Impressions from the exhibition Color Mania. The Material of Color in Photography and Film at Fotomuseum Winterthur, September 7 to November 24, 2019, curated by Nadine Wietlisbach, director of the Fotomuseum, and film scholar Dr. Eva Hielscher.

The exhibition highlighted the historical connections of color as a material in photography and film and presented the application of historical color processes and techniques. Alongside iconic works, the exhibition featured rare exhibits that the research teams discovered in film archives in Europe and the United States. Works by contemporary artists Dunja Evers, Raphael Hefti, Barbara Kasten and Alexandra Navratil extended the historical perspective.

The exhibition was planned and executed in collaboration with the research projects ERC Advanced Grant FilmColors. Bridging the Gap between Technology and Aesthetics and SNF Film Colors. Technologies, Cultures, Institutions of Prof. Dr. Barbara Flückiger.

Kindly supported by: Swiss National Science Foundation’s funding scheme Agora for science communication, Volkart Foundation, Stiftung Temperatio and Pro Helvetia.

Book Publication:

Flueckiger, Barbara; Hielscher, Eva; Wietlisbach, Nadine (Hrsg.) (2019): Color Mania. The Material of Color in Photography and Film. Zurich; Winterthur: Lars Müller; Fotomuseum Winterthur (English edition).

Flückiger, Barbara; Hielscher, Eva; Wietlisbach, Nadine (Hrsg.) (2019): Color Mania. Materialität Farbe in Fotografie und Film. Zürich; Winterthur: Lars Müller; Fotomuseum Winterthur (German edition).

Further Texts:

Hielscher, Eva (2019): Color Mania. Exhibiting the Materiality of Color in Film and Photography. In: Film Colors. An Interdisciplinary Approach. Online

Lameris, Bregt (2019): Color Mania Exhibition Shows Film Materials from the Image’Est Archive. In: Film Colors. An Interdisciplinary Approach. Online

Flueckiger, Barbara (2018): Digital Tools for the Analysis of Film Colors. In: Film Colors. An Interdisciplinary Approach. Online

Selection of Online Reviews and Articles

Urs Tillmanns (2019): Color Mania – Materialität Farbe in Fotografie und Film, Fotointern.ch (in German)

Kathrin Halter (2019): Wenn frühe Schwarzweiss-Filme wieder farbig werden, Cinébulletin (in German)

Kathrin Halter (2019): De l’effet des couleurs au cinéma, Cinébulletin (in  French)

Renato Bagattini (2019):  «Color Mania» im Fotomuseum Winterthur – Materialität Farbe, Aargauer Zeitung (in German)

Photography Now

Josef Ritler (2019): So entstand Farbe in Foto und Film, Seniorweb (in German)

Michael Sennhauser (2019): Color Mania – Farbfilme, Filmfarben und Kunst in Winterthur, Radio SRF (in German)

