The Legacy of Scientist Otto Tetens: German Samoa’s most important documentarian photographer
Lecture by Anthony Brunt (Samoa/New Zealand), in english

There were three commercial photographers operating in Samoa during the German colonial period and also a number of amateur photographers among the settler community. Arguably, none can match the body of work of Otto Tetens, the astronomer who came to Apia in 1902 and spent several years setting up the Samoa geophysical observatory at  ulinu’u. His collection, most of it unrelated to his scientific endeavours, reflects a bold, even adventurous intrusion into Samoan and settler life to get the shots he wanted, clearly driven by a wide-eyed curiosity and fascination with his exotic new home in the South Seas. Photo historian Tony Brunt examines Tetens’ large collection – much of it still unseen and held privately in Germany – and mines it for its enduring historical and cultural insights.

in the context of the exhibition “Points of View”
Tickets: 8 € / 6 €