Archive Franz Göttfried in Graz
From St. Lambrecht, farmer Franz Göttfried (1903–1980) began photographing the people around him. Between the 1920s and 1930s, he took portraits of them on public holidays, at work or in everyday situations. After a severe stroke of fate in the early 1970s, Göttfried destroyed the majority of his photographs; around 500 glass negatives in 9 × 12 cm format are still preserved and have survived in his home.
From there, artist Simon Baptist has been working on processing the photographic estate since 2020 and has already realized several scientific and artistic projects related to the collection.
Based on the archive material, he examines the social structures of the site and its history. His work on the archive primarily involves the local population. Family members of the people portrayed by Göttfried become the protagonists of his films. The place is mobilized and the people become part of the project. His video installations become meeting places, a passage behind the market square or a place of remembrance.
Excerpts from the historical images are presented together with the video works in the Hofgalerie.
Exhibition in cooperation with FOTOHOF>ARCHIV.
>Universalmuseum Joanneum | Museum für Geschichte | Sackstraße 16 | 8010 Graz | Austria
Book Launch
>Simon Baptist in conversation with Kurt Kaindl and Christina Natlacen
>24.06.25, 6 pm
>Camera Austria | Lendkai 1 | 8020 Graz | Austria