Unstoppable Self-Movements at the Diesel Power Plant Cottbus: GDR Photography as a Space of Freedom
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Photography as Space of Freedom: Unstoppable Self-Movements in Cottbus
The Brandenburg State Museum for Modern Art at the Diesel Power Plant Cottbus is dedicated to the exhibition Unstoppable Self-Movements. Art with Photography in the GDR, focusing on an experimental image culture of the 1980s. At its core is an artistic practice that understands photography not as neutral documentation, but as material for self-assertion, self-expansion, and artistic transgression.
Another Photography of the GDR
In the tightly regulated society of the GDR, artists from various disciplines developed unique forms of another kind of photography and photography from below. Their works moved away from journalistic-documentary understandings of images and examined the very conditions of the medium itself. Photography became an artistic gesture, a space of thought, and an instrument through which new realities could be imagined.
Between Action, Performance, and Installation
The exhibition presents positions in which photography is combined with action, performance, intervention, body art, and installation. Staging, serial arrangement, montage, and poetic alienation expand the classical image space. This creates a tension-filled exhibition atmosphere, where the photo not only depicts something but also questions perception, memory, and social reality.
Artistic Self-Assertion in the Image
Works are on display from artists such as Claus Bach, Tina Bara, Micha Brendel, Kurt Buchwald, Klaus Elle, Irene Fischer, Thomas Florschuetz, Else Gabriel, Rainer Görß, Klaus Hähner-Springmühl, Matthias Leupold, Olaf Martens, Cornelia Schleime, Erasmus Schröter, and Gabriele Stötzer. Their different visual languages make visible how a subculturally influenced art asserted itself against the conventions of official cultural operations.
A striking example is Kurt Buchwald's three-part tableau A Day in East Berlin from 1986, featuring 63 silver gelatin prints mounted on hardboard. Serial order, materiality, and repetition transform the photographic capture into a complex experiential space. The examination of the work thus focuses not only on the motif but also on the method of production and the political conditions of seeing.
Art-Historical Contextualization and Curation
The exhibition developed by Christoph Tannert as an external curator brings attention to a relatively underrepresented aspect of East German art history. Art with photography represents an interdisciplinary practice that connects internationally with the postmodern questioning of the claim to photographic truth. In the specific context of the GDR, this aesthetic openness acquired a special subversive power.
An Art Experience for Curious Eyes
The aesthetic experience of this exhibition arises from the interplay of documentary impression, conscious alienation, and performative energy. Photographic series, experimental sequences, and media transitions open a space for cultural education and independent interpretation. Anyone interested in GDR art, photo art, image politics, and the history of artistic freedom will experience a concentrated and visually compelling landscape of works here.
Conclusion: Seeing Photography Anew
Unstoppable Self-Movements offers a nuanced view of an independent art of the late GDR that developed new image spaces from societal limitations. The exhibition connects art-historical insights with immediate aesthetic experiences and invites visitors to rediscover the political and poetic power of photographic media. A visit to the Diesel Power Plant Cottbus enriches any engagement with East German art history and contemporary image culture.
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