Felix Thürlemann

In exhibitions, illustrated art books, and classrooms, artworks or their photographic reproductions are arranged as calculated ensembles that have their own importance. In this volume, Felix Thurlemann develops a theory of this type of image use, arguing that with each new gathering of images, an art object is reinterpreted. These hyperimages have played a major role in the history of art since the seventeenth century, and the main actors of the art world are all hyperimage creators. In part because the hyperimage is not permanently available, this interplay of images has been largely unexplored. Through case studies organized within three groups of producers-collectors and curators, art historians, and artists-Thurlemann proposes a theory of the hyperimage, explores the semiotic nature of this plural image use, and discusses the arrangement and interpretation of such pictures in order to illuminate the phenomenon of Western image culture from the beginning of the seventeenth century until today. His analysis of the ways in which images are assembled and associated provides a crucial context for the explosive present-day deployment of images on digital devices.

English summary: Immediately after the 'birth' of photography in the year 1839, people began exploring the many technical and aesthetical opportunities made possible by this new medium. This ground-breaking study opens a new chapter in the history of photography by analyzing early photomontages and by overcoming the classic concept of single individual pictures. It is a lavish and surprising book that introduces various models of the construction of reality, realism and objectivity in photography. The book encompasses the whole spectrum of photomontage in the 19th century and includes abundant examples, including many that were previously unpublished. It is an essential companion to the history of 19th century photography. German description: Bereits unmittelbar nach der Geburt der Fotografie 1839 wurden technische und asthetische Moglichkeiten des neuen Mediums in ihrer ganzen Vielfalt erkundet. Indem dieses Buch fruhe Montagebilder auswertet, uberwindet es das klassische Bildkonzept des einfachen Einzelbildes. Die Autoren schaffen ein opulentes und uberraschendes Bilderbuch, das unterschiedliche Modelle der Konstruktion von Realitat, Realismus und Wirklichkeit in der Fotografie vorstellt. Zahlreiche Beispiele reprasentieren das gesamte Spektrum der Fotomontage im 19. Jahrhundert; teilweise werden sie in diesem Buch zum ersten Mal publiziert. Die Autoren schlagen so ein neues Kapitel in der Geschichte der Fotografie auf.

Welches sind die sprachlichen Merkmale, die der Geschichtsschreibung eigentumlich sind, als einem Diskurs, der den Anspruch erhebt, Wahres uber vergangene Ereignisse zu berichten? Wie wirken Erzahlen und Besprechen im historischen Diskurs zusammen? Gregor von Tours' Werke, sowohl die historiographischen als auch die hagiographischen, dienen der Untersuchung als Material im Sinne eines Exempels."