Digital image systems
photography and new technologies at the Düsseldorf school

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Introduction -- A FRAMING THE DÜSSELDORF SCHOOL -- B WHAT IS DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY? -- Introduction -- A EMERGENCE OF A GERMAN DOCUMENTARY TRADITION -- B THE END OF PHOTOGRAPHY -- C DISCOURSE ON DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY IN GERMANY -- Introduction -- A PRE-DIGITAL MECHANISMS IN CONTEXT: 1960S / 1970S -- B SERIAL CONSTRUCTIONS AND COMBINATORIAL FUNCTIONS: A TRANS-HISTORICAL PATTERN -- Introduction -- A DIGITAL RETOUCHING TOOLS -- B DIGITAL STITCHING -- C EARLY DIGITAL COMPOSITIONS -- D THOMAS RUFF'S ANALOGUE AND DIGITAL EXPERIMENTS WITH THE PORTRAIT -- Introduction -- A COMPLEX COMPOSITES: ANDREAS GURSKY'S GENERIC WORLD -- B IMAGE RECYCLING AND APPROPRIATIVE POSITIONS -- C THOMAS RUFF'S GENERATED PHOTOGRAPHS AND THE LIMITS OF REPRESENTATION -- D GENERIC PICTURE REALITIES -- 5 Conclusion -- A BIBLIOGRAPHY -- B INDEX -- C ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

How have digital technologies affected the truth claim of photography? What has been the artistic response to the technological and societal transformations the digital revolution has brought about?Claus Gunti explores the widespread implications of the digital in the work of renowned photographers of the Düsseldorf School, Thomas Ruff, Andreas Gursky and Jörg Sasse, stretching from ties to conceptual art to the development of a globalized visual culture. The study provides a model for understanding the digital revolution in photography and shows that it ought to be understood beyond a strictly technological perspective