Chicago Installation

Wolfgang Tillmans’s photographic installations— in conjunction with the magazines, artist’s books, and postcards that disseminate his work—challenge conventional ideas of photography and the way it is exhibited. Tillmans often juxtaposes unframed images of varying sizes and formats, placing inkjet prints alongside glossy chromogenic prints, and recombining material from prior installations with new work. As the artist explained, “half my work is in the photograph, and half is in the installation.” This configuration, designed specifically for the Art Institute, presents a selection of images taken between 1993 and 2003, intermingling ephemeral moments of contemporary life with abstract studies of surface textures. Tillmans subverts traditional photographic hierarchies by focusing on complex interrelationships between images and the materiality of photographic objects. In many respects, the artist chooses to spatialize the aesthetic of a magazine or book layout on the wall.