Contributions to a History of Photography in Austria, volume 21

Edited by Monika Faber for Photoinstitut Bonartes, Vienna, and Walter Moser for the Photographic Collection of the Albertina, Vienna

In the late 19th century, ethnology and physical anthropology were dominated by an imperative to collect data of indigenous cultures in all regions of the world that now seems fanatical. The aim was to identify ‘typical characteristics’ of non-Europeans considered to represent earlier stages of mankind that would allow to trace back the human lineage. Against the colonial expansion at the time, they were not considered capable of survival. For the Austrian researcher couple Emma and Felix von Luschan, photography played a key role in these “salvage” activities. This volume examines the production conditions of these photographs in the context of expeditions, ethnological expositions, exchanges among scholars, and acquisitions in local commercial studios. First and foremost, however, the exhibition is devoted to the life histories of a select number of individuals from distant lands who, thus far, had been perceived merely as anonymous representatives of a certain ‘type’. Finally, the way Emma and Felix von Luschan chose to portray themselves in their photographs sheds new light on the relationship between the researcher and the researched.

Katarina Matiasek is a curator at Photoinstitut Bonartes, Vienna.