To mark the centenary of Surrealism, the Museum für Fotografie in Berlin presents an overview of the works of Max Ernst and their correspondences with the photographic medium.

Max Ernst (1891-1976) is a key figure in Dadaism and Surrealism. His works transcended genres, blending dream and reality through a wide variety of styles and techniques. This pioneer of the 20th-century avant-garde was deeply affected by the historical upheavals between the two World Wars, the concentration camps, and the artistic movements. He began his exploratory work in reaction to the horrors of the First World War, before being forced into exile during the Second, considered an "undesirable alien." Between several forced trips back and forth, this native of Brühl, Germany, who had passed through New York and Sedona, Arizona, to escape Nazism, settled in France, first in Paris, then in the Loire Valley and the Var region. His encounter with André Breton, the author of the Surrealist Manifesto, was pivotal. His subsequent friendships would be just as important, such as those with Paul Éluard, Alberto Giacometti, Marcel Duchamp, Joan Miró and so many others.

EXPLORER OF FORMS AND TECHNIQUES

This jack-of-all-trades with a free and singular personality practices painting, drawing and sculpture, signs texts and collage novels, invents the technique of frottage, develops that of grattage, creates decalcomanias and is inspired by the dripping of Jackson Pollock.
The Museum für Fotografie (Museum of Photography) in Berlin offers an interesting glimpse into the Würth collection of the German billionaire and patron of the arts Reinhold Würth. This is the first exhibition at to search for points of intersection between his work and the photographic medium "Nearly 270 works are thus brought to light, including paper, paintings, photographs, photograms, collages and illustrated books by his surrealist contemporaries.
The exhibition's title, "FOTOGAGA," is a nod to a series of works by Hans Arp and Max Ernst called "FaTaGaGa" (FAbrication de TAbleaux GArantis GAzométriques – Fabrication of Guaranteed Gazometric Panels). These collaborative collages, first exhibited in Cologne in 1920, rejected the artistic conventions of the time. Accused of "obscenity," the exhibition was censored. The Museum für Fotografie is notably presenting one of these photocollages in which the two artists evoke their friendship.

FREE THE WORLD AND THE IMAGINATION

The range of selected works is thus presented in both a contemporary and historical context, highlighting this constant attraction to experimentation and creative play with chance. Snapshots, scientific photographs, and images of war machines… Max Ernst's inspirations were manifold.
« He used photographic reproduction techniques to increase the visual impact of his works: enlargements allowed his small-format collages to compete with paintings in exhibitions; the production of photographic postcards of the collages allowed for quick and easy distribution of the works; and the inversion of tonal values ​​in a photogram reinforced the effect of his frottages. », explains the Museum für Photography.
Like his fellow Surrealists, Max Ernst always sought to express what lies hidden behind ordinary, visible reality, opening onto a fantastical realm of imagination. The photographic medium, then in flux, offered fertile ground for exploring both forgotten 19th-century techniques and new photosensitive materials.

IN FRONT OF AND BEHIND THE LENS

The exhibition complements all these points of intersection with photographic portraits of Max Ernst. For he is also known for being one of the most photographed artists of the 20th century. While he posed for renowned photographers (Berenice Abbott, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Man Ray, Lee Miller, Irving Penn…), he also explored the playful potential of photo booths.
This erudite artist, married successively to Luise Straus-Ernst (who died at Auschwitz), Marie-Berthe Aurenche, Peggy Guggenheim, and Dorothea Tanning, with whom he spent his final years, constantly reinvented himself. His dreamlike and metaphysical work continues to influence the evolution of modern and contemporary art.

“FOTOGAGA: MAX ERNST AND PHOTOGRAPHY” MUSEUM FÜR FOTOGRAFIE
JEBENSSTRASSE 2, BERLIN (GERMANY)
FROM OCTOBER 18, 2024 TO APRIL 27, 2025
SMB.MUSEUM