Joan Fontcuberta Spanish Date of Lecture: 2002-03-22 Practice: Photography Installation		Centaurus Neandertalensis, The professor examines Centaurus' hand
Spanish born visual artist and theoretician Joan Fontcuberta produces photography that challenges the viewer's perceptions about the inherent objectivity of photography. In Fauna, recently exhibited in Toronto, Fontcuberta elaborately forged a hidden and fictional world of wildlife. Using sound clips, text, taxidermy and photographs, the artist made convincing argument for the existence of certain imaginary creatures. By exhibiting his work in a scientific manner, he forces the viewer to question the authenticity of photography, specimens and text as reliable documentation. Aside from his artistic contributions, Fontcuberta is also a founding member of the international magazine Fotovision and the biennial event Photography Springtime. Fontcuberta has produced a dozen photo-related publications, which include Herbarium, Fauna and Sputnik. His work has been collected by such institutions as Musee d'Art Moderne, Paris, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York and Musee de l'Elysee, Switzerland. He currently teaches at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona. Visit the artist's website www.fontcuberta.com