The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York exhibited the retrospective exhibition “To look without fear” in September this year. It is one of MoMA’s first large-scale exhibitions held after the Covid-19 pandemic, and it has also been praised as one of the best exhibitions of the year. About 350 pieces of Tillman’s photography, video, and multimedia installations were on display. This exhibition is based on new academic achievements and the artist’s eight year dialogue. It shows the artist’s profound creativity, philosophy when creating art, and emphasizes the social issues in which he has advocated in his creative career.
Wolfgang Tillmans, born in Germany in 1968, is an influential contemporary photographer whose artworks extend from photography to video, sculpture, and installation, as well as music. His photographic subjects range from landscapes, still lifes, to streetscapes and portraits. The artist uses his own perspective of viewing to give value to things. In his early days, Tillmans used a photocopier to copy various photographs. By 1988, he had his first camera. During that time, he was young, full of uncertainty, and interested in nightlife, so he began to record scenes of nightlife. He submitted those photographs to several magazines, and his work gradually became known. In 1990, Tillmans travelled to the UK to study at Bournemouth University and settled in London after completing his studies. During that year, he came out with snapshots of youth, clubs, and LGBT culture. He gained a lot of attention in the UK with a 1993 photoshoot he published in fashion magazine i-D, famously featuring two of his friends wearing only stylish open trench coats and sitting on a branch. He also held his first solo exhibition at the gallery.
In addition to his portraits, Wolfgang Tillmans also photographed a variety of different subjects such as social movements, astronomical phenomena, architecture, and even still lifes on windowsills. The artist accurately recorded what he saw everyday as he believed nothing in his world was too small to attract his attention. For Tillmans, human beings, especially their body parts, have always been the center of his artworks. In 2000, what he photographed in London Underground was not the face of the passengers, but hands sticking out of their cuffs, or single body parts. When he photographed the Black Lives Matter protests in New York, it wasn’t the protestors themselves who were filmed, but their palms, which were meticulously recorded. Tillmans has tried every imaginable type of photography, constantly explorning new breakthroughs. He believes that the role of the artist is to act as a “megaphone” in society, and his approach is to build connections and raise awareness of issues.
For the layout of the exhibition, the photographer abandoned the usual techniques/methods of displaying artworks, trying to connect his photos with the exhibition space. The works are arranged on the walls and tables in different ways, presented in the form of photocopies, black and white photos, color photos, as well as projections. Some works are in pages of newspapers and magazines. They are arranged around the exhibition venue; some are displayed in the gap between the emergency exit and venue, orr next to the fire extinguisher. Most of the works on the walls are not framed, instead, they are nailed to the walls with slender nails, or fixed with small tape so that it suspends our feelings for the time being and may change at anytime. The way the exhibition is presented reflects the artist’s concept of vision. He believes that the arrangement of the installation reflects his own way of viewing. It is a way for the artist to perceive the environment as well as the way he wants to live. In order to maintain the exhibition format that Tillmans likes, there is no text on the walls of the exhibition hall and the names of the works and few brief introductions of the works are all in a booklet.
Wolfgang Tillmans was awarded the Turner Prize in 2000, the Hasselblad Award in 2015, and was selected as a member of the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) in 2017. He was also appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors in 2019. In 2017, he held his first solo exhibition “Wolfgang Tillmans: 2017” at Tate Modern, UK. His works have been collected in important institutions such as the Art Institute of Chicago, The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), and the Kunstmuseum Basel.
Wolfgang Tillmans: To look without fear
Date: 2022.9.12-2023.1.1.
Venue：MoMA, New York
Photo 1：Wolfgang Tillmans, blue self–portrait shadow, 2020 © Wolfgang Tillmans
Photo 2 left：Wolfgang Tillmans,Freischwimmer 230, 2012 © Wolfgang Tillmans
Photo 2 right 1：Wolfgang Tillmans, Freischwimmer 26, 2003 © Wolfgang Tillmans
Photo 2 right 2：Wolfgang Tillmans, wake, 2001 © Wolfgang Tillmans
Photo 2 right 3：Wolfgang Tillmans, Paper Drop Novo, 2022 © Wolfgang Tillmans
Photo 2 right bottom：Wolfgang Tillmans, Icestorm, 2001 © Wolfgang Tillmans
