Error – an obstacle or an opportunity? The case of Johann Schulze’s invention convinces us that even a genre of art can be brought forth as a consequence of error. Darkening of silver nitrate was thought to be the scientist’s mistake, but Niépce and Talbot took it quite differently. Error is the integral but usually hidden part of the whole artistic process. Erring or making a mistake underlies not only every creative/artistic venture, but even every human activity. Doing and achieving something through trial-and-error is so commonly inscribed in our practices that it is hardly noticed. The exhibition focuses on the error in art conceived as a threefold phenomenon: as unintentional but ubiquitous strategy, as intentional method of using aesthetics of error and deliberate playing with its consequences, and as a necessary fraction of an experiment undertaken in the domain of art.
