The Phenomenon Grossmann Encounters Artistic Photography

Rudolf Gross mann (1882- 1941) was a renowned painter and graphic artist, and a feared chronicler on account of his rather pointed writings. He drew life in the big city in portraits, and cafe and street scenes in a richly facetted manner; during the 1910s and 1920s, he published texts and illustrations in magazines such as Simplicissimus, and also illustrated books for authors, among them Joachim Ringelnatz and Erich Kae stner. Today, Rudolf Gross mann is known only among those with a keen interest and expertise in the 1920s. Based on the question of why he has largely been forgotten, the exhibition and book seize the opportunity to initiate a dialogue between his work and recent photographic works by contemporary artists. His paintings and graphic oeuvre from the collection of the Museum fue r Neue Kunst Freiburg will be juxtaposed with contemporary photographic positions. It is Rudolf Gross mann's portrait drawings in particular that bear a certain photographic aspect, and thus can be combined in a meaningful way with the various works, for instance, by Wolfgang Tillmans, Sven Johne, Nan Goldin, and Gise le Freund and others.