Do Not Refreeze brings together a group of photographers whose extraordinary contribution to European photography has been ‘frozen out’ by the Cold War. Almost completely unknown in Britain, these artists developed their practice in the former East Germany negotiating the omnipresent secret police to create imagery which is increasingly being compared to luminaries such as Henri Cartier-Bresson, Dorothea Lange and Robert Frank.
Disparate in background and experience, their works use an unforgiving documentary aesthetic to convey both the harsh realities and remarkable richness of life behind the Iron Curtain. These stunning images give a glimpse of day-to day life and evoke the claustrophobia, rage, envy and ideological pomp of the Communist era as well as the unexpected personal warmth, tenderness and exoticism to be found throughout the socialist commonwealth.
The exhibition catalogue is available from our Gallery Bookshop at the special price of £12.95 for the duration of the exhibition.
Do Not Refreeze is a touring exhibition from the University of Hertfordshire Galleries. Funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, Arts Council England, and IFA – the German Government’s Institute for Foreign Relations. With support from Goethe Institut, Manchester and Staatliche Galerie, Moritzburg Halle, Landeskunstmuseum, Saxony-Anhalt. Do Not Refreeze coincides with LOOK 07, a city-wide photography festival taking place in April 07.
Do Not Refreeze brings together a group of photographers whose extraordinary contribution to European photography has been ‘frozen out’ by the Cold War. Almost completely unknown in Britain, these artists developed their practice in the former East Germany negotiating the omnipresent secret police to create imagery which is increasingly being compared to luminaries such as Henri Cartier-Bresson, Dorothea Lange and Robert Frank.
Disparate in background and experience, their works use an unforgiving documentary aesthetic to convey both the harsh realities and remarkable richness of life behind the Iron Curtain. These stunning images give a glimpse of day-to day life and evoke the claustrophobia, rage, envy and ideological pomp of the Communist era as well as the unexpected personal warmth, tenderness and exoticism to be found throughout the socialist commonwealth.
The exhibition catalogue is available from our Gallery Bookshop at the special price of £12.95 for the duration of the exhibition.
To get a further insight into the difficult conditions under which the artists in Do Not Refreeze worked, you can watch the fiction film THE LIVES OF OTHERS, when it return to our cinemas on 11 & 13 June.
Do Not Refreeze is a touring exhibition from the University of Hertfordshire Galleries. Funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, Arts Council England, and IFA – the German Government’s Institute for Foreign Relations. With support from Goethe Institut, Manchester and Staatliche Galerie, Moritzburg Halle, Landeskunstmuseum, Saxony-Anhalt. Do Not Refreeze coincides with LOOK 07, a city-wide photography festival taking place in April 07.
DO NOT REFREEZE: PHOTOGRAPHY BEHIND THE BERLIN WALL
Cornerhouse/University of Herfordshire, £14.95
Published to accompany the exhibition Do Not Refreeze, this new catalogue charts this fascinating ‘lost’ chapter in the history of European photographers. A wide variety of images from the exhibition are accompanied by texts by Matthew Shaul, Sarah James, Katrin Blum and TO Immisch. Essential reading for anyone who has enjoyed Do Not Refreeze.
For the duration of the exhibition, the catalogue will available at the special price of £12.95 (in our Gallery Bookshop only). If you cannot make it to our bookshop, you can buy the catalogue online (£14.95 + postage). Just click here to be directed to the catalogue page.
HELGA PARIS: PHOTOGRAPHS
Holzwarth Publications, £31.00
This beautifully-produced monograph includes a wide range of images by Do Not Refreeze photographer Helga Paris, whose work frequently documents small social groups from dustmen to Berlin’s youth, within a broader political setting. Four essays accompany a chronological sequence of photographs, examining various aspects of Paris’s work.
IN THE FACE OF HISTORY
Blackdog, £29.95
“This is a profoundly moving treasure box for anyone wanting thoughtful pictorial immersion in 20th-century European history” – The Times
Published to accompany a major exhibition at The Barbican, In the Face of History charts the history of European photography from 1900 to the present day, featuring work from both well-known figures such as Robert Doisneau and Wolfgang Tillmans and less publicised photographers from the former Eastern bloc. The book includes texts by the curators Kate Bush and Mark Sladen, an essay by photography historian Martin Harrison, and texts on individual photographers by a range of writers and commentators.
THE PHOTOGRAPH AS CONTEMPORARY ART: WORLD OF ART
Thames & Hudson, £8.95
“The kind of book I would gladly recommend… a crash course in the vocabulary and debates of contemporary photographic criticism” – Source
This compact overview of photography considers the variety of ways that today’s artists engage with photography to make art. Exploring work by a diverse range of artists, this is a comprehensive introduction for anyone interested in photography today.
