Annette Kelm Erika Mann, Stoffel fliegt übers Meer, 1938, Herold Verlag R. & E. Lenk, Stuttgart, Einbandgestaltung Richard Hallgarten, 2019
Archival pigment print
70 x 52,5 cm (unframed)
71,4 x 53,9 x 4 cm (framed)
71,4 x 53,9 x 4 cm (framed)
Edition of 6
The Book series depicts copies of publications that were condemned as "un-German", banned and in many cases publicly burned by the National Socialists in 1933. Set against a bright and evenly light white surface and placed in the center of the composition, Annette Kelm’s photographs of books can appear like portraits. In a matter-of-fact style, the photographs from the series appear to imbue these books with the dignity of a historical witness. The images honor the historical significance of these objects as "survivors", drawing attention to the special role of objects in the formation of a society’s collective memory, after the disappearance of contemporaneous witnesses. In addition to authors such as Else Lasker Schüler, Erich Kästner, and Stefan Zweig, Kelm's photographs also make lesser-known authors visible and show that even children's books were subject to censorship.
COLLECTIONS:
Sammlung zeitgenössischer Kunst der Bundesrepublik Deutschland
Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg
Kunsthalle zu Kiel
MUDAM Luxembourg
Sprengel Museum Hannover
NS_Dokumentationszentrum, München
Stiftung Hamburger Kunstsammlungen, Hamburg
COLLECTIONS:
Sammlung zeitgenössischer Kunst der Bundesrepublik Deutschland
Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg
Kunsthalle zu Kiel
MUDAM Luxembourg
Sprengel Museum Hannover
NS_Dokumentationszentrum, München
Stiftung Hamburger Kunstsammlungen, Hamburg