Technical Images A Provisional History at Luma Arles
As part of an ambitious program of largescale exhibitions, the Luma Foundation in Arles presents a substantial project aimed at exploring the dense and complex history of mechanically reproduced imagery, from the mid-19th century to the present. Directed and curated by visual artist and theorist Walead Beshty.
What is a “technical image”? According to Czech-born philosopher and media theorist Vilém Flusser (1920-1991), the term describes a variety of mechanically-aided pictures, including the visual technologies specific to photography, film, and video. The invention of photography, in particular, marks a turning point in the development of such technical imagery: a break in history, claims Flusser, comparable only “to that other historical break constituted by the invention of linear writing.”
Through a selection of more than 300 works and objects – photographs, books, magazines and documents, paintings, videos, collages, and installations – visual artist and theorist Walead Beshty attempts to retrace the history and development of image production and reception, from the rise of industrialization to the advent of the digital: a look backwards that is more necessary than ever today in order to fully understand our visually packed, optically schizophrenic present. “Picture Industry,” on view at Luma Arles until 6 January 2019, is an encyclopedic show incorporating imagery associated with a wide array of sources and cultural fields, from the natural sciences and criminology to genetics, journalism, medicine, communications theory, and the fine arts. As the latest iteration of a large-scale project conducted by Beshty in different formats and in various locations over the past ten years, the exhibition reveals how technical images operate, highlighting the pivotal role they play in the international political landscape. The show includes works by Ericka Beckman, Lynda Benglis, Stan Douglas, Harun Farocki, Isa Genzken, Thomas Hirschhorn, Arthur Jafa, Jean-Luc Moulène, Seth Price and Eileen Quinlan, just to name a few of the artists. The project is accompanied and broadened by a publication issued by Luma and JRP Ringier, which brings together a wide selection of essays, interviews and archival documents.
“Picture Industry: A Provisional History of the Technical Image, 1844-2018.” Luma Arles. Through January 6, 2019.