The notion of “landscape“ has fundamentally changed during the 20th century. Starting from the aesthetic and visual construction of a picturesque landscape as opposed to a natural one, landscapes today are man-made nature and comprise cultural and natural spaces at the same time. Photographs of the Earth as seen from space became possible during the 1960s and massively changed the way mankind looked at its own planet and its landscapes. Artists have reflected intensively on this new situation and rediscovered the field. This has lead to Land Art, new urban photography, art in public spaces, Street Art and new forms of dealing with the subject of nature in general.
European and North-American Land and Earth Art are represented in the collection of the Ludwig Forum by prominent artists like Richard Long, Walter de Maria, Michael Heizer and especially Robert Smithson. They stand in contrast to the singular positions of Alan Sonfist and Gordon Matta-Clark. Photographs of urban structures by William Wegman, Wilhelm Schürmann, Irmel Kamp-Bandau and Algirdas Milleris as well as Klaus Paier’s photographs of his own graffiti in the city of Aachen all focus on urban phenomena.
Curated by: Dr. Brigitte Franzen
