Allan Sekula
Performance under Working Conditions
Publication to the exhibition from May to August 2003.
Ed. by Sabine Breitwieser. Preface by Dietrich Karner. Interview with Allan Sekula by Benjamin H. D. Buchloh. Texts by Sabine Breitwieser and Allan Sekula.
Allan Sekula's works are among the most discussed in the field of contemporary art. In his combination of photography and text, he explored the issue of documentary forms, which particularly was of great relevance at his time. In addition, his works make controversial contributions to then and now current debates on economic, social, and cultural globalization. Only when these two aspects are viewed together do the themes dealt with by Allan Sekula fully disclose themselves. This publication gives an overview ranging from early performances and actions carried out in the context of the anti-Vietnam movement, to works focusing on working worlds, to his at then time most recent works, dealing with international shipping. Particular attention is paid to an aspect of Sekula's œuvre that is often underestimated: his interest in the theatrical, which acts as a counterbalance to the documentary side of his work, and brings in other elements of humor and subtle irony. Many of Sekula's texts had been published for the first time in German translation.