on the occasion of the exhibition in the Westlicht. Ostfildern: Hatje Cantz Verlag, 2012.
  • Peter Coeln, Verena Kaspar-Eisert (Ed.): Night. Catalog on the occasion of the opening exhibition of the OstLicht Gallery for Photography. OstLicht, Vienna 2012, ISBN 978-3-9503353-0-9 .
  • Marie Röbl (Ed.): Heinz Cibulka . In the rhythm of light and dark. Catalog on the occasion of the exhibitions in the Museum Center Mistelbach and in WestLicht. Weitra: Provincial Library, 2012.
  • Peter Coeln, Marie Röbl (ed.): Rudolf Schwarzkogler . Action photography. Paris Photo sales catalog. Vienna: WestLicht 2012.

Web links

Commons : WestLicht. Venue for photography  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ WestLicht - Schauplatz für Fotografie: ARCHIV AB 2001. Retrieved on June 28, 2019 .
  2. ^ WestLicht - location for photography: About WestLicht. Retrieved June 28, 2019 .
  3. ^ WestLicht - location for photography: About WestLicht. Retrieved July 4, 2019 .
  4. ↑ Vienna Photo Museum “WestLicht” is at risk. November 15, 2017. Retrieved July 4, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Galerie WestLicht vor Aus? orf.at, September 15, 2017
  6. ↑ #SaveWestLicht - Save the Photo Museum WestLicht change.org
  7. ↑ orf.at: Galerie WestLicht: The future seems secure Article from January 4, 2018
  8. ↑ WestLicht - scene for photography: partner. Retrieved July 4, 2019 .
  9. ^ Museum dreams. June 12, 2019, accessed July 4, 2019 .
  10. ^ Peter Coeln from WestLicht saves the Polaroid Collection fotointern.ch, March 28, 2011
  11. ^ WestLicht takes over the historical Polaroid collection Kleine Zeitung, March 27, 2011
  12. ↑ orf.at: World record camera for 2.4 million euros Article from March 10, 2018

Coordinates: 48 ° 12 ′ 7.7 ″  N , 16 ° 20 ′ 31.2 ″  E