Camouflages. Joan Fontcuberta

Since the 1980s, Fontcuberta has been developing photographic projects focused on reflecting on the fragile status of truth attributed to photography from different spheres. such as science, journalism or everyday life. Camouflages is an anthological exhibition which, without being exhaustive, presents seven of the photographer's main projectsdeveloped between 1984 and 2002. In all of them is present, in one way or another, the photographic camouflage : the ambiguity of photography that always oscillates between information and fiction.
 

Herbarium (1984) [1], the oldest of the projects in Camouflages, presents a collection of singular plants, photographed in close-up on a neutral background. In its style, Herbarium follows the model of the scientific repertoires of the beginning of the century, and in particular the project of Karl Blossfeldt, who in the first decades of the 20th century created an extensive herbarium, with close-ups of plants in surprising shapes, very similar to the aesthetics of art nouveau then in vogue. On this model, Fontcuberta develops a parodic herbarium, which pays homage to those of Blossfeldt.

Fauna (1987)[2], made in collaboration with Pere Formiguera, tells the story of Professor Peter Ameinsenhaufen, a scientist who, at the beginning of the 20th century, undertook a search for hybrids and genetic mutations. The result is an extensive zoological repertoire, of which documents, photographs and stuffed animals are presented here, giving an idea of Ameisenhaufen's discoveries, such as the Corcopithecus icarocornu, a long-tailed ape with large wings found in the Amazon jungle, which hunts thanks to the powerful horn on the top of its head.

Sputnik (1997)[3], presents the story of Ivan Istochnikov, a Soviet astronaut who disappeared after the failure of his mission in 1968. Although he was a celebrated figure at the time, the USSR did not want to acknowledge the failure of his mission, and erased Istochnikov from the archives, relegating him to oblivion. Only the appearance of private documents after the fall of the Wall has made it possible to reconstruct the story of this character, through photographs, letters and objects, which show the heroism and public importance that Soviet astronauts played in the years of the Cold War.

Constellations (1993)[4], the ambiguity of scientific images has a parodic continuation in this series. In Constellations the images show what appear to be a series of views of constellations, whose data are indicated in the titles, which provide exact information about the place and time at which the images were taken.

The artist and photography (1995)[5], aims to recover unknown works by some of the great masters of art of the last century (Picasso, Miró, Dalí and Tàpies), to show their relationship with the photographic medium. Thus, it presents direct photographs, photograms, photo collages and other works that show how photography has served as a creative stimulus for many of the great creators of the twentieth century.

Camouflages (2009) [6], consisting of six variations on The gentleman with his hand on his chest. In each of them, a part of El Greco's work is discreetly replaced by a member of Joan Fontcuberta's own body, which thus appears camouflaged inside the classical portrait. His theme, one could say, is the changing identity of the artist, whose activity is divided into the various tasks of which the previous projects speak. A fragmentation that also translates into the presentation of this series, not as a coherent whole in a specific room, but dispersed in different parts of the museum, which in principle would not correspond to it.

Orogenesis (2002)[7], extends the problems of authorship, veracity and construction to the digital era. Fontcuberta resorts directly to artifice: thanks to a computer program he generates fictitious landscapes that respond to the clichés of romantic aesthetics. The Museo Universidad de Navarra houses a complete series of these landscapes made from an album, of military origin, of views of Gibraltar belonging to the program Tender Puentes.

JOAN FONTCUBERTA

In addition to his artistic work, Joan Fontcuberta (Barcelona, 1955) has developed an artistic career. multidisciplinary activity in the world of photography like teacher, critic, historian and exhibition curator. In 1998, the Spanish Ministry of Culture awarded him with the National Photography Award and in 2011 the National Essay Award. In 2013 Joan Fontcuberta received the Hasselblad Foundation Award which recognizes one of the most inventive contemporary photographers, whose trajectory of constant investigation of the photographic medium spans four decades. His work is distinguished by an original and playful conceptual approach that explores photographic conventions, systems of representation and regimes of truth. Fontcuberta questions the concepts of science and fiction in interdisciplinary projects that go beyond the limits of the museum space. 

His creative work, which deals with the conflicts between nature, technology, photography and truth, has been the subject of personal exhibitions at the MoMA, New York (1988)and the Musée Cantini, Marseille (1990); Musée Cantini, Marseille (1990)and the Art Institute, Chicago (1990) ; the MNAC, Barcelona (1999); the Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Rome (2001); Aperture Foundationin New York (2006); FOAM FotografiemuseumAmsterdam (2010); Casa de la Moneda, Bogota (2011), among many others.

His works are in collections such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), San Francisco MoMA, National Gallery of Art (Ottawa), Musée d'Art Contemporain- Centre Georges Pompidou (Paris), Maison Européenne de la Photographie (Paris), Stedelijk Museum (Amsterdam), MACBA (Barcelona) and the Museo de la Universidad de Navarra. 

LECTURE BY JOAN FONTCUBERTA

Photographer Joan Fontcuberta, author of the exhibition Camouflageswill give a lecture on his work for the Museo Universidad de Navarra on April 12 at 12 noon.

Further information

WORKSHOP "AN EXPERIMENT WITH TIME".

An experiment with time is a workshop related to the exhibition Camouflages by Joan Fontcuberta, developed by the educational area of the Museum in collaboration with the Planetarium of Pamplona and the future Science Museum of the University of Navarra. It is aimed at primary, secondary and high school students. It will take place every Wednesday during the exhibition period. It will begin at 4.30 pm at the Museum and will end with a projection of constellations at the Pamplona Planetarium at 6.30 pm.

More information: Download pdf

EXHIBITION CATALOGS

Camouflages, Joan Fontcuberta Fontcuberta's exhibition is completed with this catalog that describes the projects that make up the exhibition. The artist dialogues with profound ideas of modern times: the strength of the discourses that determine our view of the world, the place of the artist in society, and the function of humor in the face of authority. Price: 30 ac On sale at the Museum store or on request by sending an email to tiendamuseo@unav.es Limited number of copies (only 300 units)

Orogenesis, Joan Fontcuberta On sale in store and online

SOME OF THE WORKS IN THE EXHIBITION

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

MACBA
la Caixa" Welfare Projects
Science Museum of the University of Navarra
Pamplona Planetarium
Dr. Romero Nieto Foundation
Fermín Alvira
Javier Landa