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  Exhibition Color Mania – Materiality of Color in Photography and Film, Fotomuseum Winterthur, September 7 to November 24, 2019. Photo by Barbara Flueckiger.
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  Preparation of the exhibition Color Mania – Materiality of Color in Photography and Film, Fotomuseum Winterthur, September 7 to November 24, 2019. Photo by Barbara Flueckiger.
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  In the week before the opening, the team of the Fotomuseum including members of the FilmColors research team set up the Color Mania Exhibition at Fotomuseum Winterthur. Video by Fotomuseum Winterthur.
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  Exhibition Color Mania – Materiality of Color in Photography and Film, Fotomuseum Winterthur, September 7 to November 24, 2019 © Benedikt Redmann/Fotomuseum Winterthur
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  Video of curators Nadine Wietlisbach and Dr. Eva Hielscher who explain the concept of the Color Mania Exhibition, Fotomuseum Winterthur (in German). Video by Swiss channel ArtTV.
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  Exhibition Color Mania – Materiality of Color in Photography and Film, Fotomuseum Winterthur, September 7 to November 24, 2019 © Benedikt Redmann/Fotomuseum Winterthur
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  Exhibition Color Mania – Materiality of Color in Photography and Film, Fotomuseum Winterthur, September 7 to November 24, 2019 © Benedikt Redmann/Fotomuseum Winterthur
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  Exhibition Color Mania – Materiality of Color in Photography and Film, Fotomuseum Winterthur, September 7 to November 24, 2019. Photo by Barbara Flueckiger.
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  Exhibition Color Mania – Materiality of Color in Photography and Film, Fotomuseum Winterthur, September 7 to November 24, 2019. Photo by Barbara Flueckiger.
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  Exhibition Color Mania – Materiality of Color in Photography and Film, Fotomuseum Winterthur, September 7 to November 24, 2019. Photo by Barbara Flueckiger.
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  Exhibition Color Mania – Materiality of Color in Photography and Film, Fotomuseum Winterthur, September 7 to November 24, 2019. Photo by Barbara Flueckiger.
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  Book launch and guided tour. Exhibition Color Mania – Materiality of Color in Photography and Film, Fotomuseum Winterthur, September 7 to November 24, 2019. Photo by Felix Stutz.
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  Guided tour. Alexandra Navratil’s installation All That Slides, Strikes, Rises and Falls (2015). Exhibition Color Mania – Materiality of Color in Photography and Film, Fotomuseum Winterthur, September 7 to November 24, 2019. Photo by Till Brockmann.
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  Film installation Split/Hatch/Mutate/Double (2019) by artist Alexandra Navratil, Color Mania Exhibition, Fotomuseum Winterthur.
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  Chromlithographic loops were an entertainment for children. For the installation the FilmColors team digitized and reproduced such a loop. Vistors could handcrank a historical film projector to screen the loop. Installation by David Pfluger. Digitization by Martin Weiss. Projector by Lichtspiel Kinemathek Bern. Exhibition Color Mania – Materiality of Color in Photography and Film, Fotomuseum Winterthur, September 7 to November 24, 2019 Foto © Benedikt Redmann/Fotomuseum Winterthur. Video by Barbara Flueckiger.
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  Lenticular films were an amateur color film process in the 1920s and 1930s. This installation at the Color Mania exhibition showed the result of the complicated process in projection. Installation by David Pfluger and Lutz Garmsen. Color Mania exhibition, Fotomuseum Winterthur.
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  Autochrome Lumière. Exhibition Color Mania – Materiality of Color in Photography and Film, Fotomuseum Winterthur, September 7 to November 24, 2019. Photo by Barbara Flueckiger.
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  Stereoscopic Autochrome Lumière. Exhibition Color Mania – Materiality of Color in Photography and Film, Fotomuseum Winterthur, September 7 to November 24, 2019. Photo by Barbara Flueckiger.
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  Exhibition Color Mania – Materiality of Color in Photography and Film, Fotomuseum Winterthur, September 7 to November 24, 2019. Photo by Barbara Flueckiger.
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  Handcolored Daguerrotype. Exhibition Color Mania – Materiality of Color in Photography and Film, Fotomuseum Winterthur, September 7 to November 24, 2019. Photo by Barbara Flueckiger.
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  Handcolored Daguerrotype. Exhibition Color Mania – Materiality of Color in Photography and Film, Fotomuseum Winterthur, September 7 to November 24, 2019. Photo by Barbara Flueckiger.
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  Exhibition Color Mania – Materiality of Color in Photography and Film, Fotomuseum Winterthur, September 7 to November 24, 2019 © Benedikt Redmann/Fotomuseum Winterthur
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  Exhibition Color Mania – Materiality of Color in Photography and Film, Fotomuseum Winterthur, September 7 to November 24, 2019. Photo by Barbara Flueckiger.
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  Exhibition Color Mania – Materiality of Color in Photography and Film, Fotomuseum Winterthur, September 7 to November 24, 2019 © Benedikt Redmann/Fotomuseum Winterthur
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  Several manuals from the 1920s and 1930s were on display at the Exhibition Color Mania – Materiality of Color in Photography and Film, Fotomuseum Winterthur, September 7 to November 24, 2019. Photo by Barbara Flueckiger.
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  Exhibition Color Mania – Materiality of Color in Photography and Film, Fotomuseum Winterthur, September 7 to November 24, 2019. Photo by Barbara Flueckiger.
