PiB Guide Nº50 SEP/OCT 2023

C/O Berlin presents the exhibition Peter Miller . Dear Photography from September 11 to December 3, 2021 at the Amerika Haus, Hardenbergstraße 22-24, 10623 Berlin.

From a cloud of green light there emerge flickering yellow spheres. Are we witnessing planets taking shape? Or a spectacular display of the northern lights? Neither. These are the bioluminescent traces of fireflies lighting up as they traverse the surface of light-sensitive photographic paper. The work of American artist Peter Miller, who lives in Germany, still hints at his childhood dream of becoming a magician. Today, however, Miller’s preoccupation with magic finds expression primarily in the media of film and photography. He also creates installations and sculptures, spatial interventions, and works drawing on the tradition of 1970s performance art. Utilizing a wide variety of forms and materials, he explores the history of the technical media and their constituent, irreducible elements: light, chemistry, audience, flicker, lens, and perspective.

With Miller’s focus on analog photographic practices, his work may seem anachronistic in the digital age. Yet the opposite is true: More and more artists have been exploring analog and darkroom processes in recent years. Their works are seen as part of an ‘analog turn’ in photography – a critical countercurrent to digital photographic practices. Peter Miller is one of the most exciting voices in this emerging movement. His work is playful and lighthearted, combining an analytical and archaeological approach to probe our everyday life for its media relevance. His works invite us to rediscover photography: In one piece, he transforms a mailbox into a darkroom (Envelope, 2020), and in another, he sends secret messages to be deciphered by photo lab assistants – whose profession is threatened with extinction by the spread of digital photography (The Letter, 2009). In yet another work, Miller brings a living tree into his lab and helps it to create a photographic self-portrait using photograms (The Leaves, 2021). He often employs a reduced technical setup, either eschewing cameras, lenses or any chemical treatment of the paper. The works that emerge from Miller’s Wunderkammer invite viewers to embark on a journey to discover analog media technologies and to reflect on how media shape the world around us.

With Peter Miller . Dear Photography, C/O Berlin is presenting the first institutional solo exhibition of the artist’s work worldwide. It features key works from the last 15 years as well as numerous objects that the artist created especially for the exhibition. These include two participatory interventions that encourage visitors to take photographs in the exhibition, either with a special camera or in a special setup. The exhibition also draws connections between Miller’s photographic work and the cinematic and performative aspects of his oeuvre. The exhibition is made possible by the Capital Cultural Fund (HKF).

Peter Miller (b. 1978 in Burlington, Vermont, USA) studied fine art at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) and apprenticed to be a silversmith. Through a Fulbright fellowship, he worked with experimental filmmaker Peter Tscherkassky in Vienna, followed by a position at the Friedl Kubelka School for independent film. Later, through a DAAD fellowship, he worked with Matthias Müller at the Academy of Media Arts in Cologne. His work has been shown in international exhibitions such as SFMOMA (2019), the 57th Venice Biennale (2017), Biennale for Contemporary Photography in Mannheim, Ludwigshafen, Heidelberg (2017) and at international film festivals in Berlin (2017), London (2012), Rotterdam (2009, 2013, 2015), Toronto (2012) and Vienna (2013, 2016). Peter Miller has been a professor of photography and time-based media at Folkwang University of the Arts, Essen, since 2018. He lives in Essen and Paris.

Framework program

Friday, Sep 10, 2021, 9 – 12 pm
Opening Reception
C/O Berlin is delighted to invite you to the opening of the exhibitions Lee Friedlander . Retrospective and Peter Miller . Dear Photography on Friday, Sep 10, 2021 at 9 pm.
The number of people allowed in the exhibition rooms is limited due to current Covid regulations. Visitors must show proof of vaccination status, a current test, or proof of recovery, which may lead to a short wait. Please check in using the Luca or Corona Warn app when entering. We would also like to request that you limit your stay to about 60 minutes so that others may visit the exhibition opening.

Thu, Sep 30 + Oct 21, 2021, each 7 pm
AFTER WORK TOUR + DRINK
Guided Tour, held in German. Ticket: 17 € (incl. exhibition, guided tour and drink), available online (plus booking fee) and at C/O Berlin.
Details

Fri, Oct 8 + Thu, Nov 18, 2021, each 7 pm
Artist Tour with artist Peter Miller & curator Dr Kathrin Schönegg.
The work of American artist Peter Miller, who lives in Germany, still hints at his childhood dream of becoming a magician. Today, however, Miller’s preoccupation with magic finds expression primarily in the media of film and photography. Utilizing a wide variety of forms and materials, he explores the history of the technical media and their constituent, irreducible elements: light, chemistry, audience, flicker, optics, and perspective. In one piece, he transforms a mailbox into a darkroom (Envelope, 2020), and in another work, Miller brings a living tree into his lab and helps it to create a photographic self-portrait using photograms (The Leaves, 2021). The Artist Tour with Peter Miller and Dr Kathrin Schönegg invites viewers to embark on a journey to discover analog media technologies and to reflect on how media shape the world around us.
Held in German. Ticket: 15/11 € incl. exhibition. Available online (plus booking fee) and at C/O Berlin.
Details

Tue, Oct 26, 6 pm
Curator’s tour with Dr Kathrin Schönegg
What role does analog photography play in the age of digitization? What do we learn from 19th century photographic manuals about today’s image practices? What are the possibilities of producing photographs outside the darkroom and how can a tree be completely turned into photograms in the lab? Our curator Dr. Kathrin Schönegg provides insight into the equally analytical, archaeological and humorous practice of artist Peter Miller and reports on the conception of the exhibition Dear Photography.
Held in German. Ticket: 15/11 € incl. exhibition. Available online (plus booking fee) and at C/O Berlin.
Details

Friday, Nov 19, 2021, 0 pm / midnight
VIDEOART AT MIDNIGHT #117
Film Screening at BABYLON, Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz, Berlin-Mitte.
In his work, Peter Miller (b. 1978) traces the history and nature of the technical media. His films examine cinema as a phenomenon and address its constituent, irreducible elements: lens, light, film, audience, projection. Peter Miller’s cinematic works include 16 and 35mm films as well as videos. Inspired by the Conditional and Expanded Cinema of the 1970s, they explore physical phenomena such as gravity, investigate the flicker effect of cinema, and ask what we experience when the projector is turned inside out. Complementing the first institutional exhibition of his photographic work at C/O Berlin (Dear Photography, Sep 11 – Dec 3, 2021), Videoart at Midnight welcomes Peter Miller to present a selection of his rarely seen 35 mm film works from the past 15 years.

Thursday, Dec 2, 2021, 11 am – 10 pm
C/O Berlin Open House – hosted by Airbnb
Free entry to our exhibitions & Lightning Talk by Joel Meyerowitz.
Details

Guided Tours
Public Guided Tours: Saturdays & Sundays at 2 pm (held in German).
Individual Guided Tours (held in English and other languages)
 as well as Guided Tours for classes can be booked as well.
Details

View all events at C/O Berlin

Sep 11 — Dec 3, 2021
Opening Reception: Friday, Sep 10, 2021, 9 – 12 pm
+ Framework program: please see above

C/O Berlin Foundation

Amerika Haus, Hardenbergstraße 22-24, 10623 Berlin
[District: Charlottenburg | Borough: Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf]

Opening hours: Daily 11 am – 8 pm

Admission: 10 € / reduced 6 € | Online Ticket