Out of date?

Traditional costume images are very much in vogue. Traditional clothing has been an expression of the wearer's identity and self-confidence since the Middle Ages. This may also explain the great popularity of the subject in photography, as photographers attempt to capture and continue the discourse surrounding tradition and homeland.

With its glossy portraits of mostly glamorous models in traditional costume, the exhibition "Out of Time? – Portraits of Women in Traditional Costume" has one thing in common: the 35 portraits by photographer and historian Eric Schütt also pay tribute to a shared, almost forgotten heritage.

But what is special about Schütt's photographs is the quiet, unvarnished view of women in traditional costume in their immediate, authentic environment, who are considered the last of their kind.

Schütt began his project in 2008, traveling through various rural regions throughout Germany and Alsace to interview and then portray mostly elderly women in traditional costume. He traveled to places like Hesse, in the Protestant and Catholic Marburg region and the Schwalm region; East Germany, to Lusatia, to the Catholic and Protestant Sorbian women; the Black Forest with its wide variety of regional costumes; Schaumburg region west of Hanover; Franconia near Forchheim; and Bavaria, in the Aichach region. Everywhere he encountered representatives of a generation who still wore their traditional regional costumes in everyday life or on Sundays, or at least on major religious holidays.

The exhibition, which runs until June 21, 2020, is complemented by two original historical costumes as well as an audio and photo station where visitors can take photos of themselves and simulate their facial aging.