Granser (...)observes the culture of Coney Island with a foreigner's careful precision and reverence. (...) The resulting images are poignant, sad, comical, nostalgic, melancholy, absurd and peculiarly charming. photo-eye booklist

"Garish, loud, and cheap, some say. Others say: beauty lies in the eye of the beholder." the journal mare on Coney Island

Besides certain phenomena associated with leisure-time activities, artist Peter Granser (* 1971), who is from Austria but lives in Stuttgart, is interested in themes that are usually taboo in society, such as aging or illness. His books of photographs, Sun City (2003) and Alzheimer (2005) quickly brought him recognition from both critics and the general public. His project Coney Island is named after an American place that is a near legend in European eyes. Granser focuses his sober, trenchant gaze on everyday American culture. In a state of increasing desolation since the 1960s, the aging, crowded amusement park on the beach can be interpreted today as a metaphor for decline as well as survival. With his precise color photographs, Granser observes Coney Island, immortalized through black-and-white photos by Diane Arbus, Weegee, andBruce Gilden, bringing it into the present time.

Exhibition schedule: Kunsthalle Tübingen, May 28–July 2, 2006 · Galerie Kamel Mennour, Paris, November 15–December 30, 2006

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