Urformen der Kunst.
-Art Forms In Nature.
Karl Blossfeldt (1865-1932) was a German photographer celebrated for his pioneering close-up images of plants. Trained as a sculptor he was also an amateur botanist, fascinated by the structures of nature. He created his extraordinary catalogue of studies of natural forms as a teaching tool for the benefit of artists, initially intended for projector slides for live drawing classes; hence the intricate detail, strange composition and monochrome nature of his photographs.
Over 30 years, Blossfeldt produced 6,000 photographs, using a homemade camera and lens that could magnify an image by 30 times, to capture the microscopic aesthetic of his subjects.Appointed for a teaching post at the Institute of Royal Arts Museum in 1898, he established an archive for his photographs. Blossfeldt never received formal training in photography but developed a series of home-made cameras that allowed him to photograph plant surfaces in unprecedented magnified detail; thus reflecting his enduring interest in the patterns found in nature's textures and forms. Urformen der Kunst quickly became an international bestseller and made Blossfeldt famous almost overnight. His contemporaries were impressed by the abstract shapes and structures in nature that he had revealed. Quickly regarded as an influential book on photography, Blossfeldt’s factual yet finely detailed imagery received widespread praise. |