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  Several manuals from the 1920s and 1930s were on display at the Color Mania exhibition, with two types of illumination – toplight and backlight – that altered the color appearance considerably. Exhibition Color Mania – Materiality of Color in Photography and Film, Fotomuseum Winterthur, September 7 to November 24, 2019. Photo by Barbara Flueckiger.
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  Exhibition Color Mania – Materiality of Color in Photography and Film, Fotomuseum Winterthur, September 7 to November 24, 2019 © Benedikt Redmann/Fotomuseum Winterthur
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  George Kleine’s copyright books. Library of Congress. See blog post for more information. Exhibition Color Mania – Materiality of Color in Photography and Film, Fotomuseum Winterthur, September 7 to November 24, 2019. Photo by Barbara Flueckiger.
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  George Kleine’s copyright books. Library of Congress. See blog post for more information. Exhibition Color Mania – Materiality of Color in Photography and Film, Fotomuseum Winterthur, September 7 to November 24, 2019. Photo by Barbara Flueckiger.
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  Hand-colored glass slides of Roald Amundsens North and South Pole expeditions, National Library of Norway. Exhibition Color Mania – Materiality of Color in Photography and Film, Fotomuseum Winterthur, September 7 to November 24, 2019 © Benedikt Redmann/Fotomuseum Winterthur
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  Handcolored glass slide of Roald Amundsen’s North Pole expedition. Exhibition Color Mania – Materiality of Color in Photography and Film, Fotomuseum Winterthur, September 7 to November 24, 2019. Photo by Barbara Flueckiger.
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  Rare samples from a tinted and toned nitrate film of Roald Amundsen’s North Pole expedition. Exhibition Color Mania – Materiality of Color in Photography and Film, Fotomuseum Winterthur, September 7 to November 24, 2019. Photo by Barbara Flueckiger.
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  Guided tour. Barbara Flueckiger explains tinted and toned samples. Exhibition Color Mania – Materiality of Color in Photography and Film, Fotomuseum Winterthur, September 7 to November 24, 2019. Photo by Till Brockmann.
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  Exhibition Color Mania – Materiality of Color in Photography and Film, Fotomuseum Winterthur, September 7 to November 24, 2019. Photo by Barbara Flueckiger.
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  Technicolor charts from Herbert T. Kalmus’ collection. Credit: Library of Congress. Exhibition Color Mania – Materiality of Color in Photography and Film, Fotomuseum Winterthur, September 7 to November 24, 2019. Photo by Barbara Flueckiger.
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  Proofs of the lithographic prints for the Color Mania Book, edited by Barbara Flückiger, Eva Hielscher, Nadine Wietlisbach, in collaboration with Fotomuseum Winterthur. Lars Müller Publishers, 2019. Exhibition Color Mania – Materiality of Color in Photography and Film, Fotomuseum Winterthur, September 7 to November 24, 2019. Photo by Barbara Flueckiger.
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  Newly delivered, the Color Mania Book, edited by Barbara Flückiger, Eva Hielscher, Nadine Wietlisbach, in collaboration with Fotomuseum Winterthur. Lars Müller Publishers, 2019. Photo by Barbara Flueckiger.
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  On Wednesday December 18, 2019, James Layton, Manager, Celeste Bartos Film Preservation Center Department of Film, and Barbara Flueckiger, PI ERC Advanced Grant Film Colors, presented a program of newly restored films including the American launch of the Color Mania book. The Color Mania Book in the MoMA’s book store, December 19, 2019, edited by Barbara Flückiger, Eva Hielscher, Nadine Wietlisbach, in collaboration with Fotomuseum Winterthur. Lars Müller Publishers, 2019.
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  Screening of film clips: comparison of 4 different versions of a beautiful Kodachrome II reversal film by Éric Duvivier, see blog post by Bregt Lamerisblog post by Bregt Lameris. Exhibition Color Mania – Materiality of Color in Photography and Film, Fotomuseum Winterthur, September 7 to November 24, 2019. Photo by Felix Stutz.
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  Guestbook. Exhibition Color Mania – Materiality of Color in Photography and Film, Fotomuseum Winterthur, September 7 to November 24, 2019. Photo by Barbara Flueckiger.
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  Impressions from film coloring workshops at the Color Mania Exhibition. Participants were coloring film samples with historical recipes and then projected them on the screen. The workshops were given by Prof. Dr. Ulrich Ruedel, HTW Berlin. Photo by Josephine Diecke. Color Mania exhibition, Fotomuseum Winterthur.
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  Impressions from film coloring workshops at the Color Mania Exhibition. Participants were coloring film samples with historical recipes and then projected them on the screen. The workshops were given by Prof. Dr. Ulrich Ruedel, HTW Berlin. Photo by Josephine Diecke. Color Mania exhibition, Fotomuseum Winterthur.
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  Impressions from film coloring workshops at the Color Mania Exhibition. Participants were coloring film samples with historical recipes and then projected them on the screen. The workshops were given by Prof. Dr. Ulrich Ruedel, HTW Berlin. Photo by Josephine Diecke. Color Mania exhibition, Fotomuseum Winterthur.
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  Impressions from film coloring workshops at the Color Mania Exhibition. Participants were coloring film samples with historical recipes and then projected them on the screen. The workshops were given by Prof. Dr. Ulrich Ruedel, HTW Berlin. Photo by Josephine Diecke. Color Mania exhibition, Fotomuseum Winterthur.
