Solothurn, Switzerland
21 to 23 March 2024
Workshop A Nature of Exhibitions
Philip Blenkinsop and Daniel Schwartz
In cooperation with Kunstmuseum Solothurn
A vagabond among the arts, photography is a formidable companion of and wonderful medium between different artistic expressions. It is science-based (think about optics or sensitometry), yet it is always subjective; it shares this dual nature with cartography (think of richly illustrated early maps). In the 18th and 19th centuries, when invasion followed ‘discovery’ both cartographer and photographer were surveyors.
For decades Philip Blenkinsop and Daniel Schwartz have been documenting the repercussions of imperialism in the countries of the East. In the research and presentation of their work maps and historic documents are essential. Their inclusion in publications and exhibitions is both contextual and aesthetic, and complemented with other practices. Blenkinsop is known for his mesmerizing, yet unambiguous objects and table pieces composed from photographs and hand-hewn finds from the natural word, the animal kingdom and relics of human toil and failure. Schwartz has made the typographic textwork a characteristic trait of his work in a practice that oscillates between journalism and conceptual art.
The two VII-photographers shed light on their practice with an emphasis on exhibition installations that contain both elements of the baroque Wunderkammer and natural history. Occasion of the workshop is Schwartz’ exhibition «Zur Zeitlichkeit im Eis» («Ice and Temporality») in the Kunstmuseum Solothurn, established in 1902 and initialy named “Museum of Arts and Science”.
The workshop includes a visit to and discussion of the exhibition. Participants will receive an individual keepsake crafted by the two teachers during the workshop.
Participants are encouraged to present a photographic project in any form and at any stage of completion for discussion; preferably in the form of physical objects such as prints, maquettes, documents and the like.
Information and Program
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Exhibition
Zur Zeitlichkeit im Eis
Kunstmuseum Solothurn, Solothurn
20 January – 12 May 2024
Solothurn, Switzerland
18 to 20 March 2024
Workshop Meeting the Mountains
Eric Bouvet and Daniel Schwartz
In cooperation with Kunstmuseum Solothurn
Forbidding, endowed with practical challenges but of great allure, the mountain environment has been a subject matter of photography since the first Alpine daguerreotypes were taken in August 1849 by Gustave Dardel and John Ruskin. In recent decades, the cryosphere and the high altitude zones of permafrost are a frontline of the consequences of anthropogenic climate change. The observed loss of glaciers affects the identity of societies, and it comes with the loss of a climate archive which helps to predict future scenarios affecting millions of people. In the shrinking ice appear both forensic objects as well as individual human memories.
Eric Bouvet and Daniel Schwartz have spent years documenting the environmental changes in the Alpine environment in Switzerland, Europe and around the globe. Both start their journeys in libraries. Their approach is based on visual and other historic documents, and it includes terrestrial as well as aerial photography. Their work continues the tradition of interdisciplinary exchange between natural sciences and the arts. Bouvet’s book «Elevations» on the Mont Blanc and the Chamonix Valley was published by Editions Photosyntèses (Paris, 2023); its follow-up is a documentation of all Alpine passes between France and Italy for “La Fondation des Treilles”. Schwartz’ «While the Fires Burn. A Glacier Odyssey», ‘a glaciology in pictures’ was published by Thames & Hudson (London, 2017).
The two VII-photographers shed light on their analog practice. The workshop includes large and ultra large format direct paper photography (a cousin of Talbot’s calotype) of erratic boulder clusters in the forests above Solothurn. Occasion of the workshop is Schwartz’ exhibition «Zur Zeitlichkeit im Eis» («Ice and Temporality») in the Kunstmuseum Solothurn, established in 1902 and initialy named “Museum of Arts and Science”. The workshop includes a visit to and discussion of the exhibition.
Participants are encouraged to present a photographic project in any form and at any stage of completion for discussion; preferably in the form of physical objects such as prints, maquettes, documents and the like. Large format camera practice is not a precondition.
Information and Program
For registration and payment download pdf form
Do not fill pdf in your browser.
Use downloaded pdf instead.
Exhibition
Zur Zeitlichkeit im Eis
Kunstmuseum Solothurn, Solothurn
20 January – 12 May 2024
Lucerne, Switzerland
5 to 8 October 2023
Workshop Capturing Time
Christopher Morris and Daniel Schwartz
In cooperation with Kunstmuseum Luzern
What brings together the renowned American conflict photographer and the explorative Swiss documentarist is the idea that by candidly examining one’s achievements, our common past does not remain a foreign country.
Christopher Morris, who chased man at his darkest and who redefined political coverage in the U.S., and Daniel Schwartz, whose work blurs the divide between photojournalism and art, share with the participants their experience of how news can crystallize into history-telling and how history-telling can become news.
The two photographers shed light on their very different archival methods whilst currently being at opposite stages of reviewing their life’s work.
In addition to the shared discussions of the projects and ideas the participants will bring to the workshop, they will be able to attend practical lessons of peer review between the two lecturers. Participants can present a photographic project in any form and at any stage – an idea to be carried out and riddled with the unknown, such as exhibition sketch or advanced maquette, or as labyrinthine dilemma of incongruous practical opportunities and personal expectations. The workshop will focus on what participants want to say, not how they wish to promote themselves.
Information and Program
For registration and payment download pdf form
Do not fill pdf in your browser.
Use downloaded pdf instead.
Welcome video by Christopher Morris
As non-mandatory prelude to the workshop, participants may attend the public talk «Documenting War – But Not Now. Christopher Morris in conversation with Daniel Schwartz».
Public Talk
Documenting War – But Not Now.
Christopher Morris and Daniel Schwartz in conversation
Kunstmuseum Luzern, Europaplatz 1, 6002 Lucerne
4 October 2023; 18:00
View agenda of the Kunstmuseum Luzern
Exhibition
Daniel Schwartz: Tracings
Kunstmuseum Luzern, Europaplatz 1, 6002 Lucerne
30 September 2023–4 February 2024
View exhibition announcement
Download exhibition flyer (In german)
VII Academy, April – June 2020
Online Documentary Project in Times of Pandemic. Curated and hosted by Philip Blenkinsop and Daniel Schwartz
Postponed until further notice due to the Coronavirus pandemic
Kathmandu, Nepal, May 2020
VII Academy / Foundry Photojournalism Workshop
Postponed until further notice due to the Coronavirus pandemic
Northeast India, April 2020
VII Academy
Zomia Masterclass Prelude Workshop
Rangun, Burma, October 2019
VII Academy / Myanmar Deitta
Street Photography Workshop
Kigali, Rwanda, August 2019
VII Academy / Foundry Photojournalism Workshop
View and listen to video
View and listen to two book maquette presentations
Sarajewo, Bosnia-Herzegowina, May 2019
After the Image
View program
View and listen to video
View video