The Fotohof gallery in Salzburg, Austria, is presenting a comprehensive retrospective exhibition of renowned Austrian photographer Inge Morath, showcasing her groundbreaking work alongside previously unpublished letters and biographical materials. The exhibition, titled "Inge Morath, Bilder und Briefe: Biografische Materialien aus dem Archiv," runs from October 24, 2017 through January 13, 2018, offering visitors an intimate look at the life and artistic vision of one of photography's most distinctive voices.
Born Ingeborg Hermine Morath on May 27, 1923, in Graz, Austria, the photographer lived through turbulent historical periods that profoundly shaped her artistic perspective. She died in New York at the age of 78, leaving behind a remarkable body of work that captured both the glamour and vulnerability of her subjects. Her childhood was disrupted early by the upheavals of history, yet like "an angel with bent wings," she possessed an intuitive understanding of what certain moments revealed and learned to reinvent the world around her when her homeland was shaken by conflict.
Morath became particularly celebrated for creating some of the most original and compelling images of Marilyn Monroe, moving beyond the typical celebrity portraiture of her era. Rather than succumbing to the superficial glitz and glamour that often characterized celebrity photography, she demonstrated a remarkable ability to look deeper, using her camera to chase away whatever might smother "the flame of existence." Her approach was marked by an authentic curiosity and genuine amazement, always operating within what could be described as a "minor world" – intimate, personal, and deeply human.
The photographer's work was characterized by her rejection of speculation and artificiality. She never engaged in what critics call "specularization" – the tendency to create images purely for their surface appeal or commercial value. Instead, Morath steered clear of "the ocean of sentimentalism and the artificial," focusing on capturing genuine emotions and authentic moments. This approach resulted in photographs that possess the power to transport viewers back to the pure emotions of childhood, unfiltered and honest.
Throughout her career, Morath demonstrated an extraordinary ability to reveal the fragility beneath apparent confidence and insouciance. Her explorations often revealed a world where "the most beautiful dolls seem to be broken," reflecting her early understanding of loss and impermanence – she had witnessed "how the snow melted and the ring slipped" from a young age. Yet she possessed the resilience to comfort herself and maintain her artistic vision, even when "the blue of the sky left to skim across the wastelands of the Bowery and the Village, close to cracking in the cold."
Morath's technical mastery was particularly evident in her use of black and white photography, where light and shadow became powerful storytelling tools. Her monochromatic work created what critics describe as "the froth that weighs the soul when night and day cross," capturing the liminal moments between states of being. She had an exceptional eye for retaining the fragility of her subjects, revealing what lay hidden beneath surface appearances and breaking through the "obliged poses" that her icons were expected to maintain.
The current exhibition at Fotohof provides an unprecedented opportunity to examine Morath's work within the context of her personal correspondence and biographical materials. French critic and lecturer Jean-Paul Gavard-Perret, who teaches communications at the Université de Savoie, has noted how Morath's photographs crawled "through the marshes of Manhattan and beyond to make images of haze," always finding beauty and meaning in unexpected places. Her work consistently demonstrated that even within urban wastelands and challenging environments, there existed moments of profound beauty and human connection.
Visitors to the Salzburg exhibition can explore these themes through January 13, 2018, at the Fotohof gallery located at Sparkassenstraße 2, 5020 Salzburg, Austria. The retrospective offers a comprehensive view of Morath's artistic evolution and her unique contribution to documentary and portrait photography, cementing her legacy as an artist who understood how to capture the authentic essence of her subjects while navigating the complex intersection of art, celebrity, and human vulnerability.
