08/03/2017, Gespenstergeschichten (Ghost Stories), an exhibition that will be on display from September 9 to November 5, 2017, at the Mannheim water tower, deals with the historic glass plate archive of the Mannheim Kunsthalle (art museum).

The photographic inventory at the Mannheim Kunsthalle is the starting point for a new work by Arno Gisinger on display at the Mannheim water tower. The glass plate archive contains over 7000 images – primarily, reproductions of artworks, exhibition documentation and architectural photography, from the founding of the museum in 1907 to the early sixties – representing the institution’s visual memory, which was inaccessible to the general public until now. It reflects exhibition policies defined by political changes as well as the musuem’s exceptional history, which Gisinger has transferred into a public space and, consequently, a perceptive, contemporary context.

Further information at: Biennale für aktuelle Fotografie 2017 and Arno Gisinger

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  ‘The Execution of Emperor Maximilian’ (Éduard Manet), photographed in the historic exhibition space at the Mannheim Kunsthalle during its reconstruction. © Arno Gisinger / Kurt Schneyer

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  Reproduction of Édouard Manet’s ‘The Execution of Emperor Maximilian’, from the museum’s glass plate archives. © Arno Gisinger / Kurt Schneyer

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  Archive sheet for the ‘Kulturbolschewistische Bilder’ exhibition (1933), photographed in the historic exhibition space at the Mannheim Kunsthalle during its reconstruction. © Arno Gisinger / Kurt Schneyer