Klaus Baumgärtner - Sequence
Sunday 11 November 2018, 12:21 by Michelle Peeters | 4,654 views | 0 commentsThis article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.
Visual artist Klaus Baumgärtner was fascinated by 'things'. A staircase, a manhole cover, a cup of coffee. He arranged nothing, but photographed objects and phenomena as he found them.
This allowed the beauty and meaning of 'the thing' to come into its own in its familiar surroundings.
Baumgärtner's way of looking and recording brings to mind that of photographers such as László Moholy-Nagy and Paul Schuitema in the 1920s and 1930s; they too photographed everyday objects in their unspectacular simplicity. They pursued 'a new objectivity'.
This autumn, more than fifty photographic works by Klaus Baumgärtner (1948 - 2013) can be seen at the Fotomuseum Den Haag.
The exhibition Sequence provides an intimate overview of his poetic photographic oeuvre, which is largely unknown. Born in Germany and trained in Switzerland, he settled in The Hague in 1984 to work as a teacher at the Royal Academy of Art (KABK).
For decades, Baumgärtner was an inspiring and influential teacher who had much to offer students because of his versatile talent. He was not only a photographer, but also a sculptor, collage artist and graphic designer.
The exhibition has been prompted by the acquisition of ten of Baumgärtner's photographs for the collection of the The Hague Municipal Museum and the publication of Sequence, compiled by former museum director Hans Locher.
Earlier this year, the book Collage was also published, containing the memoirs of Robine Clignett, Klaus Baumgärtner's widow.
Simplicity, stillness, light and shadow are recurring elements in Baumgärtner's work. Unnoticed things are detached from their function and meaning, giving them another dimension and allowing the imagination free rein.
Baumgärtner did not stage anything, and people rarely appear in his photographs. The titles always refer to the moment or place where the photographs were taken. He was not concerned with naming the subject or giving a date.
The exhibition is accompanied by the photobook Sequence, with a text by Hans Locher (Lecturis, 39.95 euros).
About the author
Michelle Peeters is fotografe en oprichter van DeuxBleus Fotografie. Michelle herkent het bijzondere in het gewone en het gewone in het bijzondere. Ze heeft zich nooit willen specialiseren en is daardoor van alle markten thuis.
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