El Lissitzky
Russian Constructivist El Lissitzky's interests were expansive. As with Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, Lissitzky worked in “graphic arts, architectural forms, photography, painting, and other formal types into a unique and dynamic art” (Sarabianov 2022). In meeting and working with other artists – including Alexander Rodchenko and Lazlo Moholy-Nagy – “Lissitzky became a transformational figure, intermin-gling the innovative arts of Europe and Russia and advancing the exchange of experimental forms and ideas” (ibid).
El Lissitzky, The constructor – Self-portrait/Photomontage, 1925
Bibliography
Levinger, Esther. 1989. “Art and Mathematics in the Thought of El Lissitzky: His Relationship to Suprematism and Constructivism.” Leonardo 22 (2): 227. https://doi.org/10.2307/1575236.
Perloff, Nancy, and Brian Reed. 2003. Situating El Lissitzky. Vol. 12. Los Angeles, CA: The Getty Research Institute.
Rocco, Vanessa. “Activist Photo Spaces: ‘Situation Awareness’ and the Exhibition of the Building Workers Unions.” Journal of curatorial studies 3, no. 1 (2014): 26–48.
Sarabianov, Andrei D. 2022. “El Lissitzky | Russian Artist.” Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/El-Lissitzky.
Mariah Robertson
First published 7 August 2020
“There’s always a bit of that chemical mess at the edge of a photograph […] I enjoy trying to make something out of the unwanted thing and go deeper into the disaster.”
Mariah Robertson is a New York-based contemporary photographer. Best known for her abstract and conceptual images and photographic installations, Robertson combines technical knowledge and photography application juxtaposed with the random application in her methods.
Robertson manipulates photographic processes – for example, the artist omits and reverses specific steps in the darkroom and applies chemical treatments using instruments or tools such as brushes, sponges and spray bottles – to create unique works on paper, described by art critics as the photographic equivalent of “action paintings” (Robertson 2020).
Robertson has influenced my practice in the darkroom and in the innovative ways the artist displays immense artworks in gallery settings, including draping enormous loops from the ceiling or having the artwork traverse the entire floor in cascading undulations of chromatic brilliance (Neville 2014).
Figure 1. Mariah Robertson, 113, 2012, unique colour print on metallic paper, 30x1968 inches (762x49987mm)
Figure 2. Mariah Robertson, 154, 2014
Mariah Robertson, 16, 2014, unique chemical treatment on RA-4, 2108x1854mm
Mariah Robertson, 209, 2019, unique c-print, Ilfotrans, 760x 36940mm
Keywords
Chemical, Camera-less, Contemporary, Abstract, Photography
References
Robertson, Mariah. 2012. 113. Image. https://art21.org/artist/mariah-robertson/.
2014b. 16. Image. https://www.mbart.com/exhibitions/119/works/artworks-10103-mariah-robertson-16-2014/.
Robertson, Mariah. 2014. 154. Image. https://greg-neville.com/tag/mariah-robertson-prints/.
Robertson, Mariah. 2014. “New York Close Up, ‘Mariah Robertson's Chemical Reactions.” Art21. October 18, 2014. YouTube video, 09:21. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dv17mnCyq0A.
Robertson, Mariah. 2019. 209. Image. https://www.mariahrobertson.com/work/entire-box-of-photo-paper-works
Robertson, Mariah. 2020. “Tapping Into the Subconscious with Mariah Robertson” Interview by Kinji Fujishima. Fine Art Globe. https://fineartglobe.com/exhibitions/tapping-into-the-subconscious-with-mariah-robertson/.
Squires, C, Batchen, G, Baker, G & Steyerl H 2013, What Is a Photograph?, International Center for Photography and DelMonico Books, New York, NY
Wolfgang Tillmans
First published 18 April 2020
Last updated 6 June 2023
Wolfgang Tillmans’ Frieschwimmer series was created using dry, cameraless analogue photographic processes. The artist used his hands to manipulate light to create the patterns on the paper during development. The colour was introduced into the images by way of Tillmans’ use of a colour head enlarger and C-type paper. Many art critics regard Tillmans’ work to be situated between observational and abstract photography, creating new narratives while offering a significant contribution to the overarching field of contemporary photography.
