August Sander/ People of the 20th Century
image by
August Sander
Hauptmann der Reserve. Elsaß-Lothringen, ca 1916
Captain of the reserves
Lots of uniforms
on August Sanders photographs.
I like,
that this officer
has two arms,
but looks like
someone,
who has lost one.
I like
the surroundings,
ordinary,
artless.
White spots eating
themselves through the picture.
Utterly
undignified,
this setting.
August Sander/ People of the 20th Century
image by
August Sander
Tänzerin, Yvonne Estelle, ca.!935
Dancer
What makes this photograph
so different from other studio portraits of this kind?
I am fascinated
by the looks of
this woman,
who,
in my eyes,
has the air of a girl
looking rather grown up.
Friendly eyes,
wide awake,
her smile so delicate,
self-reliant calm.
I simply think she is beautiful.
He made her
glowing,
out of the
shades of grey.
August Sander/ People of the 20th Century
image by
August Sander
Frau eines Malers.
Verheiratet mit Peter Abelen, Köln ca. 1927/1928
The wife of the painter Peter Abelen
Eighty years ago:
a woman
almost like a man,
in a pose,
unthinkable then,
still unusual today.
Holding a cigarette
between her clenched teeth.
Appearing agressive,
part of the photographers visual game.
Not real.
But very present.
August Sander/ People of the 20th Century
image by
August Sander
Witwer mit seinen Söhnen, ca 1906/07
Widower with sons
August Sander/ People of the 20th Century
image by
August Sander
Schwestern, ca 1930
Sisters
Frightened elves in the middle of nowhere.
Your mother, your father probably are close by.
You are going to get your picture taken.
An extraordinary event.
Somebody
is scaring the hell out of you.
August Sander/ People of the 20th Century
image by
August Sander
Arbeiterrentner. Kuchhausen, ca. 1945
Retired worker
Backdrop.
Foreground.
Almost as if taken in a studio.
Formal means that August Sander is using constantly.
A simple image.
I can do that.
You can do that.
Everybody can do that.
We can´t do that.
Sometimes this simplicity is harder to achieve,
than anything else.
Fragile old man, you are looking tired.
Old man, why are you [...]
August Sander/ People of the 20th Century
image by
August Sander
Bauer. Westerwald, ca. 1930/31
Farmer
I don´t know the dress code of those times,
for that,
this farmer,
looks for me
like an undertaker,
beaten by life.
Obviously a misinterpretation.
Still, this photograph,
as many others by August Sander,
shows his mastery of the form.
An image,
that,
while relating to reality,
has a layer,
that is devoted purely to abstraction.
August Sander/ People of the 20th Century
image by
August Sander
Bäuerliche Braut. ca. 1921/22
Rural bride
Recently I noticed,
while browsing through the net,
that I react instinctively to images,
where people,
unaccountably,
seem to look different,
than the rest of us.
Image by Nils Orth.
Something is out of order here.
I couldn´t pinpoint my unease and my fascination
until I stumbled over the information that this face is a collage,
a composition put together [...]
August Sander/ People of the 20th Century
image by
August Sander
Bauernkinder. Westerwald, ca 1927/28
Farm children
Two kids, a sheep.
All of them looking straight into the camera.
Nothing to say about the sheep.
The boy,
his gaze,
a mixture of pride, sadness and adult like scepticism.
The girl,
her gaze,
a shy smile,
shadows under her eyes,
looking tired.
Fashion changes,
society changes,
but the emotions expressed by us,
they stay the same.
August Sander/ People of the 20th Century
image by
August Sander
Bauernkinder, 1927
Farm children
August Sander book was one of the first ones I bought, back in 1980.
I didn´t know then, that I would be studying photography later on,
neither did I know that I would take up portrait photography myself.
August Sander was born in 1876 and died in the year of 1964.
I was four then. [...]
Jitka Hanzlova/ Rokytnik
image by
Jitka Hanzlova
Rokytnik,
1990-1994
Jitka Hanzlova/ Rokytnik
image by
Jitka Hanzlova
Rokytnik,
1990-1994
Jitka Hanzlova/ Rokytnik
image by
Jitka Hanzlova
Rokytnik,
1990-1994
Jitka Hanzlova/ Rokytnik
image by
Jitka Hanzlova
Rokytnik,
1990-1994