Camera Consciousness… Tilt / Pan / Shift

From the prolific posting over on Conscientious – I managed to catch a glimpse of work by Jan Stradtmann – which is quite nice.


From the series “Sprotta” by Jan Stradtmann

In particular I was drawn to the series “Sprotta”. It is refreshing (and yet perhaps too much explanation) to read the artists statement:

“I stayed for four months in the East German village Sprotta. A world that seems full of harmony and domestic activity was questioned on a subtle way by me, the photographer. I was stimulated by the theme of a world that seems very much in a proper state, where everyone has his or her place and duty. The shown pictures appeal to the fantasy of the observer and leave enough space for the imagination. So there is the analytic moment in the foreground. I get in contact with the world, organize it and formulate the result in a picture. As an author I hold myself back and report about people. This is the result of an own fiction, a construction about life which I tried to display with its human abyss. With a small distracting moment the pictures become a surreal tilt that initiates thinking about it. I move between the line of documentation and construction in this way of photographic presentation. The protagonists act unreal and like a freeze image in a movie. Sprotta pauses for a moment and becomes in the verification of its own existence a symbol of a country that manifests itself in its non representation of anxieties, dreams and wishes.”

I say it is refreshing because the artist clearly lays out the consciousness of the photographs. Too much explanation can however can kill the experience of discovery when looking… it is a delicate balance.

Still – very beautiful subtle images.


Images from “To Combine Things Together” by Jan Stradtmann.

The other series that is ongoing that caught my eye is simply “To Combine things Together” which I find very subtle and rich – I come away with a heighten awareness of timing and position… wishing I could see the next event, or shift my feet a bit to see a little more – nice and titillating. The manipulation of space and time – shifting and compression in the photograph is something that is very wonderful to compare.

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1 thought on “Camera Consciousness… Tilt / Pan / Shift

  1. It is amazing how a few factors are key to creating a whole different atmosphere in a photograph. I`ve just come up with J.A. Murillo, a photographer from panama, whom I`ve found to achieve amazing results.

    Cheers

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