Wolfgang Tillmans, Freischwimmer 16, 2003, c-type print on paper, 2395×1797mm
Relevance to practice
Alternative printing, Abstraction, Darkroom, Analogue, Experimentation, Technical, Paradoxical
Keywords
21st century, Art, Photography, Technology, Digital, Perspective, Arrangement, Exploration, Contemporary
References
Artspace Editors. 2016. “8 New Classics of 21st-Century Photography You Need to Know Now.” Artspace. 2016. https://www.artspace.com/magazine/art_101/book_report/phaidon-photography-21st-century-list-53466.
Tillmans, Wolfgang. 2003. Freischwimmer 16. Image. https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/tillmans-freischwimmer-16-p20284.
Uta Barth
First published 15 August 2020
Uta Barth
Germany
1958–
Practice: Photography
Movement/Style: Contemporary
Uta Barth is best known for her alternative use of light, colour and focus, producing abstraction and distortion, resulting in an elusive and ethereal discourse of her images and subject matter. Barth considers her work never directly addresses the literal subject matter of the photograph but attempts to ask questions about vision itself, photographing sound, non-space and in-betweens. In her presentation for The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth (2011), Uta Barth discusses her work over the past 20 years. Barth shares her influences and inspirations as she questions the interpretation of visual perception. Describing her work as visceral, Barth continues, explaining the application of psychological theories, including phenomenology, to her practice.
“The discussion of these photographs, or anything that lacks focus for that matter, as being ‘painterly’ or ‘pictorialist’, drives me crazy. It assumes that a photograph would secretly–or overtly–aspire to the attributes of painting in order to justify itself as an artwork” (Higgins 2013).
Uta Barth, Ground #56, 1995
Bibliography
Barth, Uta. 1994. Ground #30. Image. https://utabarth.net/work/ground/#image-3.
Barth, Uta. 2011. "Uta Barth 2.8.11". Podcast. Modern Art Museum Of Fort Worth. https://soundcloud.com/themodernpodcast/uta-barth-2811.
Barth, Uta. 2012. "Conceptual Photographer Uta Barth: 2012 MacArthur Fellow | MacArthur Foundation". macfound. October 2, 2012. YouTube video, 03:10. https://youtu.be/xxYcpPDq5iQ.
Sigmar Polke
First published 14 April 2020
Similarly, lens-based German artist Sigmar Polke (Figure 9) applies radical techniques, such as creating in-camera multi-exposures and omitting, bypassing and reversing steps in the darkroom to subvert traditional ideals of the medium.[1] The artist documents his life and surroundings, “altering the aesthetic heredity of his mediums by debasing the integrity of each, cultivating crossovers of material and meaning” (Halbreich 2016, 69). Like myself, Polke is as self-taught photographer, considers “the darkroom as an arena for exploration” and displays a recklessness for “the conventions of photography [which] often resulted in scratched negatives, under- and overexposures, and prints that further obscured details to create visually disorienting compositions” (The J. Paul Getty Museum 2007).
Sigmar Polke, Untitled (Mariette Althaus), c. 1973, unique gelatin silver print, 180x240mm
Sigmar Polke, Untitled (Sigmar Polke), c. 1975, photograph on AGFA C90 paper, 210x296mm
Sigmar Polke, Untitled (Obelisk, Paris), c. 1970. Courtesy Kicken Berlin, Berlin & Sies + Höke, Düsseldorf
Footnotes
An in-camera multi-exposure is when the film is rewound in the camera and repeatedly exposed, resulting in montage-like images embedded directly into the negative.
Keywords
Sigmar Polke, Painting, Photography, Capitalist realism, Abstract, Art, Community of practice, Expressionism, Contemporary, Alternative, Film, Darkroom, Courage, Pushing boundaries
References
Polke, Sigmar. c. 1975. Untitled (Obelisk, Paris). Image. https://news.artnet.com/market/sigmar-polke-at-paris-photo-11451237.
Polke, Sigmar. c. 1973, Untitled (Mariette Althaus). Image. https://www.moma.org/collection/works/149078.
Polke, Sigmar. c. 1975. Untitled (Sigmar Polke). Image. https://www.maxhetzler.com/zh/exhibitions/sigmar-polke-zeitreise-photographs-1966-1986collection-georg-polke-2020/works/#img27.
