Thomas Struth Themes and Influence - Research Paper Example

Struth, Thomas (German), The Smith Family, Fife, Scotland, 1989. Thomas Struth is a German photographer. He was born in 1954, his father was both a lawyer and a banker whereas the mother was a potter. His interest in art is linked to the mother as the father’s professional involvement was quite distant from his artistic field. Struth studied art in the Dusseldorf Arts Academy where he first enrolled for painting classes under the tutorship of Gerhard Richter. Later on, he switched painting for photography. He found greater comfort and satisfaction in Bernd and Hill Becher’s photography studio where he developed his photography skills. Today, Struth is recognized as among the very first photographers who heralded contemporary German photography. Struth has had many of his works exhibited in Museums and other exhibition centers around the world. The most recent project which has further boosted his profile is his portrait of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip, the portrait was part of a collection taken to commemorate the Queen’s 2012 Diamond Jubilee. At the beginning of his photography career, Struth became popular for his “Unconscious Places” photographs; these represented cityscapes completely devoid of life. Part of this collection was on display until November at the Venice Architecture Biennale. Recently, Struth had an interview with O’ Haghan a reporter with the Guardian newspaper. In this interview, Struth described his preference of photography to painting and also explained the inspiration behind his first photographs which represented skyscrapers. In the interview he explained that he made huge “super-realist photographic paintings”, these never greatly appealed to him and felt they were somehow stupid. This displeasure informed his preference for photography, his tutors and mentors at the time, Richter and Bernd Becher also preferred his photography. Struth’s initial photographs were of his own city, he took photographs of Dusseldorf’s streets and buildings. He explained that his emphasis on building arose from an inquiry on how history would find its place in our current lives, further; he wondered how architecture represents humanity. In answering these questions he found his style and methodology. Struth’s Themes and Influence Just like every artist, Struth’s photographs depict an individual who is largely reactive to the environment around him. This also includes the people he meets and interacts with. He is one who draws great inspiration from life and structures around him. In his own words, the subject of his photographs arises from a need to talk about issues, issues that concern or fascinate him (O’Hagan). This is evident in his early works which were largely composed of black-and-white shots of scrappers in America, Europe and Japan which were all cities he visited or had short stints in. His captions of American streets were done during his scholarship at P.S. 1 in New York in 1978. The majority of these photographs were meant to illuminate on people’s relationship with their transforming, and contemporary environments. Later on in the 1980s, Struth introduced a new dimension to his photography. He started producing family portraits. The transition and the new inspiration are thought to have come from his interactions with Ingo Hartmann, a psychoanalyst. Resulting from this, his portraits endeavored to bring out underlying social dynamics presented in a seemingly still photograph. Thomas Struth Works In the majority of Struth’s work, it is clear that he refuses to indulge, he avoids being spectacular but seeks to depict reality. There is nothing astounding about how his photographs are created. The artist intentionally refuses to focus on anything within the field of vision of the photograph, everything is very clear. This creates an overwhelming yet balanced effect in the picture. In his time at the Academy, Strauth alluded to the fact that his photographs lack a personal signature. All his photographs are a depiction of reality (Malcolm). He consciously avoids any artificial techniques that would divert the viewers, denying them an opportunity to decipher the real meaning the photos seek to communicate. The obvious simplicity results from a fine balance between visual insight and analytic power. Looking through his photographs, one realizes multiple subjects, starting with his initial photographs which represented cityscapes, landscapes later transitioning to social and family portraits, these paved way for church and museum venues and in some cases flowers. Intently looking through these photographs it is possible to emerge with a single theme, a need to understand the relation between men and time. Struth’s distinctive style Struth adopts clarity and objectivity. These allow the viewer to analytically cross-examine the objects represented by the photographs and relate them to our own lives. As was mentioned earlier, his photographs avoid aesthetic representations and only seek to represent the actual world. Through his photographs, Struth reminds us of the value of seeing and underlines that there is no uniformity in the act of seeing. One thing that is perceived from Struth’s photographs is reality in a higher level, reality that we all think is quite complex to understand. The huge difference between how Struth’s photographs represent reality and how we perceive the same world underlines that the fact that we hardly approach the world with poise. Instead, we are disjointed in our view of the world and only enforce to the world our own preferences. Through his photographs, Struth seeks to employ our mind, engage our eyes in deciphering the actual representation not in an idealized or constructed reality. In the next part, this study intently looks at one of Struth’s portraits, The Smith Family, Fife 1989. We try to analyze the style and understand the meaning