Aesthetics and Politics
German sports photography in the Cold War
Zentrum deutsche Sportgeschichte im Paul-Löbe-Haus, Deutscher Bundestag (u.V.)
Heinrich von der Becke: Deutsch-deutsches Sprintduell ohne staatliche Symbole. Olympia-Ausscheidung der beiden Leichtathletik-Nationalmannschaften 1964 in Jena
© Bildarchiv Heinrich von der Becke im Sportmuseum Berlin
more images >>
more images >>
more images >>
more images >>
German sports photography from 1945 to 1990 was not just concerned to record sporting highlights for the general public. While athletes contend on the football pitch or in the Olympic arena, rival social systems are in competition with one another at the same time. Both in the east and in the west, politicians repeatedly had an influence on the organisation, the symbolism or the interpretation of the sporting event. This ideological import left its mark on the work of sports photographers: whether deliberately or involuntarily, their pictures convey numerous political subtexts, and were closely interwoven with the social and political issues of the day. For all its apparent innocence, the sports photo does more than just communicate the fascination of the sport at the same time it illustrates the conflicts of a historical epoch. This exhibition reveals the historic and political contexts of outstanding sports pictures, and explains their significance as a source for historians of the present era.
Theme
Photography and science
Add to my favourites >>
Artist(s)
Heinrich von der Becke u.a.
Duration of the exhibition
3.12.2010 - 7.01.2011
Vernissage
1.12.2010, 11 h
Opening times
Mo 9-16 h, Di-Do 9-17 h, Fr 9-17 h
Location
Zentrum deutsche Sportgeschichte im Paul-Löbe-Haus, Deutscher Bundestag (u.V.)
Konrad Adenauer Straße 1
10557 Berlin
T 0049 30 60920124
www.zentrum-deutsche-sportgeschichte.de
Public transport connections
U55 Bundestag
Map:
location roundup on the big map