Kurt Schwitters once said that typography can be art under certain circumstances. The exhibition at Galerie Plathner 27 in Hanover takes the approach that "under certain circumstances" this also applies to the automobile.
The works on display are diverse, ranging from classic and digital painting to photography, construction drawings, designs and graphics - what they all have in common is the theme of the automobile. Be it as a whole or as a detail.
The title of the exhibition comes from Walter Gropius' speech on the occasion of the opening of the Bauhaus Week in 1923 and allows several points of view: That of the craftsmanship of the works in the sense of the Bauhaus philosophy of apprentice-journeyman-master, which in fortunate cases can become art, as well as that of the object of a work, which under certain circumstances can be regarded as a work of art.
The works are preferably shown as "diptychs" consisting of two corresponding or contrasting motifs.
An apt example is the cover photo of the exhibition catalog, which could be titled "Ferdinand Porsche meets Walter Gropius". It shows Porsche's 1936 Auto Union Type C racing car design upright in front of Walter Gropius' 1911 glass angle on the Fagus Building. Two technical masterpieces of the twentieth century, masterfully staged by Dieter Osler with the prototype of all cameras, namely his 50x50cm pinhole camera.
This is contrasted with the same perspective in a photo by Manfred Zimmermann. It was the encounter with Erwin Komenda, or rather with Komenda's work, namely the minimalist body of the Auto Union Type C 1936, which was designed entirely for low air resistance, that awakened in Zimmermann the desire to photograph the car in the studio and from his perspective.
Also on display are construction/design plans, detailed technical photographs and much more to demonstrate the engineers' claim to aesthetics.
The exhibition at Galerie 27, Hanover, Plathnerstr. 27 is open from 24.05. to 28.7.2017. Further information is also available on the gallery's website.
