From the top of the valley

It was from high up in the valley that the farmer Franz Göttfried (1903–1980) began to photograph the inhabitants of St. Lambrecht. Between the 1920s and 1940s, he portrayed them on public holidays, at work or situated in everyday life. A stroke of bad luck in the early 1970s led Göttfried to destroy most of his photographs, though around 500 glass negatives in 9 × 12 cm format are still preserved and can be found in the Heimathaus.

From there, artist Simon Baptist has been working on processing the photographic estate since 2020 and has already realised several scientific and artistic projects related to the collection.

Based on the archive material, he examines the social structures of the place and its history. His work on the archive primarily incorporates the local population. Family members of the people portrayed by Göttfried become the protagonists of his films. The place is mobilised, the people becoming part of the project. His video installations turn into meeting places, whether a passage behind the market square or a site of remembrance.

Extracts from the historical picture collection will be presented in the Hofgalerie in June 2025 together with the video works.