FacingAustria

Commissioned by the Austrian government, Rainer Iglar and Michael Mauracher, co-heads of Fotohof, the Salzburg center for photography, matched 20 contemporary Austrian photographers with 20 Austrian-based curators, scholars and critics to open up a panoramic view of Austria through its fine art photography community. This massive publication is unique in that almost all the images were taken between spring and autumn of 2016. Instructions were given to create a portrait of contemporary everyday life in Austria, free of platitudinous nationalistic attitudes, involving all generations, a balance of gender and geographic distribution. Photographs by noted artists such as Seiichi Furuya, Paul Kranzler and Katharina Gruzei are matched with essays by art historian and curator Monika Faber, Kunsthaus Wein; curator/art historian Verena Kasper-Eisert; and Walter Moser, director of photography at the Albertina Museum, in this rich compilation of diverse voices and visions.