Generative Photography at Bielefeld Kunsthaus

Gottfried Jäger, Hein Gravenhorst, Kilian Breier and Pierre Cordier introduced the art world to the concept of generative photography with this eponymous exhibit at Bielefeld Kunsthaus. Rather than thinking about photography as a mirror of the real world, Jäger’s generative photography was non-representational. This abstract work showcased the creative, yet scientific, experimentation possible with the device. According to art critic Georg Bak: “Photomechanical transformations, chemigrams, luminograms and pinhole structures presented a non-representational, systematic-constructive photographic visual language.” While an important movement in its own right, generative photography also served as critical stepping stone in the digitization of art. Herbert Franke explains how the generative processes used by Gravenhorst and Jäger “are results of a generative photography created in programmed working stages. From here it is but a step to electronic automation and so to the computer.”