The Ghent University library with its famous Boekentoren or Book Tower, which was designed by Henry van de Velde in the 1930s, re-opened recently after a long restoration process. Although celebrating this festive moment, this exhibition does not so much focus on the building itself but rather on its rich imagery. For over the years, leading photographers such as Lucien Hervé and Candida Höfer have pictured the library tower whereas artists such as Jan De Cock and Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker realized installations or dance performances in the building that were documented with the help of photographs and films.
By juxtaposing multiple images of the same building, this exhibition deals with various models of architectural representation: from the typical modernist architectural photographs by Emile Sergysels from the 1930s to the recent explorations by Aglaia Konrad. In addition, the exhibition combines architectural photography with a myriad of other artistic and photographic practices such as documentary photography, street photography, fashion shoots, photojournalism, amateur photography, painting, video, et cetera – with, of course, the Book Tower as a common thread.
With works by Dirk Braeckman, Kristien Daem, Jan De Cock, Walter De Mulder, Carl De Keyzer, Geert Goiris, Lucien Hervé, Candida Höfer, Jan Kempenaers, Aglaia Konrad, Marie-Jo Lafontaine, Agnes Maes, Paul Robbrecht, François Schuiten, Emile Sergysels, and Walter Vorjohann among others.