The book presents an overview of the work of Swiss photographer Hans Danuser over the last 35 years and places it in wider artistic and social contexts.
At the end of the 1970s Danuser substantially contributed to the “reinvention” of photography as an artistic medium and shaped its development through the myriad possibilities of the analogue darkroom. In 1980 Danuser began his breakthrough cycle “IN VIVO,” whose 93 black-and-white photos address taboos then prevailing in the research and power centers of industrial society in Europe and the USA prior to the fall of the Berlin Wall, the break-up of power blocs and the rise of globalization.
Topics that influence and transform society have been the focus of Danuser’s subsequent large-format, and often site-specific installation works. With an emphasis on content and media-specific research, Danuser’s photos furthermore examine light in all its subtle nuances—from black to white, its deep shadows and transitional gray areas.
Hans Danuser hones in on intrinsic systems, those structures that influence people and their actions. The Party is Over series still employs the documentary format in order to address this. With the In Vivo series, he established his formal independence and found his thematic leitmotifs. The image of a frozen embryo is featured towards the end of the series. It marks the pivotal mo- ment in his work and heralds the beginning of the Frozen Embryo series, as well as his transition to the systematic deconstruction of photography’s established visual tradition. –Lynn Kost
Co-published with Bündner Kunstmuseum Chur and Steidl.
Born in 1953 in Chur, Hans Danuser is a pioneer of contemporary Swiss photography. He became internationally renowned through his series “IN VIVO” (1980–89), and his work is held in collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Kunsthaus Zürich and Fotomuseum Winterthur. Danuser is a visiting professor at ETH Zurich and has lectured widely at institutions including the Academy of Fine Arts in Leipzig and Humboldt University in Berlin.
Hans Danuser: Darkrooms of Photography
Text by Stephen Kunz, Urs Stahel, Jörg Scheller, Philip Ursprung, et al
Book Design: Hanna Williamson-Koller, Zurich
232 pages
150 images
8 x 12.75in. / 24 x 31.5 cm
Hardback
US$ 55.00 / € 48.00
ISBN 978-3-95829-337-3
