Gregor Graf draws the
viewer's gaze
to the city of Linz completely purged of signs. With purposely
intentional retouching, he emphasizes the architectonic and structural
features of the city in
an extreme way. The streets seem unreal, culturally interchangeable and
alien. They call for a new kind of perception
beyond the realm of our familiar experiences and patterns. At the same time,
though, these
pictures open up a view of architecture that is otherwise blocked and
"clarified" spatial systems.
Text long:
Borderline urban spaces in Linz,
major thoroughfares leading in and out of the city, lined with
buildings from the 50s to the 80s. Districts formerly located on the
periphery that are today squeezed in between the city´s
historical centre and the frayed suburban and industrial zones lying on
its outskirts. These are the motifs of the four photographic works in
Gregor Graf´s hidden town - verborgene Stadt series.The "stars"
in these photos are are the buildings on Dinghofer, Dametz and Mozart
Streets. Back in the 60s this streets were incorporated into a traffic
concept that was even then reguarded as only an interim solution to get
the rising number of vehicles in the city centre under control.
Buildings were torn down, whole rows of houses were shifted and
existing structures were were altered. These intermediaryregions became
spaces dedicated efficient movement, filled with all the traffic lights
and signage systems that entails.
The city as living space is today no
longer shaped by the individuals who inhabit it. At the textural level
- with words, symbols, logos, directional and traffic signs, commands
and prohibitions-the only elements allowed are those that serve the end
of law or consumption. Free expression, such as graffiti or the
unauthorized hanging of posters in the public space is punishable by
law. The real city is increasingly becoming a personality-drained world
of corporationsand branding, coupled with the proliferation of rigorous
regulations dictating how individuals are expected to behave. Modernism
tried to rid architecture of ornament-advertisingand directional
systems have now brought it back, under a new guise and with a new
function. City centres have evolved into "literary" spaces. New
technical possibilities (glass, large print, tickers, digital text
production technologies, mega displays, transparent buildings) turn
buildings facades into another medium for conveying nwes, with whole
buildings becoming there own logo.
For hidden town - verborgene Stadt
Gregor Graf applied a complicated retouching process to remove all
graphic elements from his photographic images. They appear as spaces
void of signs, making them seem unreal, and cultural interchangable. At
the same time, they offer an undisguised view of the architectur and at
the clarified spacial systems.The digital editing involved traffic
signage and graphics. Signs of wear and tear, such as patina or
weathering, and things that hint at human usage were deliberately left
unaltered. But the cultural and communicative information we are
accustomedto seeing has disappeared. An apperantly virtualized space
emerges, which we are unable to reconcile with our normal visual
experience. How is a city without signs, without visual regulations,
without guiding graphics, perceived? How do we move through this urban
construct? Do we still recognize these (non) places?
Text by Gregor Graf. Translated from German by Jennifer Taylor - Gaida