The Photograph as Contemporary Art is part of Thames & Hudson’s World of Art Series. The Gallery Bookshop stocks a range of titles from this series, including Digital Art, New Media In Art, Performance Art, Colour in Art, Art Since 1960 and Internet Art.
ART AND PHOTOGRAPHY: THEMES AND MOVEMENTS
Phaidon, £24.95
“Exploring developments from the sixties to the present day, this beautiful book covers every major school, style and name.” – Vogue
Now available in paperback, Art and Photography is a fascinating overview of photography in artistic practice from the 1960s onwards. Work from a diverse range of photographers including Jeff Wall, Andreas Gursky and Gillian Wearing is contextualised by documents including original artists statements, interviews and texts by leading critics, writers and theorists.
Art and Photography is part of Phaidon’s Themes and Movements series, situating the work of individual artists into the wider context of late twentieth century art. The Gallery Bookshop also stocks a number of other titles from the Themes and Movements series including Art and Feminism, The Artist’s Body and Land and Environmental Art.
GERMAN ART NOW
Merrell, £29.95
An interesting complement to the work shown in Do Not Refreeze, this comprehensive book investigates artistic practice in Germany today. Focusing on artists who responded to their country’s destruction, division and reconstruction after World War II, including Joseph Beuys, Anselm Kiefer, Candida Hofer, Andreas Gursky and Gerhard Richter, it features work which has confronted issues of national identity, defeat and recovery, mythology, history and the responsibility of art in society.
BERLIN ART NOW
Thames & Hudson, £24.95
Following in the footsteps of German Art Now, this new book focuses on contemporary art from Berlin. Curator and critic Mark Gisbourne explores what it is about Berlin that has drawn such a diverse range of artists from all over the world to live and work there, mixing interviews and commentary with profiles of Berlin-based artists including Mona Hatoum, Thomas Demand and Tacita Dean. This is accompanied by visual essays from photographer Jim Rakete, exploring the studios, creative life and secret places of Berlin, capturing the city’s excitement, chaos and vitality.
PHOTO FILE: HENRI CARTIER-BRESSON
Thames & Hudson, £8.95
The work of photographers featured in Do Not Refreeze is increasingly being compared to that of well-known twentieth-century luminaries, notably Henri Cartier-Bresson. This compact and attractive book includes a selection of Cartier-Bresson’s photographs together with a critical introduction, a chronology and a bibliography.
The Gallery Bookshop also stocks the full range of titles from Thames & Hudson’s Photofile series including Man Ray, Bill Brandt, Helmut Newton and Josef Koudelka.
THE NATURE OF PHOTOGRAPHS
Phaidon, £24.95
This new book by celebrated photographer Stephen Shore explores ways of understanding photographs from all periods and of all types – from iconic images to found photographs, from negatives to digital files. An essential primer for anyone with an interest in photography as a medium.
PHOTO TROUVÉE
Phaidon, £24.95
Photo Trouvée is a beautifully-presented and unique collection of amateur photographs found, collected and edited by photohistorian Michel Frizot, and photography researcher Cédric de Veigny. Defined by the authors as ‘an anthropology of the ordinary’, these intensely personal images by now-anonymous photographers are intriguing and thought-provoking.
20TH CENTURY PHOTOGRAHY: ICON
Taschen, £5.99
This handy flexicover book is a comprehensive yet concise crash course in 20th century photographers from Ansel Adams to Piet Zwart.
20th Century Photography is part of Taschen’s Icon series: these excellent value pocket-sized books make ideal gifts. The Gallery Bookshop also stocks a number of other titles from the Icon series, including Art Now and Women Artists in the 20th and 21st Centuries.
5 GREAT WOMEN ARTISTS: BOX SET
Phaidon, £17.85
This attractively-presented box set comprises five titles from the Phaidon 55 series in a specially-designed slipcase. Books focus on five of the best women photographers of all time: Nan Goldin, Lisette Model, Julia Margaret Cameron, Graciela Iturbe and Dorothea Lange.
The Gallery Bookshop also stocks 5 Experimental Photographers and 5 Great Documentary Photographers box sets.
Do Not refreeze will tour the following venues:
- 8 November – 21 December 2007
UH Galleries
Art & Design Gallery
College Lane
Hatfield AL10 9AB
01707 534108
- 25 January – 8 March 2008
Focal Point Gallery
Southend Central Library,
Victoria Avenue,
Southend-on-Sea
Essex SS2 6EX
01702 534 108
- 21 May – 28 June 2008
Wolverhampton Art Gallery
Lichfield Street
Wolverhampton WV1 1DU
01902 552055