KARL BLOSSFELDT – ART FORMS IN NATURE
Karl Blossfeldt (1865-1932) was a German photographer celebrated by the Surrealists and early modernists for his pioneering close-up images of plants and flora. Trained as a sculptor he was also an amateur botanist, fascinated by the underlying structures of nature. He created his extraordinary catalogue of studies of natural forms as a teaching tool for the benefit of artists, artisans and architects.This Hayward Touring exhibition consists of 40 photogravures from an original German portfolio, ‘Wundergarten der Natur’ 1932, edited by Blossfeldt and published in the year of his death. It follows the recent exhibition at the Whitechapel Gallery, London.
Over three decades, Blossfeldt produced 6,000 photographs, using a homemade camera and lens that could magnify a subject by 30 times, to capture the microcosmic aesthetic of his specimens. In 1928, the first of three ground-breaking portfolios was published under the over-arching title Urformen der Kunst (Artforms in Nature). It became an overnight sensation; Blossfeldt was celebrated for discovering a hitherto ‘unknown universe’ and for his exemplary technical feats as a photographer.
source:http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/find/hayward-gallery-and-visual-arts/hayward-touring/future/karl-blossfeldt-%E2%80%93-art-forms-in-nature-0
Karl Blossfeldt (1865-1932) was a German photographer celebrated by the Surrealists and early modernists for his pioneering close-up images of plants and flora. Trained as a sculptor he was also an amateur botanist, fascinated by the underlying structures of nature. He created his extraordinary catalogue of studies of natural forms as a teaching tool for the benefit of artists, artisans and architects.This Hayward Touring exhibition consists of 40 photogravures from an original German portfolio, ‘Wundergarten der Natur’ 1932, edited by Blossfeldt and published in the year of his death. It follows the recent exhibition at the Whitechapel Gallery, London.
Over three decades, Blossfeldt produced 6,000 photographs, using a homemade camera and lens that could magnify a subject by 30 times, to capture the microcosmic aesthetic of his specimens. In 1928, the first of three ground-breaking portfolios was published under the over-arching title Urformen der Kunst (Artforms in Nature). It became an overnight sensation; Blossfeldt was celebrated for discovering a hitherto ‘unknown universe’ and for his exemplary technical feats as a photographer.
source:http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/find/hayward-gallery-and-visual-arts/hayward-touring/future/karl-blossfeldt-%E2%80%93-art-forms-in-nature-0