Betrachterbilder (Images of the Spectator) reflects on the use of the panorama as a device in the creation of historical narratives. The work is based on the famous Tyrol Panorama, in the Austrian city of Innsbruck, which shows a large circular painting of the 1809 Battle of Bergisel –an important part of the Tyrol’s history– while also offering a splendid view of the region’s Alpine landscape. However, by turning the camera round, instead of photographing the battle with the landscape in the background, it portrays the people observing it. The long exposure time, shallow depth of field and wide aperture, along with the use of slides, give the images a transparent appearance that emphasizes the feeling of seclusion and contemplation, offering the visitors a vision that we, on the other side of the camera, cannot see.

In the 19^th century, panoramas were a very popular visual medium, as an immersive experience that predates cinema, cyberspace and 3D. In the case of the Tyrol Panorama, this “vision machine”, as Paul Virilio would say, is a tool for learning, propaganda, and a tourist attraction all at the same time; a device for a total narrative spectacle.

Born in Dornbirn, Austria, in 1964, Arno Gisinger is based in Paris, where he also teaches at Université de Paris 8. He graduated from the École nationale supérieure de la photographie d'Arles and also has a degree in History and German Philology from the University of Innsbruck. His dual training as an artist and historian led him to work on the relationship between memory, history and visual representations. He has exhibited in numerous art centers and institutions, including the Círculo de Bellas Artes in Madrid, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Art Collections of the Ruhr University Bochum, the Kunstmuseum Bochum, or the Biennale for Contemporary Photography in Mannheim. Other notable exhibitions include Faux Terrain / Viewer Images at Schirn Kunsthalle in Frankfurt, Archéologies at Le Cellier in Reims, and Nouvelles histoires de fantômes, a collaboration with Georges Didi-Huberman at Palais de Tokyo in Paris. In addition to his exhibitions, Gisinger has published several books that intertwine photography, history, and fiction, including L’Ordinaire de l’oubli (Société française de Photographie, 2001) or Konstellation Benjamin (Transphotographic Press, 2009).

Arno Gisinger (Austria, 1964)
Betrachterbilder

2025 Edition
Outdoor installation
Venue: Ereaga Gardens
Collaborator: Foro Cultural de Austria en Madrid