Contemplating the City. Landscapes of Barcelona

Montjuïc Castle presents a kaleidoscopic photography exhibition of Barcelona that allows everyone to reinterpret its many landscapes through their own eyes. A landscape is not only a physical place; it is also a sentimental place, influenced by ideas and feelings. Ultimately it becomes a subjective framework created by whoever observes and experiences it.

The exhibition is divided into three complementary installations: in the first, two large-format panoramic photographs take in the city, and inside them, thanks to the focused, curious gaze of the "voyeur" it is possible to see what is happening, what is being done, what moves, and ultimately who makes up and plays the lead roles in this urban landscape. In the second installation some supposedly touristic views, instead of revealing the typical iconic images, show a lesser-known Barcelona. Images which are sometimes literary, sometimes visual, documental or photographic, created between the 16th and 21st centuries by celebrities from then and now, subjective interpretations, foreign and native to Barcelona. Finally, at the back of the room, a photographic installation proposes a tour of the city’s seven hills: the Turó de la Peira, Turó del Putget, Turó de la Rovira, Turó de Modolell, Turó de Monterols, Turó de la Creueta del Coll and Turó del Carmel. 

 

Organisation

Institute of Culture, Barcelona City Council

Concept, design, production and set-up

MagmaCultura

Proofreading and translations

TextosBCN

External production

Marc Martí, Reproduccions Sabaté, Digiprint, Gráficas Condal, Fusteria F. Cugat, Pellisa Ràfols, T.Galser

Archives

Arxiu Fotogràfic de Barcelona (AFB), Arxiu Històric de la Ciutat de Barcelona (AHCB) and Arxiu de Revistes Catalanes Antigues (ARCA)

© on images

Pierre Aveline, Jaume Benabarre, Antonio Castelucho, Pere Català Pic, Florent-Fidele Constant, Josep Fontserè, Carlos Kurz, Hauser i Menet, Nazario, Mireia Plans, Jordi Rins, Pérez de Rozas, Josep Maria Sagarra, America Sanchez, Philip Stanton, Joan Vidal Ventosa, Anthonis Van den Wijngaerde, Lu Xinjian and Art Labor Gallery in Shanghai

Acknowledgements

To all the artists who have shared their vision of Barcelona