Rowell, Margit, Michael Semff, and Bice Curiger. 1999. Sigmar Polke WORKS on PAPER 1963-1974. New York: Museum Of Modern Art. PDF. https://www.moma.org/documents/moma_catalogue_187_300100396.pdf.
Squires, Carol and George Baker 2013. What Is a Photograph?. New York: International Center for Photography and DelMonico Books.
Thistlewood, David. 1996. Sigmar Polke: Back to Postmodernity. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press And Tate Gallery Liverpool.
Williams, Gregory. 2016. "Gregory H. Williams. Review of 'Alibis: Sigmar Polke, 1963–2010' by Kathy Halbreich". caa.reviews. http://www.caareviews.org/reviews/2337#.Yq2CS-xBzUI.
Halbreich, Kathy, Mark Godfrey, Lanka Tattersall, and Magnus Schaefer. 2014. Alibis: Sigmar Polke 1963–2010. London: Tate Publishing.
The holy trinity — Bailey, Donovan and Duffy
Holy trinity
David Bailey, Terence Donovan and Brian Duffy
Brian Duffy
Keywords
David Bailey, Terence Donovan, Brian Duffy, Fashion, Photography
Bibliography
Johansen, Kevin. 2013. THE REAL BLOW UP SIXTIES FILM DOCUMENTARY PART1. Video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FPIaZfQCbY&t=1536s.
Quinn, James. 2014. Brian+Duffy SD. Video. https://youtu.be/xh7VowciA4g.
Man Ray
Man Ray was a significant contributor to the Dada and Surrealist movements, although his ties to each were informal. Man Ray worked in a wide range of mediums and considered himself a painter. Best known for his photography, Man Ray was a renowned fashion and portrait photographer. Man Ray is also known for his work with photograms, which he called "rayographs", a reference to himself.
Man Ray, The Coat-Stand (Porte manteau), 1920
Keywords
Experimental, Sculpture, Photography, Modernism, Community of practice
References
Dupêcher, N 2017, ‘Man Ray (Emmanuel Radnitzky)’ , MoMA, viewed 31 March 2020, <https://www.moma.org/artists/3716>
Ray M 1920, The Coat-Stand (Porte manteau), photograph, viewed 31 March 2020, <https://www.centrepompidou.fr/cpv/resource/czzAepB/rXKKqz>
Clyde Butcher
Butcher is best known for his black and white, large format landscapes of the Florida everglades and country surrounds. An environmentalist, the veteran photographer, raises awareness through his photographs of the natural environment which he loves.
In an interview with Steven Crandell (2014), Butcher talks about his relationship with the environment and how both nature and photography restored his soul after a drunk driver killed his teenage son. Butcher explains, "Wilderness, to me, is a spiritual necessity. The mysterious spiritual experience of being close to natural restored my soul. My experience reinforced my dedication to use the art of photography as an inspiration for others to work together to save nature's places of spiritual sanctuary for future generations."
Clyde Butcher, LOXAHATCHEE RIVER 1, 1991
Relevance to practice
Film photography, Large format, Black and white, Colour is overrated, Composition, Courage, Commitment
Keywords
Clyde Butcher, Drive, Vision, Self-promotion, Salvador Dali, Black and white, Large format, Landscape, Florida, Photography, Colour, B&H
References
Butcher, C 1991, LOXAHATCHEE RIVER 1, photograph, viewed 20 June 2020, <https://clydebutcher.com/s/photographs/florida-collection/state-parks/jonathan-dickinson-state-park/loxahatchee-river-1-south-east-fl/>
Crandell, S 2011, ‘Extreme Exposure: Everglades — Clyde Butcher's Wilderness Intuition’, Huffington Post, viewed 8 August 2020, <https://www.huffpost.com/entry/clyde-butcher_b_810107>
B&H Photography Podcast 2020, Clyde Butcher - Photographing the Everglades and Selling Clocks, podcast, B&H Photo Video, viewed 20 June 2020, <https://soundcloud.com/bh-photography-podcast/clyde-butcher-photographing-the-everglades-and-selling-clocks>
Floris Neusüss
Adventurous and innovative, Contemporary artist Floris Nuesüss has a great impact on my work practice, particularly in exploring shape, texture and methodology. Best known for his photograms, I am drawn to Neusüss’ willingness to think outside the box, push boundaries and explore the craft of photography.
