As of: March 15, 2024, 1:00 p.m
By: Christine Merk
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The photographer and the initiator: Manfred Lehner and Anja Gild with the finished “Word & Picture” calendar from Valley.
© Max Kalup
Why not let Valley citizens write stories about Valley photographs?
That's what Anja Gild thought and initiated a writing-photo project.
The result is a timeless calendar in which twelve women and one man put their thoughts on motifs from the community on paper.
Valley
- “Bachhopping” is the name of the picture for July.
Three girls in dirndls can be seen on it, probably at a village festival.
One of the girls is jumping over a narrow stream with her arms outstretched and one leg already in the air - that's how the photographer caught her.
“Watercourse – CV – having fun!” is written on it.
A page in a calendar that never existed before.
“A calendar with photos of the Valley and stories about the photographs, all written by Valley citizens and people who have a close connection to the place,” describes Gild.
The texts were created at the Culture Days last year.
“It was intended to be a public writing-photo project that encourages participants to think and write about the community,” explains Gild.
With her idea she was able to inspire the Valley photographer and designer Manfred Lehner, who provided black and white photographs from the Valley.
Twelve women and one man came to the “writing workshop”.
So because there were 13, January appears twice in the calendar.
The authors are Anneliese Müller, Annemarie Hagn, Ilka Walter, Bernhard Wolf, Brigitte Folger, Margarete Kober, Renate Döring, Irene Paul, Claudia Kreutzer, Lorita Bögl, Monika Ziegler, Barbara Bertram and Annemarie Großmann.
They were all allowed to choose a photo first.
Motifs include the Mangfall, the railway tracks, an old water wheel at the Grubmühle or an avenue of trees in the fog.
The writing process was divided into four steps.
“In the first, participants were supposed to look at the photo and write freely about it,” explains Gild.
In the second, they were asked to take the perspective of an object in the photo.
Some authors write their texts from the perspective of a tree, a church tower or a motorway bridge.
After the change in perspective, the next tasks were to reduce the thoughts and text to eleven and then to six words.
The authors had ten minutes for each step.
You should write as spontaneously as possible, without much conscious reflection, explains Gild.
“Through the form specification, the time limit and the gradual reduction, dense, poetic, authentic texts emerged.”
Two of these texts are printed for each month, each on parchment paper that lies above the sheets with the photos.
This combination is particularly beautifully visible when the calendar is placed in front of a light and only one month is opened.
Gild is very happy with the result and has received positive feedback from the authors.
And because the calendar is printed without days of the week, it is actually timeless.
The “Word & Image” calendar is available for 19 euros at the town hall.
The edition is limited to 200 pieces.
The community financed the project.
The proceeds go to the Valley Cultural Fund.
By the way: Everything from the region is also available in our regular Holzkirchen newsletter.