Boris von Brauchitsch

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Boris von Brauchitsch (born 9 August 1963 in Aachen) is a German art historian, photographer, curator and writer.

Life and Work

Boris von Brauchitsch grew up in Frankfurt am Main as the son of photographers Victor and Helga von Brauchitsch and was involved with photography from his earliest years. After studying art history, archeology and history at Frankfurt, Bonn and at Berlins Free University between 1983 and 1988, he received his doctorate in 1991 with his thesis on the place of photographer Herbert List in the field of photographic history.

Since 1992, he has been working as a curator and initiator of exhibitions and events of contemporary art for various institutions including the Kunstmuseum Bonn, the University of Hamburg, the Museum für Moderne Kunst Frankfurt, Kunstverein Morsbroich Leverkusen, Historisches Museum Frankfurt, the Bayerische Staatsoper Munich and Neue Gesellschaft für bildende Kunst Berlin (NGBK). From 1992 to 1993 he was director of the Galerie der Künstler in Frankfurt am Main and from 1995 until 1997 served as the first director of the newly created Kunsthaus Kaufbeuren.

As an author Boris von Brauchitsch has published books on various subjects though primarily in the field of the history of photography. Additionally, he has authored a series of artist biographies (Gabriele Münter, Adolphe de Meyer, Lesser Ury, Leonardo da Vinci among others) and published various illustrated books on the history of the city of Berlin. He occasionally also publishes as a freelance journalist.

In his writings on Art Theory, von Brauchitsch repeatedly examines the mechanisms dealing with the emergence and exploitation of art. He also plays with the boundaries between non-fiction and performance, between real and fictional artist biographies, between essay and drama. In 2012 he initiated an art exhibition purely for imagined art ("documentale"), in which all curators, artists and works were fictitious and the only real object was the catalogue itself. He brought the themes of “Documenta in the year 2027” to the stage with his science fiction comedy "Im tiefen Tal der Todeskralle (In the Deep Valley of the Death Claw)" (2014), in which the organisers dispense with artists completely.

He parodies the excesses of art consumption in "artist portraits" (2001) in which he reflects on the modern usage of the names of famous artists to market confectionary, coffee or dog food. In "Das Ei des Brunelleschi (The Egg of Brunelleschi)" (1999) he attempted to prove that the Renaissance architect Leon Battista Alberti is actually an invented figure, created to ensure a cabinet of Alberti literature is irrelevant.

In his short manifesto on photography "I don't like white" (2012), he reexamined terms such as original, authentic and aura and asked to what extent photography requires a philosophy at all and whether it could be regarded instead as visualised libido.

In his photography, Boris von Brauchitsch focusses on landscapes and city life, which he often presents in reduced, sometimes surreal looking tableaus. In his long-term project "Soziales Plastik (Social Plastic)", he captures social phenomena that have materialised in plastics. With his series "9", he advocates a radical reduction in image production: Only nine photographs are allowed to be shot in each new location that the photographer visits, condensing and disciplining the first impression. “The sharpened look of a photographer combined with the subjective judgement of a well-travelled and humorous moralist, is accompanied by a strict pictorial order. Image and text together form a lyrical structure and can be read as an elegant, of course also elitist, answer to the current flood of images and the consequences for perception and memory of dealing with those images."

Boris von Brauchitsch lives in Berlin and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

Quotation

“Boris von Brauchitsch is a photographer, art historian and curator. As the author of numerous artist monographs, publications on the history of photography, but also as a fiction artist and himself as the author of a play on the history of documenta, he is an important narrator. What characterises his photographic work is that he offers both aspects, the pre-informed view of the art historian, who can cite a large number of images for every object under consideration, with the pronounced narrative eye of the writer. With a trained view, sharpened by ironic awareness, he succeeds in making complex narratives of great poetry recognisable with concise precision”