Floris Neusüss, Nudogrammm, 1964
Floris Neusüss is a contemporary experimental German photographer known for his use of camera-less photography (photograms) … “Photograms don’t show us what’s beyond the visible, but they give us a hint of it,” Neusüss has said. “It is true that the subject resting on the photo-sensitive paper presents its reverse side to be recorded, the side that is in shadow, the shadow cast by the object itself. This intimate physical connection inscribes into the paper, and this, if you are open to it, is the real fascination of photograms: the tension between the hidden and the revealed.” … Today, his works are held in the collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the Art Institute of Chicago, among others. (artnet, nd)
Quotes
A true pioneer of photographic art, inspired by the camera-less photography of Làszló Moholy-Nagy and by Man Ray’s Surrealist photograms, Floris Neusüss has dedicated his whole career to the practice, study and teaching of the photogram, exploring its technical and visual possibilities and pushing the boundaries of the medium. — Twenty 6 Magazine
Relevance to practice
Alternative printing, Darkroom, Film, Contact printing, Obscure, Abstraction, Tone, Texture, Questioning, Experimentation
Keywords
Photograph, Monochrome, Photography, Camera-less, Abstract, Contemporary, 20th century, Community of practice
References
Artnet n.d., Floris Neusüss, viewed 15 April 2020, <http://www.artnet.com/artists/floris-neus%C3%BCss/>
Atlas Gallery n.d., Floris Neusüss, viewed 8 May 2020, <http://www.atlasgallery.com/artists/floris-neususs>
Gosling, Emily. 2012. “Floris Neusüss: Ancient and Modern.” Design Week. https://www.designweek.co.uk/issues/may-2012/floris-neususs-ancient-and-modern/.
Neusüss, Floris. 1964. Nudogramm. Image. https://www.designweek.co.uk/issues/may-2012/floris-neususs-ancient-and-modern/.
Squires, C, Batchen, G, Baker, G & Steyerl H 2013, What Is a Photograph?, International Center for Photography and DelMonico Books, New York, NY
Roman Ciéslewicz
Roman Ciéslewicz (1930–1996) is a lesser-known Polish artist who worked across collage, photography, and painting. As a graphic designer, he is recognised for his poster art, constructivist style, and connections to the Bauhaus movement. His approach to deconstructing and reconstructing photographs challenges the conventional practices within the medium. I find inspiration in both his artistic viewpoint and creative outputs.
Roman Cieślewicz, Wiezien, 1944
Roman Ciéslewicz, PORTRAIT-ROBOT DE LA POÉSIE, 1978
“I use all manner of techniques: photography, painting and watercolour, but not drawing. I have a constant source of inspiration: circular forms. I’ve often used the offset screen … to focus on a detail of a photographic enlargement. The flexibility and round form of the screen dots make it possible to bring out each gesture of the subject. Also, because I couldn’t afford silk-screen printing equipment, I used felt pens to fill out the areas between the screens. I effectively made the screen dots by hand. A lack of equipment and the need to visualise my ideas immediately resulted in a repetitive reproduction of mechanical techniques. I find the many imperfections of the hand-made version very pleasing”.
— Roman Ciéslewicz, 1993 (Eye Magazine n.d.)
Keywords
Photography, Graphic art, Poster art, Bauhaus, Surrealism, Painting, Watercolour, Inspiration, Circular forms, Offset screen, Photographic enlargement, Flexibility, Screen dots make, Gesture, Silk-screen, Equipment, Visualise, Ideas, Repetition, Reproduction, Mechanical, Imperfection, Hand-made
Bibliography
Ciéslewicz, Roman. ‘Reputations: Roman Ciéslewicz’. Interview by MargotRouard-Snowman. Eye Magazine, 1993. http://www.eyemagazine.com/feature/article/reputations-roman-cieslewicz.
Ciéslewicz, Roman. 1944. Wiezien (The Prisoner). Image. https://www.moma.org/collection/works/122665.
Cieslewicz, Roman. 1978. PORTRAIT-ROBOT DE LA POÉSIE. Image. https://www.mutualart.com/Artwork/PORTRAIT-ROBOT-DE-LA-POESIE/A80FDEBDFB492859.