How would you describe Karl Blossfeldt work?
What made Blossfeldt’s work unique was his extreme technical mastery of photography. He specialised in macrophotography to enlarge his plant specimens and even designed a camera for this purpose. Blossfeldt wanted his work to act as a teaching aid and inspiration for architects, sculptors and artists.
What type of photography did Karl Blossfeldt do?
Photography
Karl Blossfeldt/Forms
What artwork is Karl Blossfeldt best known for?
photographs of plants
German, 1865–1932 Karl Blossfeldt is best known for his precise photographs of plants; however, he began his career as a sculptor, completing apprenticeships at the ironworks and foundry in Mägdesprung and the Kunstgewerbeschule (Institute of the royal arts museum) in Berlin from 1884 to 1890.
Why are Karl Blossfeldt photos in black and white?
In 1899, after teaching himself photography, he created a series of homemade cameras that he used to photograph plants collected on his travels. These majestic plant portraits, shot in black and white, were used as aids to teach the students about the beauty of nature seen through his intimate view of flora.
Who did Blossfeldt inspire with his macro photography?
The Curious Case of Karl Blossfeldt His work was so influential that it inspired Bernd and Hilla Becher to develop the concept and vision for the Düsseldorf School of Photography.
When was photography invented?
1826
Centuries of advances in chemistry and optics, including the invention of the camera obscura, set the stage for the world’s first photograph. In 1826, French scientist Joseph Nicéphore Niépce, took that photograph, titled View from the Window at Le Gras, at his family’s country home.
Who did blossfeldt inspire with his macro photography?
Who did Karl Blossfeldt inspire with his photography?
The exhibition includes over 80 original photographic prints made by Blossfeldt from the late 19th century until the end of his life alongside key archive material showing Blossfeldt’s significant influence, from Georges Bataille to László Moholy-Nagy.
What is the subject matter of Karl Blossfeldt?
Celebrated internationally for his significant contribution to the field of art and nature, Blossfeldt is regarded as one of the defining photographers of the twentieth century. He was committed to the study of form within nature and dedicated 35 years to exclusively photographing botanical subject matter.
What techniques did blossfeldt use to capture his images?
He taught himself techniques such as lighting the specimens to clearly reveal their three-dimensional form and painting on his glass plate negatives to eliminate distracting shadows. He even modified his bulky studio camera so that it could take detailed images enlarged as much as 30X.
What composition did Karl Blossfeldt use?
What was Karl Blossfeldt inspired by?
He is best known for his close-up photographs of plants and living things, published in 1929 as Urformen der Kunst. He was inspired, as was his father, by nature and the ways in which plants grow. He believed that “the plant must be valued as a totally artistic and architectural structure.”
What kind of art did Karl Blossfeldt do?
Strikingly modern and inherently beautiful, Karl Blossfeldt’s photographs of plants, flowers and seed heads are as appealing today, as they were when they were first introduced to the public in his two landmark books Urformen der Kunst, (Archetypal Forms of Art), 1929 and Wundergarten der Natur, (The Wondergarden of Nature), 1932.
How many negatives did Karl Blossfeldt make?
Blossfeldt makes clear that by 1906 he had already made more than a thousand negatives and at least 210 enlarged prints, 7 7/8 by 11 13/16 inches (20 by 30 centimeters) each, and he expresses a desire to see the fruits of his labor find a broader audience. Slowly but surely, interest in Blossfeldt’s work began to expand.
Where did Gerd Blossfeldt spend most of his childhood?
Blossfeldt spent most of his childhood in Central Germany. He began studying at the Institute of Royal Arts in Berlin after finishing his apprenticeship in iron casting and sculpture at Art Ironworks and Foundry at Magdesprung. During this time, he collected different plants for use in drawing class as models.