HERBERT W. FRANKE – ILLUMINATING THE INVISIBLE
2024-07-01ILLUMINATING THE INVISIBLE pays tribute to Franke’s unique combination of creative and scientific pursuits, each informing the other. Indeed, the impulse toward aesthetic innovation guided Franke much more than any consideration of traditional notions of artistic beauty. As early as 1953, Franke put the photographic camera to groundbreaking ends, using the device to record forms and structures that exist in the world as such, but are “invisible” to the human eye – they can be detected solely with the aid of technology. By employing scientific equipment – x-rays, microscopes, oscilloscopes, among others – Franke essentially turned the medium away from its traditional application as a method for depicting things that were already there. As early as 1957, Franke published a visionary book “Kunst und Konstruktion” already in pursuit of “the fusion between technical and artistic processes”. He wrote: “I firmly believe that a process does not lose its ability to instill wonder when we succeed in uncovering some of the laws and connections that determine it. Not wanting to know the explanation of something even though it can easily be learned amounts to willfully deceiving oneself.” With his photographic artworks, he not only wanted to shed light on the fantastic, but invisible structures in nature as well, uncovering the underlying, hidden beauty of mathematics and algorithms.
Opposite – Installation view
Exhibition runs through to September 1st, 2024
KÖNIG GALERIE
St. Agnes – Alexandrinenstr, 118-121
10969 Berlin
Germany
