About the tiredness of photo exhibitions

Dear Stefan, if I am honest, I could say: I am tired about too much photoexhibitions I visited. So I started this weekend with a visit of the exhibition "Panorama" of Gerhard Richter at the National Gallery in Berlin. Here some impressions... 

More and more I realize after I have seen an photo exhibition, that I didnt get anymore inspirations. Usually I know the pictures already in advance, because I am so well informed about exhibitions and other photographic stuff. I think I (photographers) have to start viewing more exhibitions with paintings, installations, modern art etc. to get n e w inspirations for themself and their work. Many of the shown photo exhibitions are redundant (for myself). A similar thing happens to me sometimes with photo books. 

And if I am honest, I could say, the reason for my visiting of photoexhibition during the last year, was to meet people, to check what other photographers do. But the main reason - usually the images - is mostly left in the background. Today an interesting studie is published by Martin Tröndle: "What happens to us when we see art?". Eleven seconds, says Martin Troendle, three breaths, spends an average viewer in front of art. I give myself five seconds - usually - in front of photographic art. 

But what is the reason for this tiredness or blindness? And what is the reason for this overdose of photo exhibitions and also photo festivals? The main reason could be, that many photographic work have only the chance to be noticed as an exhibition, because magazins and newspapers as the classic opportunities for publication are less - than ten years ago. (Perhaps the same reason for the overdose with photo books.) At the same time the museums (in Germany) have no more big budgets for exhibitions. And the desire of photographers to show their works means that them offering their works for exhibitions for free.  For museums very often the money is one of the main criterion to do an exhibition or not. 

Dear Stefan, I have no solution for that, but I will thinking about this. What is your opinion? Lookink forward to your answer ... with all the best from Hamburg 

Andreas

Ps: In spite of everything I spend an opening of a photo exhibition in the evening with my friend Peter Bialobrzeski. He showes a selection of images from his new book "The Raw And The Cocked" at the showroom of our common Robert Morat Galerie in Berlin.