Karl Blossfeldt

Karl Blossfeldt ( born June 13, 1865 in Schielo; † December 9, 1932 in Berlin) was a German photographer who was particularly known for strictly - formal plant photographs. He is artistic photo as a representative of the New Objectivity.

Life

Karl Blossfeldt started an apprenticeship in 1881 as a sculptor and modeller in an art foundry and used already then leaves as a template for ornaments. Nineteen year old he began a collection of drawings undergraduate studies at the educational establishment of the Berlin Arts Museum. However, his passion was still photography. That's why he joined from 1890 to 1896 the work on the project of drawing teacher Moritz Meurer in Rome for the production of teaching materials for ornamental design to. This marked the beginning of systematic photographic work on plants dar. Subsequently appeared first publications in the publications Meurer.

In 1898, Karl Blossfeldt began his teaching career as an assistant at the School of Applied Arts in Berlin (now University of the Arts ), and was from 1899 lecturer in the school subject " modeling for plants ." In 1921 he was appointed professor, from 1924. To the United State Schools for Free and Applied Arts Berlin His gallery, Berlin Karl renal village (1889-1947), presented his photographs in 1926 with African and Oceanic sculpture from among the reviewers was found Walter Benjamin - what lasting impact on modern exercised his photographs, was immediately recognized. His first book " primordial forms of art" appeared in 1928 in Ernst Wasmuth Verlag, Berlin, made Karl Blossfeldt famous almost overnight. After his retirement in 1932 was published shortly before his death in 1932 nor the book " Miracle Nature's Garden ".

Work

Garlic plant (Allium ostrowskianum )

Tufts herb ( Phacelia congesta )

Larkspur ( Delphinium )

Beach thistle ( Eryngium maritimum )

Oriental poppy (Papaver orientale )

Peacock or rice barley ( Hordeum distichum)

Artistic concerns

Blossfeldt saw his photographs as a teaching tool and not as an independent artistic achievement. He thinks that the " best photography tools for working out details of plant " is used and the photograph because of practical advantages. So he made a compromise between the original ( - study) and drawing as a template and teaching materials for drawing lessons. The photographs were projected on the wall and served as a template for drawing exercises. This required a clear, sharp image contours.

Furthermore Blossfeldt illustrated forms and structures of nature and seemed so down on the ornamental design of products.

Blossfeldt itself was rather Enthusiast for plants as a professional photographer. With its precise studies he discovered graphic details and went botanical and scientifically before by his photographs labeled with Latin names. He continued the tradition of the herbaria.

In the preface to his book miracle garden of nature, he writes:

• The " image documents " speak for themselves.
• " My plants certificates are designed to help make the connection with nature again. Should capture the sense of nature again to point out the abundant wealth of forms in nature and encourage personal observation of our native flora. "

He is rated the plant as an artistic and architectural structure, which creates next useful also artistic forms. Nature is thus to be regarded as " teacher " for art and technology.

Technology

Image

Ultimately, the plants were displayed in up to 12-45 times magnification. The negative was taken up in 1:1 scale, which then enlargements were made. Therefore, the plants had to be very quiet, Blossfeldt often used glass as a support or as a base so that the base is abbildete blurred. Dried plants he has stuck upright in clay or even suspended. The through the glass plate reflection in the image was retouched before publication. It also " bad " shots were taken, but these were collected by him. The image was enlarged on silver gelatin paper, usually in the format 30x24 cm, 24x60 cm also. Or he made for his art class slides ago 9x12 cm, which could project Blossfeldt using a periscope.

Camera

Blossfeldt used a (presumably self-made ) board camera.

Negative

The negative had a format of 6x9, 9x12, 13x18, 9x18 infrequently. The glass plates were mostly, rarely coated with emulsion orthochromatic with panchromatic emulsion. Therefore, the plants were imaged with sharp contours.

Motif

• Perspective: supervision, direct side view
• Background: neutral: single color ( black / gray / white)
• Exposure: diffused side light / soft light, giving the impression of dark
• View details
• High depth of field

Publications

• Original forms of art. Ernst Wasmuth Verlag, Berlin 1928. ( Appeared as a book with dust jacket and folio work in various bonds, with 120 full-page illustrations, introduction Karl renal village. Second edition 1929. ) Original forms of art. Folio work from 1928 in facsimile. With an additional booklet, edited by Anne Ganteführer -Trier. Foundation Photography and Art History - Ann and Jürgen Wilde, Köln 2003 ( with 120 loose sheets. ).
• Entitled Art Forms in Nature the work of Karl Blossfeldt published in English in London at A. Zwemmer and in New York at E. Weyhe 1929. Art Forms in the Plant World. ( Original forms of art), English edition of the 1929 reprint of a paperback edition, Dover Publications, New York 1985.
• Art Forms in Nature appeared as a popular edition with 96 illustrations by A. Zwemmer in London in 1935, 1936 and 1967; E. Weyhe New York in 1935, Universe Books, New York 1967.

• Under the title Konstformer i natures the work was published with a foreword by Axel L. Romdahl and L. Scott Berg in a special bond with dust jacket in Stockholm 1930.
• Original forms of art appeared with 96 illustrations in the publisher Ernst Wasmuth, Berlin 1935, popular edition, and unchanged: 1936, 1941, 1948 ( place of publication Tübingen). The edition of 1967, the last from the publisher Ernst Wasmuth, appeared in a revised layout.
• Further editions of this work in the form prescribed by the publisher Ernst Wasmuth are not yet known.

• Original forms of art. Hg Ann and Jürgen Wilde, with the foreword by Karl renal village from 1928 and a biographical afterword by Ann and Jürgen Wilde, Zuelpich. ( = Band 303 of the bibliophiles paperbacks of Haren mountain publisher ) Dortmund 1982. ( Illustrated envelope. In this form, the book was published in 13 editions. )

• Miracle garden of nature. New series of original forms of art. Publisher of art-science, Berlin- Friedenau 1932. ( Introduction:. Karl Blossfeldt, 14 pages of text and 120 illustrations in photogravure printing This work was published as a book with dust cover and folio work with loose panels. )
• Entitled Art Forms in Nature, Second series the work as the German edition (p. appeared in the same class at A. Zwemmer in London with E. Weyhe in New York respectively in 1932. Reprint along with original forms of art by Schirmer / Mosel, Munich 1981, with several editions. )

• Miracle in nature. Image documents beautiful plant forms from Karl Blossfeldt, introduction Otto Dannenberg, 12 pages of text and 120 plates in photogravure printing. Pantheon Publishing H.Schmidt & Günther, Leipzig, 1942. ( Appeared only in a book edition with dust jacket. )

• Original forms of art and wonders of nature garden. The photographic work of Karl Blossfeldt in a band. Foreword by Gert Mattenklott, botanical processing Harald Kilias. Schirmer / Mosel Munich 1994. ( With dust jacket and subsequent editions to 2008 uf )

• Karl Blossfeldt, photographs from 1900 to 1932. Catalogue of the exhibition in the Rheinische Landesmuseum, Bonn 1976 Introduction Christoph Rüger, text Klaus Honnef, image selection and exhibition. Ann and Jürgen Wilde, Karl Blossfeldt Archive, Zuelpich. The appendix further texts by Karl renal village (see original forms of art in 1928 ), Karl Blossfeldt ( s Miracle Nature's Garden 1932) and Walter Benjamin: Review of original forms of art in the literary world, " 1928.