Gallery Run: Triggered Photography

With the rise of general access to camera technology, what Susan Sonntag calls "a democracy of photographs," fine art photography has had to defend its aesthetic function from becoming usurped by journalism, advertising, iPhone apps and Facebook feeds. All this came to the fore in November, the European Month of Photography: Eyes On, staking out the potpourri of Vienna’s digital and analogue cameras, in photographic institutions, ateliers, established and pop-up galleries – with some exhibitions extending into 2013.

Eigensinnig: T. Tramezzini and S. Hofer

Eigensinnig is a word like Zeitgeist with no adequate English translation. "Headstrong" comes close and this gallery and fashion show room certainly sets its own willful parameters. Their logo is a rounded octagon, like a worker bee’s honeycomb, and though the place has been scrubbed clean it has kept the edgy look of a sleek forge, lightly rusted steel and shellacked wood.

Toni Tramezzini’s background is in urban planning and he has a knack for shaping the current cultural moment. Along with Stefanie Hofer, fashion designer and trendsetter, he founded Eigensinnig, a Berlin and New York style space. The vibe differs from their pop-up store, Fox House 365 on Westbahnstraße, initiated last spring, but remains true to its ideological roots: to make quality and DIY fashion and photography accessible.

Tramezzini’s street photography is all cool angles and focal points on L.A., Berlin, New York, Stockholm, London and Vienna.

In effect, this duo defines contemporary Viennese style as minimal and urban, transporting you to all the fashion capitals: making local international. Alongside the photo exhibit, Stefanie Hofer curates affordable-ish unisex clothing that is unique and hand-crafted from independent designers like Bavarian Hannibal, Berliner Esther Perbandt, Frye Boots and Religion Clothing.

7., Sankt-Ulrichs-Platz 4/2

Tue. – Fri., 11:00 – 19:00

Sat., 10:00 – 18:00

(01) 89 06 637

www.eigensinnig.at

Fotoschule: Nina Strasser: Hermes Phettberg "I want to live!" and Face of Our Time

Next to basic and advanced photography classes, the Fotoschule Wien owns two galleries. FotoSecession is right by Pilgramgasse and pays homage to Austrian celebrity Hermes Phettberg’s life. No longer a prominent talk show host from the 90s, Phettberg has still retained his notoriety as a comedian – a true Lebenskünstler. Nina Strasser’s journalistic report of his daily routine shows him slurping soup in a smoky cafe or pushing his walker on the street. His phrases serve as captions, taped to the ground with Band-Aids and are poignant evidence that Phettberg’s personality reaches beyond his profession. His human frailty is on display.

The second location is the FotoQuartier Wien, formerly the Schlössl Kino. Antlitz der Gegenwart is a group exhibition. A reaction to limited edition originals by the German photographer, August Sander, referring to his first book. His work documented the social fabric of the Weimar Republic and functioned as a portrait of different professions and classes from baker to boxer, framing parliamentary democracy through the eyes of the people in the 1930s, as the Nazis came to power. The exhibition reinterprets occupations in contemporary society from sports to the classroom.

FotoQuartier Wien

Im Schlössl-Kino

5., Margaretenstraße 127

www.fotoschule.at

FotoSecession

5., Rechte Wienzeile 85

Mon. – Thu., 16:00 – 18:00

(01) 94 33 701

www.fotoquartier.at

Galerie Lindner:

Ludwig Glaesner: Mies and his archivist

Galerie Lindner houses a comprehensive selection of Modernist, abstract painting, photography and text art. Ludwig Glaesner’s photographs of Mies Van der Rohe buildings are on display in a gallery setting for the first time, until 7 December. The prints made at Kelton Labs in New York are supported by the Mies Van der Rohe Haus. There are no people in the images, except one blurry woman swinging diagonally across a picture and the viewer sees the flurry of a former resident through one of the endless windowpanes.

Glaesner’s lens manages to make Mies Van der Rohe’s modernist architecture seem – if possible – boxier, almost like a blueprint made from cast shadows and city lights. They are dramatic, stylized, severely composed portraits of Van Rohe’s buildings in New York City, Ontario and ­Chicago. If you ask, you can also see some earlier portraits of buildings located in Germany, though these are overgrown with ivy. His buildings have become touristic monuments but Glaesner promises a Mies Van der Rohe Renaissance, their design remains timeless.

6., Schmalzhofgasse 13/3

Tue. – Fri., 14:00 – 18:00

(01) 913 44 58

www.galerie-lindner.at