Thomas Demand. National Gallery

Thomas Demand (born in 1964) is not only a photographer, but also a self-proclaimed "illusionist" and a "reproducer" of media. His photography portrays political or social scenes which have become well-known through newspaper and television coverage. Demand's works do not depict the "original" scenes, but rather life-sized models which the artist reconstructs out of cardboard and paper and then photographs. He removes all traces and portrayals of people from the scene which gave rise to its publication in the first place. What remains are phantom images resembling "crime scenes" which we somehow recognize, but are unable to place.
The solo exhibition at the National Gallery focused on one particular theme in Demand's works - photography of German historic events since 1945. The exhibition methodically and systematically examined our image of Germany on the basis of iconic scenes from the past 60 years.
This historic panorama providesd material for a comprehensive accompanying programme which the Federal Cultural Foundation had agreed to finance as part of the exhibition. The event series "How German Is It?" featured well-known individuals from the fields of politics, science, research and media, such as Jacques Rancière, Herfried Münkler, Hans Jürgen Syberberg and Saskia Sassen. In their lectures, podium discussions and readings, the focus on Demand's works shed light on significant developments in German society.
The New National Gallery, designed by Mies van der Rohe and situated on the border that once divided East and West Berlin, was the ideal venue for such an exhibition as it had long represented the West German desire of renewal in the post-war era.

Artistic director: Udo Kittelmann
Artist: Thomas Demand
With Jacques Rancière, Herfried Münkler, Hans Jürgen Syberberg, Saskia Sassen, Gerhart Baum, Andres Veiel, Daniel Kehlmann, Adrian van Hooydonk, Astrid Proll, Julian Reichelt, Gisela Friedrichsen, Günter Wallraff, Péter Esterházy, Petra Reski, Bernhard Vogel, Erhard Eppler, Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, Herta Müller, Güner Yasemin Balci, Joachim Gauck, Ines Geipel, Hans-Christoph Binswanger, Mathias Döpfner, Rem Koolhaas, Francesco Bandarin, Philipp Oswalt, W. Michael Blumenthal.

Venue and schedule:
New National Gallery, Berlin, 18 September 2009 - 17 January 2010