Publications

Biographies

• Adolphe de Meyer. Begegnung mit dem Faun. Edition Braus, Berlin 2020, ISBN 978-3-86228-108-4.
• Das Leben des Leonardo da Vinci. Insel Verlag, Berlin 2019, ISBN 978-3-458-36403-0.
• Gabriele Münter. Eine Biografie. Insel Verlag, Berlin 2017, ISBN 978-3-458-36290-6.
• Lesser Ury. Leichte Fieberanfälle. Dauerregen. Edition Braus, Berlin 2013, ISBN 978-3-86228-052-0.
• Leonardo da Vinci. Suhrkamp Verlag, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-518-18248-2.
• Michelangelo. Suhrkamp Verlag, Frankfurt 2009, ISBN 978-3-518-18239-0.
• Caravaggio. Suhrkamp Verlag, Frankfurt 2007, ISBN 978-3-518-18225-3.

Publications about his own photographic work

• auswärts. Edition Carpentier, Berlin 2018
• Warten. Edition Carpentier, Berlin 2018
• Soziales Plastik. Edition Carpentier, Berlin 2018
• Das Tier in dir. Edition Carpentier, Berlin 2018
• 9. Kehrer Verlag, Heidelberg 2016, ISBN 978-3-86828-714-1.

Fiction

• Ich, Ventura oder Hunde lügen nicht, Edition Braus, Berlin 2021, ISBN 978-3-86228-221-0
• Im tiefen Tal der Todeskralle. Theaterplay / Materialien zu einem Stück documenta, Siebenhaar Verlag, Berlin 2014, ISBN 978-3-943132-36-6
• Alles wahr. Novel, Männerschwarm Verlag, Roman. Hamburg 2008, ISBN 978-3-939542-21-6.
• Perlen vor die Säue. Novel. Himmelstürmer Verlag, Hamburg 2001, ISBN 3-934825-11-7.

On Art and History of Photography

• Phantom Paradise / Phantomparadies. Hans Georg Berger - Hervé Guibert. Serindia, Chicago / Edition Salzgerber, Berlin 2019, ISBN 978-1-932476-93-4.
• Enthüllungen. Die Sammlung Thomas Herrendorf., Edition Braus 2019, ISBN 978-3-86228-205-0
• Einsicht. Drei Reisen in die innerste Welt des schiitischen Islam. Kehrer Verlag, Heidelberg 2017, ISBN 978-3-86828-818-6.
• Der Schatten des Führers. Der Fotograf Walter Frentz zwischen Avantgarde und Obersalzberg. Edition Braus, Berlin 2017, ISBN 978-3-86228-158-9.
• S - Schwarz. Dunkel gestimmt im Licht der bildenden Kunst. (= Stimmungsatlas. Band 12). Textem Verlag, 2016, ISBN 978-3-941613-90-4.
• Fux. Fährten, Fotografien von Andreas Fux. Edition Braus, Berlin 2014, ISBN 978-3-86228-113-8.
• I don't like white. Lim & Asmuth Publications, Köln 2012, ISBN 978-3-941765-59-7.
• documentale. Scoville Art Publishers, Berlin 2012, ISBN 978-3-941825-35-2.
• Goodbye London. Neue Gesellschaft für Bildende Kunst, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-938515-36-5.
• Xaver Rammbock: Die Welt der Knollennasen: eine sozio-rhinologische Untersuchung. Männerschwarm Verlag, Hamburg 2010, ISBN 978-3-939542-99-5.
• Helga und Victor von Brauchitsch. Sichtweite. Kehrer Verlag, Heidelberg 2009, ISBN 978-3-86828-049-4.
• Es gibt Perlen, die findet keine Sau. Gay Museum, Berlin 2009, ISBN 978-3-9812706-4-8.
• Klassiker der Architektur. Reclam-Verlag, Stuttgart 2009, ISBN 978-3-15-020165-7.
• Sexwork. Kunst Mythos Realität. Kehrer Verlag, Heidelberg 2007, ISBN 978-3-939583-17-2.
• Man sieht nur, was man weiß. The Green Box, Zürich 2005, ISBN 3-908175-26-7.
• Mala Historia Fotografii. Cyklady Warszawa 2004, ISBN 83-86859-90-3.
• Galerie des 20. Jahrhunderts. 100 außergewöhnliche Meisterwerke. DuMont Verlag, Köln 2003, ISBN 3-8321-7342-0.
• G. F. Ris, das plastische Werk 1958–2001. Wienand Verlag, Köln 2002, ISBN 3-87909-777-1.
• Kleine Geschichte der Fotografie. Reclam-Verlag, Stuttgart 2002, ISBN 3-15-010502-1.
• Renaissance. Barron's, New York 2000, ISBN 0-7641-1336-4.
• Jenseits von Eden. Wächter, Rächer, Boten und Beschützer - eine Sicht auf Engel. Kaufbeuren 1999.
• Das Ei des Brunelleschi. Die kurze aber wahre Geschichte der Erfindung des Leon Battista Alberti. Christian Rohr Verlag, München 1999, ISBN 3-926602-17-1.
• Thomas Ruff/Thomas Emde. Kaufbeuren 1997.
• Fabrizio Plessi. Fez-Fez. Kaufbeuren 1997.
• Das Schweigen im Walde. Zwölf europäische Künstler zum Thema Heimat. Wasmuth Verlag, Stuttgart 1996, ISBN 3-8030-3085-4.
• Heisse Brühe. Armut, Obdachlosigkeit und Ausgrenzung in Deutschland. Wasmuth Verlag, Stuttgart 1996, ISBN 3-8030-3083-8.
• Masken und Meditationen. Expressionismus und Religiosität in der Skulptur Burkina Fasos und dem Spätwerk Alexej von Jawlenkys. Wasmuth Verlag, Stuttgart 1996, ISBN 3-8030-3080-3.
• Das Magische im Vorübergehen. Herbert List und die Fotografie. Lit Verlag, Münster 1992, ISBN 3-89473-392-6.
• Thomas Ruff. Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt 1992, ISBN 3-88270-466-7.

