News
Our latest publication: Visual Propaganda during the cold war in Austria
The research team published its findings on the pictorial services of all four allied forces in postwar Austria. Read more about the scope and impact of visual propaganda during the cold war in Austria: Marion Krammer, Margarethe Szeless & Fritz Hausjell (Hg.), Alliierte Bildpolitik in Österreich 1945 – 1955, in: Medien & Zeit 1/2017
Save the date: Conference 'War of Pictures' 4-6 October in Vienna!
Our Conference "War of Pictures" will take place from 4 to 6 October 2017 at the Viennese Department of Communications. As the conference language will be German, the description and program are available in German only. Find more information here.
Our FWF-funded Science Communication Project „History through the Viewfinder“ started!
In September 2016, our FWF-funded science communication project "History through the Viewfinder" started. The project is a cooperation between the Department of Communications and the Fachdidaktikzentrum Geschichte, Sozialkunde und Politische Bildung of the University of Vienna. It aims at introducing the results of our research project „War of Pictures. Austrian Pressphotography 1945-1955“ to a broader audience.
The project team will design an online exhibition about occupied postwar Austria and its media representation in contemporay illustrated magazines. The exhibition will also contain didactical material catering to high school pupils from 4th to 6th grade. Furthermore workshops related to the content of the online exhibition will be held at Viennese high schools in autumn 2017. More news to follow!
Photomedia Conference, Helsinki
Marion Krammer and Margarethe Szeless presented their paper "Returning Prisoner of War. Revisiting Ernst Haas' iconic photographs" at "Helsinki Photomedia - Photographic Agencies and Materialities", March 30, 2016 - April, 1, 2016.
Visual Methods Conference, Brighton
From September 16th-18th 2015 Margarethe Szeless participated at the 4th Visual Methods Conference in Brighton. She presented our paper on analyzing and interpreting a huge quantity of post-war Austrian press photographs at the panel „Narrative and Visual Methods“ chaired by Anne Boddington and Ross Clark.
New Publication - Edited Volume on historic perspective on the iconic turn
Marion Krammer, Margarethe Szeless & Fritz Hausjell, Blende auf: Pressefotografie im befreiten/besetzten Österreich 1945-1955, in: Stephanie Geise, Maria Löblich, Katharina Lobinger, Thomas Birkner, Klaus Arnold (Hg.), Historische Perspektiven auf den Iconic Turn. Die Entwicklung der öffentlichen Visuellen Kommunikation, Herbert von Halem Verlag, Köln 2015, S. 146 - 165
The magazine Fotogeschichte recently published Margarethe Szeless' article about the Austrian photographer Inge Morath "Das Auge lernt und wird sensibler. Die Anfänge von Inge Moraths Karriere in Wien 1946 - 1949".
On May 5th Margarethe Szeless held a lecture about Austrian press photographers at Photoinstitut Bonartes. This lecture examined the biographies of Austrian press photographers working after WWII in a country occupied by the four allied forces. Many of these photographers started their careers in the interwar period and had been working under changing political regimes, some photographers had also been active in the propaganda war for the National Socialists. How did Austrian press photographers adapt to the new political situation of the immediate post-war and how did they react to the new competition arising from the photographic sections operated by the allied forces?
- © Saskia Etschmaier
Press photographer Erich Lessing speaks in front of students
On January 19, 2015 Erich Lessing, the doyen of post-war Austrian press photography and long term member of the renowned Magnum agency participated as special guest at the UE-HIST course "Austrian Press Photography 1945-55". The extensive oral history interview conducted by Friedrich Hausjell and Margarethe Szeless was filmed under the direction of Manfred Bobrowsky.
Find out more about Lessing and his work: http://www.lessingimages.com
Donation of Austrian press photography archive
The valuable material was handed over to Fritz Hausjell by Prof. Dr. Axel Hubmann.
Recently Prof. Dr. Axel Hubmann, long-term executive secretary of the "Syndikat der Pressephotographen, Pressebildagenturen und Filmreporter Österreichs" (Syndicate of pressphotographers, pressagencies and filmreporters of Austria) handed over archival material of this professional association to Fritz Hausjell as in a generous donation for the Department of Communication of the University of Vienna.
All pictures © Department of Communication
The archive comprises the founding documents of this organisation established in 1947 as well as correspondence and admission forms of all members. The latter contains important biographical information about pressphotographers working in post-war Austria.
In the course of the research project "War of Pictures. Pressphotography in Austria 1945-1955" Marion Krammer and Margarethe Szeless along with students of this department will analyze and evaluate these historical sources until now presumed to be missing. Project leader and Vice-Director of the Department of Communication Fritz Hausjell expressed his gratitude to Dr. Axel Hubmann who announced further donations of the "Syndicat's" archival material to the Department of Communication.
New publication!
The Contemporary Austrian Studies recently published the article Yoichi Okamoto and the "Pictorial Section": Austrian-American Relation in Press Photography 1945-1955 authored by Marion Krammer and Margarethe Szeless.