DANIELA COMANI
part of the exhibition Picture Politics
24 April – 6 Juli 2008 at the Salzburger Kunstverein, curated by Hemma Schmutz

Artists: Christian Boltanski, Daniela Comani, Ines Doujak, Peter Friedl, Isa Genzken, Bernhard Gwiggner, Marcin Maciejowski, Lia Perjovschi, Ingeborg Pluhar, Martha Rosler, Stefanie Seibolt, Ann-Sofi Sidén

Check out additional program such as discussions, slide projection, text performance, and lecture at www.salzburger-kunstverein.at

The exhibition: Daniels Comani's work "Printed Woman" is presented in the group exhibition under the title Picture Politics about the motivation or political background for artists to establish picture archives. Several artists use these archives predominantly as material for their work, which is never used directly in artwork, perhaps comparable to a scientific collection of citations. Others present their collections of images in continually new arrangements. Female artists often reflect upon questions relating to the body and female identity.

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fig.: Daniels Comani, Printed Women, 2000, slide projection, detail
Daniela Comani is working about history, language and identity. Her media are photos and texts taken from newspapers, television and books – things and images which appear very common to us. Strangeness and intimacy, history and interpretation and associated mechanisms of retracing are in the focus of her work. In 1999 she began her work in progress "Printed Women", in which she examines the logic of the classification “women”.

The project consists of a slide projection of about 300 selected photos taken from magazines and papers, unknown and prominent faces of women from different fields: fashion, politics, culture, publicity, sport, chronicle, etc. To read them thoroughly and grasp the meaning one has to consider a certain slowness of approach. You will find out that not “one truth” in classification exists but many truths are possible.