New ways of exhibiting mass-produced pictures

Since the last third of the 19th century, pictures have been reproduced in ever more cost-effective ways and in greater volumes. Serial formats like trade cards, commercial photographs or postcards spread throughout the social sphere – and in the process, affected what they depicted. In the context of exhibitions, there has not been much reflection on the use of these mass-produced pictures. Often, they are relegated to an illustrative role and thus remain simply an embellishment of the “actual” objects. This workshop will attempt to take an alternative view on these massively circulating pictures. What strategies can we think of for casting them as powerful agents of social processes, identifications and self-descriptions? What can these pictures tell us? And how can we display them in the exhibition space? On the basis of specific examples, we will discuss the possibilities of reflective forms of presentation and consider the ethical implications of exhibiting historical mass-produced pictures – and how we want to work with them.