A while back I featured some of the awesome panoramic views by Jörg Dietrich of PanoramicStreetline, an initiative that aims to show the character of cities all over the world in a single image.
The other week, Jörg, the brains and photographer behind the project got in touch to let me know about an upcoming exhibition that PanoramicStreetline is holding in Leipzig between now and early June.
The exhibition will showcase old and new panoramas of the “Leipziger Ring”, the inner city circle of Leipzig, from 1850 and from the present day. The aim is to show how the bustling centre has changed over 150 years, but also to discern some of the similarities that make it undeniably “Leipzig”. Spanning out over a 30m lithography print, the panorama is thought to be the longest continuous architecture photographical panorama ever produced. No mean feat, right?!
What’s more, the addition of the panoramic view of the circle from the 19th century gives the project a whole other dimension – one that delves into the culture and history of the city (in a very realistic, visual way).
Here’s the background to the project:
The Leipziger Ring project developed from a joint idea of the PanoramaStreetline Team and Lehmstedt Verlag (Publishing House). PanoramaStreetline is the largest archive of linear panorama photography worldwide. TheLehmstedt Verlag is based in Leipzig and suggested that a complete panoramic lithography of Leipzigs’ city circle from ca. 1850 could be repeated with modern photographic technology for Leipzigs’ 1000 years jubilee in 2015.
That was 2 years ago.
Today the modern panorama of the complete city circle is finished and we can present this unique comparison of the Leipziger Ring with an exhibition and a book. You are welcome to discover and enjoy our project – a project combining architecture, history, art and photography.
There’s an accompanying book that will be displayed alongside the exhibition, as well as a web-project that encapsulates the idea behind the project.
As most of you know, I’m a huge fan of culture, art, and architecture, so this is a project that I can really get along with. I believe visual representations of a city can tell us a great deal about it and, when you pair together two different images from different eras completely, you can really start to make connections and dig a little deeper into the stories that entwine it.
So, if you happen to be in Leipzig between now and June, I highly recommend you pop in and take a look.
Exhibition Details
Date: 13.03.2015-13.06.2015
Address: Stadtbibliothek Leipzig (municipal library of Leipzig), Wilhelm-Leuschner-Platz 10-11
There is no entrance fee.
Find out more about the exhibition here.
