Swiss photographer Christian Vogt was born in 1946 and studied at the Basel Design School. He is known for his diverse body of work; he can easily transform, creating imagery in many different modes. Having worked steadily since the late 1960s, Vogt has acquired attention for numerous series, including 1994-1995's Idem Diversum, which is made of several, full-scale portraits of subjects with their eyes closed. The restricting black borders are reminiscent of the walls of a coffin. His more recent work was created outside of the photo studio and is surprisingly fresh for someone who has been working in the medium as long as Vogt has. Since Last Summer, Vogt's 2003 collection of color work, is rife with bizarre photographs, which appear formally sound, yet spontaneous at the same time. The landscapes and figural scenes are set at dusk, which almost becomes a character itself. This collection was an experiment for the artist, he was not attempting to build a series, rather just photographing what he observed during long summer evenings. Moving on, he returned to the practice of creating series in 2004 with Viewings, a more detached and cerebral group of images focused on the tension between interior spaces and the worlds that lie beyond their windows.
Vogt's photography from 2003-2004 resonates strongly with me. I love the mischievous and dark qualities in Since Last Summer; one longs for the events that immediately led to the scenes caught on film. The sobriety of his compositions in his 2004 series of interiors is as unnerving as it is fascinating. Everything is balanced, and the colors almost form bands, as in color field paintings.
http://www.christianvogt.com
http://www.schaden.com/book/VogChrPho03785.html
http://www.webjournal.ch/article.php?article_id=1015
No comments:
Post a Comment