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  Impressions from film coloring workshops at the Color Mania Exhibition. Participants were coloring film samples with historical recipes and then projected them on the screen. The workshops were given by Prof. Dr. Ulrich Ruedel, HTW Berlin. Photo by Josephine Diecke. Color Mania exhibition, Fotomuseum Winterthur.
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  Impressions from film coloring workshops at the Color Mania Exhibition. Participants were coloring film samples with historical recipes and then projected them on the screen. The workshops were given by Prof. Dr. Ulrich Ruedel, HTW Berlin. Photo by Josephine Diecke. Color Mania exhibition, Fotomuseum Winterthur.
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  Impressions from film coloring workshops at the Color Mania Exhibition. Participants were coloring film samples with historical recipes and then projected them on the screen. The workshops were given by Prof. Dr. Ulrich Ruedel, HTW Berlin. Photo by Josephine Diecke. Color Mania exhibition, Fotomuseum Winterthur.
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  Billboardss for the exhibition Color Mania – Materiality of Color in Photography and Film, Fotomuseum Winterthur, September 7 to November 24, 2019 © Benedikt Redmann/Fotomuseum Winterthur
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  Billboard for the Exhibition Color Mania – Materiality of Color in Photography and Film, Zurich Main station. Fotomuseum Winterthur, September 7 to November 24, 2019. Photo by Barbara Flueckiger.
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  Exhibition Color Mania – Materiality of Color in Photography and Film, Fotomuseum Winterthur, September 7 to November 24, 2019. Photo by Barbara Flueckiger.
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  The ColorMania App was part of a larger ecosystem developed in the research project ERC Advanced Grant FilmColors. The app connected the exhibits to the Timeline of Historical film Colors and gave visitors access to background information. See blog post about the digital tools. The ColorMania App was developed by Josua Fröhlich in collaboration with Gaudenz Halter. Color Mania exhibition, Fotomuseum Winterthur.
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  The ColorMania App was part of a larger ecosystem developed in the research project ERC Advanced Grant FilmColors. The app connected the exhibits to the Timeline of Historical film Colors and gave visitors access to background information. See blog post about the digital tools. The ColorMania App was developed by Josua Fröhlich in collaboration with Gaudenz Halter.
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  Starting page of the ColorMania App. The ColorMania App was part of a larger ecosystem developed in the research project ERC Advanced Grant FilmColors. The app connected the exhibits to the Timeline of Historical film Colors and gave visitors access to background information. See blog post about the digital tools. The ColorMania App was developed by Josua Fröhlich in collaboration with Gaudenz Halter.
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  Nadine Wietlisbach, director of the Fotomuseum Winterthur, explains the concept of the exhibition. Memoriav colloquium in connection with the exhibition Color Mania – Materiality of Color in Photography and Film, Fotomuseum Winterthur, September 7 to November 24, 2019. Photo by Barbara Flueckiger.
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  Special guided tour for film professionals in collaboration with the Foundation FOCAL. Exhibition Color Mania – Materiality of Color in Photography and Film, Fotomuseum Winterthur, September 7 to November 24, 2019. Photo Angela Rohrer.
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  Exhibition Color Mania – Materiality of Color in Photography and Film, Fotomuseum Winterthur, September 7 to November 24, 2019. Photo by Barbara Flueckiger.
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  Gert Koshofer Collection with over 150 samples of historical color films. Exhibition Color Mania – Materiality of Color in Photography and Film, Fotomuseum Winterthur, September 7 to November 24, 2019. Photo by Barbara Flueckiger.
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  Exhibition Color Mania – Materiality of Color in Photography and Film, Fotomuseum Winterthur, September 7 to November 24, 2019. Photo by Barbara Flueckiger.
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  Barbara Flueckiger explains the exhibition at the book launch and guided tour. Exhibition Color Mania – Materiality of Color in Photography and Film, Fotomuseum Winterthur, September 7 to November 24, 2019. Photo by Felix Stutz.
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  Book launch and guided tour. Exhibition Color Mania – Materiality of Color in Photography and Film, Fotomuseum Winterthur, September 7 to November 24, 2019. Photo by Felix Stutz.
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  Curator Eva Hielscher presenting at the book launch and guided tour. Exhibition Color Mania – Materiality of Color in Photography and Film, Fotomuseum Winterthur, September 7 to November 24, 2019. Photo by Felix Stutz.
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  Book launch and guided tour, screening of exemplary color films. Exhibition Color Mania – Materiality of Color in Photography and Film, Fotomuseum Winterthur, September 7 to November 24, 2019. Photo by Felix Stutz.
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  Panel discussion with Eva Hielscher, Olivia Kristina Stutz and Noemi Daugaard. Screening of fashion films. Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur in collaboration with the Exhibition Color Mania – Materiality of Color in Photography and Film, Fotomuseum Winterthur, September 7 to November 24, 2019. Photo by Felix Stutz.
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  Barbara Kasten, Series Architectural Sites, 1986-1989. Exhibition Color Mania – Materiality of Color in Photography and Film, Fotomuseum Winterthur, September 7 to November 24, 2019 © Benedikt Redmann/Fotomuseum Winterthur.
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  Raphael Hefti, series Lycopodium, 2014. Exhibition Color Mania – Materiality of Color in Photography and Film, Fotomuseum Winterthur, September 7 to November 24, 2019 © Benedikt Redmann/Fotomuseum Winterthur
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