Bitter / Weber Hubert Blanz Heinz Cibulka and Magdalena Frey Clegg & Guttmann Lois Hechenblaikner Judith Huemer Harald Hund Iris Klein Markus Krottendorfer Paul Albert Leitner Michaela Moscouw Rita Nowak Lisl Ponger Lois Renner Markus Schinwald Eva Schlegel Ruth Schnell Günther and Loredana Selichar Manfred Willmann Andrea Witzmann Erwin Wurm

Curator: Christoph Thun-Hohenstein

The Austrian Cultural Forum New York is pleased to present 21 POSITIONS, an art photography show that will be on view through August 25. More than a mere assembly of 21 artistic positions, this exhibition is about looking at the 21st century from different angles. Rather than celebrating speed, ubiquity, and unlimited growth, the new state of the art is to make us reflect on what we are about to lose. Presenting 21 artistic positions of seeing others and ourselves, the show explores a number of core factors underlying the malaise and optimism of our young century: SURFACE AND ILLUSION (Eva Schlegel, Clegg & Guttmann, Michaela Moscouw); SEDUCTION (Lois Renner, Rita Nowak, Lois Hechenblaikner, Iris Klein); OBSESSION (Markus Schinwald, Erwin Wurm); LIKENESS AND DIFFERENCE (Magdalena Frey and Heinz Cibulka, Ruth Schnell, Paul Albert Leitner, Harald Hund); CHANGE, FAST AND SLOW (Hubert Blanz, Markus Krottendorfer, Günther and Loredana Selichar, Andrea Witzmann, Judit h Huemer, Lisl Ponger, Bitter / Weber, Manfred Willmann). 21 POSITIONS is curated by Christoph Thun-Hohenstein, director of the Austrian Cultural Forum New York.

The exhibition’s focus is on recent art photography from Austria. In contradistinction to the situation in Germany, the Austrian scene has not been marked by a dominant art photography school. While Viennese Actionism and the systematic exploration of the self were a determining influence for almost any Austrian artist, including those interested in photography, this pressure also created a stimulus to break free from the strong focus on the body. A broad range of artistic possibilities opened up, and younger artists from very different artistic backgrounds felt free to roam into less orthodox territories. 21 POSITIONS offers a glimpse into the variety of recent art photography in Austria without attempting to capture the entire spectrum. All the works included date from 2000 or thereafter, with the exception of the selection of 27 photographs from Manfred Willmann’s celebrated oeuvre Das Land. His photographic observations on the slow pace of change in the Aust rian countryside and the lives of those who stay and resist the temptation to move to the city make us reflect on memory and progress, a focus of ACF’s activities.

An exhibition catalogue, available for free, has been published in conjunction with the exhibition.