Photobooks and Publications about the History of Berlin

• Über tausend Brücken. Berliner Wasserwege in historischen Fotografien. Edition Braus, Berlin 2020, ISBN 978-3-86228-212-8
• abgefahren. Die Automobilisierung in historischen Fotos aus Berlin. Edition Braus, Berlin 2019, ISBN 978-3-86228-201-2
• abgehoben. Eine kleine Geschichte des Fliegens in historischen Fotos aus Berlin. Edition Braus, Berlin 2018, ISBN 978-3-86228-179-4
• Unter Dampf. Berliner Fern- und Regionalbahnhöfe in historischen Fotografien. Edition Braus, Berlin 2018, ISBN 978-3-86228-175-6.
• Licht, Luft und Luxus. Westberliner Wohnträume der 1960er und 1970er Jahre. Bebra Verlag, Berlin 2017, ISBN 978-3-8148-0223-7.
• Ohne Motor. Das Fahrrad im alten Berlin. Edition Braus, Berlin 2017, ISBN 978-3-86228-160-2.
• Alles außer Arbeit. Edition Braus, Berlin 2016, ISBN 978-3-86228-141-1.
• Berlin. Der Friedhofsführer. Edition Braus, Berlin 2015, ISBN 978-3-86228-116-9.
• Armutszeugnisse. West-Berlin vor der Stadterneuerung, Fotografien von Heinrich Kuhn. Edition Braus, Berlin 2014, ISBN 978-3-86228-089-6.
• Fabrice Moreau: Berlin Sketchbook, Les Editions du Pacifique, Paris 2015 ISBN 978-2-87868-186-4 / Edition Braus Berlin 2015 ISBN 978-3-86228-128-2

External links

• Literature by and about Boris von Brauchitsch in the German National Library catalogue
• borisvonbrauchitsch.de

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