Unrestrained Self-Movements in the Diesel Power Plant Cottbus: Photography as the Art of Freedom
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Unrestrained Self-Movements: Photography as Artistic Transgression in the GDR
On August 30, 2026, an exhibition opens at the Brandenburg State Museum for Modern Art in the Diesel Power Plant Cottbus that sharpens the view of photography in the GDR anew. Unrestrained Self-Movements. Art with Photography in the GDR gathers positions that understand photography not merely as a document but as an independent artistic stance. The exhibition was developed with works from numerous artists of the GDR underground and non-state-supported art; the concept comes from Christoph Tannert as an external curator. ([cottbus-tourismus.de](https://cottbus-tourismus.de/de/sommer/cottbus-erleben/veranstaltungskalender/artikel-ungebremste_selbstbewegungen_kunst_mit_fotografie_in_der_ddr-0.html))
Photography as Idea, Not as Image
The exhibition text describes a different photography of the GDR, a bottom-up photography that drew from subcultural developments and became visible in privately produced photo portfolios and semi-legal magazines. Instead of journalistic documentation, reflection, action, performance, and intervention move to the center. This is where its historical weight lies: these works consider the conditions of their emergence and transform the photographic gaze into an aesthetic statement. ([cottbus-tourismus.de](https://cottbus-tourismus.de/de/sommer/cottbus-erleben/veranstaltungskalender/artikel-ungebremste_selbstbewegungen_kunst_mit_fotografie_in_der_ddr-0.html))
A Panorama of Artistic Self-Assertion
With works by Claus Bach, Tina Bara, Micha Brendel, Kurt Buchwald, Klaus Elle, Irene Fischer, Thomas Florschuetz, Else Gabriel, Rainer Görß, Klaus Hähner-Springmühl, Erich-Wolfgang Hartzsch, Frank Herrmann, Bernd Hiepe, Wolf Kahlen, Stefan Kayser, York der Knoefel, Matthias Leupold, Lieberknecht/Stoy, Olaf Martens, Maix Mayer, Florian Merkel, Erhard Monden, Christoph Sandig, Cornelia Schleime, Erasmus Schröter, Andreas Seeliger, Heike Stephan, and Gabriele Stötzer, a multifaceted panorama of artistic self-assertion unfolds. The exhibition shows how radically these image languages deal with body, space, series, and process and how strongly they are shaped by liberation, self-expansion, and transgression. ([cottbus-tourismus.de](https://cottbus-tourismus.de/de/sommer/cottbus-erleben/veranstaltungskalender/artikel-ungebremste_selbstbewegungen_kunst_mit_fotografie_in_der_ddr-0.html))
Exhibition Atmosphere in the Diesel Power Plant
The Diesel Power Plant Cottbus provides the right setting for this examination of artworks: a place with a clear museum structure where photographs, documents, and artistic concepts can be accessed with concentrated attention. The house is open from Tuesday to Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; the exhibition rooms, as well as the event hall and the museum studio, are largely accessible via elevators. The art mediation of the BLMK also emphasizes the museum educational perspective with courses and offerings that focus on experiencing originals, materials, and techniques. ([blmk.de](https://www.blmk.de/veranstaltungsort/ilb-potsdam/?utm_source=openai))
Why This Exhibition Matters Today
Unrestrained Self-Movements is more than a historical art review. The exhibition opens a space where the aesthetic experience of GDR photography connects with questions of freedom, individuality, and artistic autonomy. For art enthusiasts, it creates a precise, inspiring art experience that links the history of photography, the culture of the 1980s, and the inner logic of experimental image production. Those who visit the exhibition will experience a compelling journey into a chapter of German art history that continues to resonate today. A visit to the BLMK is particularly worthwhile for anyone wishing to discover photography as a lively, resistant, and mentally agile art form. ([cottbus-tourismus.de](https://cottbus-tourismus.de/de/sommer/cottbus-erleben/veranstaltungskalender/artikel-ungebremste_selbstbewegungen_kunst_mit_fotografie_in_der_ddr-0.html))
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