30 October 2016 until 19 February 2017
Stadthaus Ulm (small exhibition rooms) (link)
Photographs by: Timm Rautert (link)
Project management: Tommi Brem
Curators: Tommi Brem & Sandro Parrotta (link)
Installation shot: Dr. Sabine Presuhn
In 1974, Timm Rautert travelled to Pennsylvania, USA, to photograph the Amish. In the accompanying catalogue (published by Steidl in 2011), he says about his experience: “I keep my distance – the longer I stay there, the stranger everything seems to me.” From a distance, that’s how we are forced to observe the Amish, whose way of life is too often romanticized as decorative calendar sheets. Rautert’s photographs however grant a glimpse into the world of the Amish, a glimpse that is characterized by authenticity and intimacy – despite the distance he kept out of respect for these people.
The Timm Rautert exhibition was presented to accompany “The Longing For Colour”, an exhibition of Amish Quilts from the Schlumberger Collection, which includes artefacts from the past 150 years, pieces that were created as household items intended for daily use.
The book is highly recommened, not only for the photographs, but for the accompanying text: (link)