Narcissus and the golden mirror

About this book

"The works of Hubertus Hamm investigate the parameters of photography. A central subject in his oeuvre is an in-depth and sometimes critical preoccupation with the photographic portrait that comes to a head in the installation 'Portrait IV' (2016). The art historian Thomas Zaunschirm positions this installation, that features a timber stele with the first golden mirror in the history of art, as Hamm's 'epoch-making' work: 'On the one hand, the minimalistic, simply effective work embodies the quest to broaden the boundaries of photography. On the other hand, this installation with its 18 kg sheet of 24-carat gold presupposes some knowledge of the history/histories of seeing (awareness), perspective (space), the mirror and the portrait as well as gold and its value.' In the spirit of the Renaissance theorist Leon Battista Alberti the title 'Narziss und Goldgrund' (Narcissus and Gold Ground) refers to both Narcissus - the motif of reflection as the origin of art - and the associated end of the gold ground of the Middle Ages"--Publisher's website.