SK Stiftung Kultur, Cologne : Thomas Struth - Family Life

The Photographische Sammlung Köln presents the Family Life exhibition and book project by Thomas Struth. Parallel to other topics, Thomas Struth has frequently returned over the years since the 1980s to the subject of individual and group portraits. The image of the family, which has played an important role in art for centuries, is being placed in the focus of his photographic reflection.

With a precise regard for the personalities as well as their individual relationships, Struth’s family portraits are remarkable for the directness of the subjects. Those portrayed provide considerable information about themselves and their existential orientations, the wealth of relationships to each other and the home or work environments in which they were photographed. Thomas Struth introduces families whom he has known as friends or through work for years, as well as some to whom he developed a spontaneous, direct contact.

At the same time the photographs were taken in international cultural circles, such as Scotland, England, Japan, Italy, Germany, China, America and Peru. They indicate the universal significance of the family as a life form which moulds human beings and is furthermore an important unit in society, conveying values, basic attitudes and perspectives. How much emphasis is placed on the importance of individual identity – proximity and distance – is depicted in the differing image formats chosen by Struth.

The layout of the exhibits has been conceived especially by Thomas Struth for the relevant rooms. The sequencing, the spaces between them, the juxtaposition and the combination of the images are elements which take centre stage. They enable us to view the family life of varying groups and generations as a subtle interplay and as a point of reference.

The exhibition comprises ca. 30 mostly large-format exhibits and will be accompanied by a catalogue. The catalogue includes text by Gabriele Conrath-Scholl, American author and journalist Eric Konigsberg and Thomas Struth and is published by Schirmer/Mosel Verlag. A copy can be purchased for € 49,80.

Thomas Struth: Familienleben
10 January until 20 April 2008
Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur
Im Mediapark 7, 50670 Cologne