beyond the identifiable images. The Smith Family, Fife 1989 portrait was part of a continuous group of domestic portraits that Struth had started to produce in the mid 1980s. Prior to this portrait and others of a similar nature, Struth had gained fame from his black and white photographs which depicted urban environments. These former portraits were recognized from their emphasis on the city’s architecture and their conspicuous emptiness. Irrespective of this new orientation, his portraits continued with their endeavor to represent intently selected images which objectively represent the subject before the camera. Just like in other photographs, Struth avoids manipulation and keeps the images simple. This approach was born from his desire to give people something they can relate with, something which represents things they see and interact with. According to his own confession, he finds it interesting to capture something in its abstract world, in a real world, as opposed to presenting something subjective to the viewer (Giovanna 190). Struth interest in group portraits started during his trips while working on his street projects. During these trips, he would interact with a lot of people, most of them for the first time. He made friends and was certain that he would not meet some of them ever again. Therefore, he slowly started to represent these meetings and hold these memories in photographs. As he states in an interview, the first two family portraits were a result of pure personal incentive when he had visited Japan and Scotland. He wanted to hold the memories of the families he stayed with (Malcolm). One would expect these photographs to have been haphazard; however, they are all a result of a conscious process. He held discussions and listened to the views and opinions of the people in these photographs and required their collaboration to make a desirable representation. In this sense, the photographs were not merely memories but were a representation of family transitions, family values and the society in general. However, these messages require a viewer to have a deeper understanding not only of the photographs setting but of the theme and approaches adapted by Struth. In taking these photographs, Struth would explain spatial limits of the photograph; he would then require the participants to select sitting positions within the defined spatial limit (OHagan). He would also require the participants to face forward and stare intently into the camera’s lens. To ensure that there was maximum focus and that he captured all details he used long exposure times. In this case, the participants would choose postures and places where they would be able to remain still for long. This explains why Struth’s group portraits appear static, these remind one of the nineteenth century photography which was largely based on static postures and images. This was the approach in all group portraits irrespective of the members, whether friends, acquaintances or family. In the The Smith Family, Fife 1989, there are eight family members, four of these are men and the other four are women. These are tightly grouped together; the background suggests that they are posing in the sitting room. They pose in different ways, with some sitting whereas others are standing. They are totally composed and their faces are intently staring at the camera with no betrayal of emotion, they best represent masked faces or better even, sculptures. Their sight suggests a stare beyond the image, cutting an image of people staring at something or somebody beyond the room. Struth, the photographer, is a few yards away from the sitters; this makes it possible to capture the individual’s sheer physical presence and weight. Unlike in other portraits around the same period, in this particular portrait Struth fails to provide any clues on the psychological state. The intention in this case is to capture and deliver a candid summary of the sitter’s physical appearance. To achieve this, he maintains a respectable distance through which it becomes impossible to capture a fleeting or enlightening expression that may illuminate on the psychological being of the sitters. The distance enforces the emotional distance but builds on physical recognition. This allows us to approach the image in the very same way one would approach a stranger within a crowd, here we recognize their presence but we do not contravene borders by demanding intimacy or revelation. Further, it represents the code applied in meeting new people, where individuals safeguard their separateness even when they physically avail themselves to us. The image creates that space for the viewer to contemplate and investigate, allowing the viewer to think about their limits in understanding others. Synonymous with the landscape and street portraits, the intention is to have the viewer pause, contemplate about the relations and then seek to interact. In conclusion, Thomas Struth photography seeks to exemplify nature, it seeks to build that connection between time and man. This is evident through all his presentations whether the streets, skyscrapers, landscapes and family portraits. In the The Smith Family, Fife 1989, which was deeply analyzed his need to present the viewer with a real image, one devoid of manipulation and aesthetic elements is exemplified. However, to understand his work and appreciate the photography one needs to be intent and be able to look at the world with an objective as opposed to the biased/construed approach we all prefer. Works Cited Giovanna Minelli, Another Objectivity, exhibition catalogue, Centre National des Arts Plastiques, Paris 1989, pp.189-194 Malcolm, Janeth. Analysis of Art-Depth of Field . 26 September 2011. 4 December 2012 . OHagan, Sean. Thomas Struth: photos so complex you could look at them forever. 3 July 2011. 4 December 2012 . Struth, Thomas. The Smith Family, Fife 1989 . 2010. 4 December 2012 . Read More