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1/6/2006

PhotoEspana 2006

PHotoEspana, Madrid

The Festival’s ninth edition will be inaugurated June 1st PHotoEspana 2006 explores the relationships between nature and culture from the viewpoint of 375 photographers and visual artists.

PHE06 will welcome 62 exhibitions - 25 in the Official Section and 37 in the Off Festival - that present works by artists and creators of 33 different nationalities.

Karl Blossfeldt, Olafur Eliasson, Joel Sternfeld, Ramo'n Masats and Cristo'bal Hara are some of the leading figures participating in this edition.

Nature, the central theme of PHotoEspana 2006, is studied in two major facets: the relationship between nature and culture and new interpretations of landscape art.

Matadero Madrid and the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum are among the new centres joining the Festival.

Agne's Varda, the Nouvelle Vague pioneer, will receive a tribute in PHE Cinema.

For the second consecutive year, Toledo is a Festival venue.

PHotoEspana in the Street repeats its yearly invasion of the Las Letras district with the Madrid Abierto, Cameratruck Project and Santa Ana Projections projects.

Campus PHE hosts great masters of photography including Hiroshi Sugimoto, Paulo Nozolino, Ouka Leele and Paolo Roversi.

Outstanding artists and intellectuals such as Alexandr Sokurov will meet in Encuentros PHE.

Nature:

The belief that nature is not an appropriate subject for art has been around for a long time. Artists of the avant-garde era had no doubt about this whatsoever. Alexandr Rodchenko found too much disorder in nature, too many things to catch the eye and distract attention. New photography had other priorities.

We could say that this anti-nature attitude is a standard that still persists, but this would be to generalise more than seems wise, since it is not true. There are too many exceptions. Nonetheless, in modern art and what came afterward, the pattern was different. Suspicion, incomprehension and even contempt for nature have been common throughout twentieth- century art. Landscapes were considered an outmoded subject, a boring romantic anachronism. And not without reason. Why represent nature visibly if it is already visible? How can you give it order, expression or meaning?

Art is only one aspect of the complex relations existing between human beings and nature. Fortunately, the appreciation of natural beauty, the experience of nature or the states of mind it can inspire are not limited to art or to artists. Anyone has access to them through nature’s own manifestations.

This new edition of PHotoEspana comprises a group of exhibitions that seek to bring viewers a greater understanding of some of the visible components of the nature-culture conundrum. By means of all types of works, usually technical and particularly photographic, and with the same attention that the two previous editions gave to current developments in documentary languages, PHE06’s programme now explores in a critical, problematic fashion various facets of one of the major issues of our time.

One of the most important of these is the way nature is experienced. The viewer will find works that can be appreciated by more than just sight, because they trigger more complex sensory experiences that are often uncomfortable. One particular aspect of this approach is the rural experience, in the belief that the life of peasants is historically closest to nature, but also with the knowledge that the survival of these people now begins to be an ecological problem that at worst will some day resemble the problems now existing with animal species in extinction. This is an issue as global as the environmental issues that are also the subject of the exhibitions.

Recent interpretations of landscapes offer another facet on which this programme focuses specifically. Landscapes were frequently considered an old-fashioned, perhaps even superseded, artistic genre, however here we are not referring to that type of aestheticist, imitative landscape. Since the concept of landscape is now broader and, instead of losing validity, has now reached dimensions hitherto unknown in social and cultural studies, our intention has been to look for examples of visual works close to these interpretative models where paths that are still fairly untrodden are now opening up to the visual representation of nature.

Finally, the Festival also deals specifically with the relationships between nature and culture, the real heart of the question, by offering images on exploration and technique, among other possibilities, some of which have already been mentioned.

Horacio Ferna'ndez
General Curator PHotoEspana 2006

WHAT IS PHOTOESPANA

PHotoEspana, the International Festival of Visual Arts, has been held annually in Madrid since 1998, turning the city for a month and a half into the world capital of photography. Every year, over 500,000 people visit the exhibitions and other activities organised for the occasion. In 2006, the Festival celebrates its ninth edition, which will be held from 2 June to 23 July.

The exhibitions showcase new tendencies in the world of photography and the visual arts, attracting both general and specialist audiences. They are the ideal opportunity for discovering the latest photographic projects, videos and installations produced by leading national and international photographers and visual artists. The exhibitions are complemented by parallel activities such as Campus PHE, which offers a series of workshops by great masters of photography; Cine PHE; professional seminars; public screenings of audiovisuals, portfolio reviews, etc. For the duration of the Festival, all of these turn Madrid into a forum for discussions about the role of photography in the Contemporary Art world, bringing together artists, curators and directors of national and international galleries and museums.

Leading international photographers who have attended PHotoEspana include Duane Michals and Wolfgang Tillmans at PHE98; Luis Gonza'lez Palma and Malick Sidibe' at PHE99; James Nachtwey and Susan Meiselas at PHE00; William Eggleston, Max Pam, Robert Frank and Andreas Gursky at PHE01; Helmut Newton, Elliott Erwitt, Nan Goldin and Carolee Schneemann at PHE02; Helena Almeida, Joel-Peter Witkin, Philip-Lorca diCorcia, Nancy Burson, Christine Spengler and Juergen Teller at PHE03; Paul Graham, Rineke Dijkstra, Martin Parr, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Michael Ackerman and Douglas Kirkland at PHE04; and Stephen Shore, Stan Douglas, Martin Parr, Bertien van Manen, Bernd & Hilla Becher and William Klein at PHE05.

Throughout the various editions of the Festival, including PHE05, 526 exhibitions have been hosted, 2,301 photographers have attended, and over three million people have visited the exhibitions and participated in the various activities. The Festival budget for the 2005 edition was 2,500,000 euros.

PHotoEspana is a festival produced by and for society. Founded and organised by private initiative, it is also sponsored by private companies and public institutions such as the Spanish Ministry of Education and Culture, the Regional Government of Madrid and Madrid City Council.

The Festival exhibitions are divided into two broad sections: the Official Section, which encompasses museums, institutions and large exhibition centres, and the Festival Off, which attracts the participation of art galleries and other spaces. The core of PHotoEspana is located along the Paseo de la Castellana Boulevard (the main artery that divides the city of Madrid into two parts). The main museums, art centres, institutions and galleries are all in this area.

The exhibitions in the Official Section always focus on the central theme of the Festival, chosen by the general curator of PHotoEspana. For the period 2004-2006, the person responsible for this mission is Horacio Ferna'ndez, and the theme that he has chosen for the next edition is Naturaleza (Nature).

Finally, the extensive media coverage attracted by PHotoEspana confirms its status as the major cultural event of the year, with over 200 authorised national and international journalists attending. For further details, visit the official website.

Communications Manager Alvaro Mati'as Tel. +34 91 3601324 amatias@lafabrica.com

Spanish Press Emilu' Soares Tel. +34 91 297 48 30 emilu@phedigital.com
Iago Davila Tel. +34 91 360 143 20 idavila@phedigital.com

International Press Catherine Philippot Tel. +331 40476342 Fax + 331 40476242 cathphilippot@photographie.com

Opening: 2 June 2006

PHotoEspana
Plaza de Castilla - Madrid

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