Thomas Kellner


Thomas Kellner (born May 28, 1966) in Bonn) is a German fine-art photographer, lecturer and curator. He became known above all for his large-format photographs of famous architectural monuments, which, through many individual images and a shifted camera perspective, look like "photo mosaics".[1]

Thomas Kellner
Born (1966-05-28) May 28, 1966
Bonn, North-Rhine-Westfalia, Germany
NationalityGerman
Known forPhotography
MovementCubism
Websitethomaskellner.com
Thomas Kellner Self-portrait
2013 in front of a photo from his series Genius Loci - Two Siegener in Tsarist land . It shows the New Pipe Plant Pervouralsk.

Life

From 1989 to 1996, Kellner studied Art and Social science at the University of Siegen to become a teacher.[2] At the chair of Professor Jürgen Königs, a genuine "school of pinhole camera photography"[3] developed at the University of Siegen's Department of Art, Kellner intensively studied the possibilities and limits of this technique. At the same time he experimented with other methods of photography such as Salt-paper prints and Cyanotype. He also worked with various noble printing processes such as silver gelatine and Gum bichromate.[4]

In 1996, Kellner was awarded the Kodak Young Talent Award.[5] In 2003 and 2004 he was a visiting professor for Fine-art photography at the University of Giessen.[2] In 2012 he held a teaching position for photography at the Paderborn University.[6]

In 2004 Kellner initiated the project Photographers:Network in his hometown, an annual exhibition curated by him with changing themes and international artists. In 2013, the network's last exhibition took place in his studio in Siegen with the tenth exhibition. For this exhibition Kellner had selected works by 18 artists from seven countries and three continents.[7] Starting in 2005, the artist traveled to Brazil several times to take photographs as part of his commission to represent architectural monuments in Brasilia. In 2010 the photos were shown in Brasilia on the occasion of Brasilia's 50th anniversary."[8]

In 2006 Thomas Kellner undertook extensive travels to the United States, Latin America, Syria and China, where he photographed famous monuments such as the Golden Gate Bridge, Boston Athenaeum, and the Great Wall of China in his special technique.

In 2010 he designed a photo project together with pupils from the Gesamtschule Gießen-Ost, which theme was the Telecommunications bunker in Gießen. The project was financially supported by the city of Giessen as part of the competition Stadt der jungen Forscher (City of young researchers).[9] The focus of the students' photographic–artistic work on the bunker was to use Kellner's methodology of deconstructing buildings and reconstructing them in his photographs "as a procedure and transforming it to the conditions on site" (in German "als Verfahren aufzunehmen und auf die Gegebenheiten vor Ort zu transformieren).[10] For this purpose, categories for working with and on the individual components were developed in cooperation with the pupils and topic areas were formulated. Afterwards, the pupils photographed the individual areas with their cameras. The resulting photos were compiled into collages and PowerPoint presentations: "Through the segmentation and subsequent recombination of the different perspectives, a comprehensive and new, but also critical picture of the former bunker complex and the current headquarters of the Musik- und Kunstverein was created[...] The students found the aesthetic examination of National Socialism in a place that is itself a cultural-historical testimony, both haunting and moving." (in German "Durch die Segmentierung und anschließende Neukombination der unterschiedlichen Perspektiven entstand ein umfassendes und neues, aber auch kritisches Bild von der ehemaligen Bunkeranlage und vom heutigen Sitz des Musik- und Kunstvereins.[...] Die ästhetische Auseinandersetzung mit dem Nationalsozialismus an einem Ort, der selbst ein kulturhistorisches Zeugnis ist, empfanden die Schülerinnen und Schüler als eindringlich und bewegend").[10]

In 2012 Thomas Kellner travelled to Russia on behalf of RWE to work in Ekaterinburg and Perm to photograph industrial architecture (Genius Loci). Both cities were founded by Georg Wilhelm de Gennin from Siegen. Gennin was invited by Peter the Great in the 18th century on account of his expertise to promote the economy of the Urals and mining in the region. The factories he founded processed steel and metal. Kellner photographed not only on site in Russia, but also in the surrounding area of Siegen to capture the connection between the two regions in the processing of steel and metal.[11]

Since 2004 Thomas Kellner is a member of the German Society for Photography (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Photographie, DGPh). Kellner lives and works in Siegen.

Photographic technique

Thomas Kellner works with a single-lens reflex camera and uses 35mm film small image rolls. Each picture has a dimension of 24 × 36 millimetres. Each roll of film consists of 36 individual frames. In order to transport the film, perforations are made at the top and bottom of each frame, on which both the type of film used and the number of each frame are noted. After developing the film, Kellner cuts it into strips of equal length and assembles them into one large negative. This is then used to produce the contact sheet, on which the meta-information about the film and the respective number of the shot is still visible.

Usually photographers use the contact sheet to make a selection of the photographed individual images, which are then enlarged. Normally it is never part of the finished photographs. The material as the carrier of the image information remains invisible. But Kellner allows for the information to still be visible on the film in his finished photographs.

On the one hand, this info separates the individual images from one another, thus creating a rhythm and structure of the photographed object, and on the other hand, the viewer thus can follow the artist's working process: "The materiality in photography is treated quite rarely, unlike all other genres such as in painting, sculpture, graphics, etc. Today we always discuss the style, the chosen material itself, such as pigments, canvas, stone, etc. In photography, which is strongly mediatized, everyone tends to look only at the window of the Renaissance, at the object depicted, at most the composition or authorship behind it. Rarely is the chosen photographic paper, its surface, its pigments, or its grain or meaning of the pixels negotiated. This would, however, have been necessary long ago in view of the inclusion of photography in art according to contemporary criteria. [...] The chosen material, the characteristic style of the photographic process should be part of the author's decision and be an indispensable part of the picture's message." (in German "Die Materialität in der Fotografie wird recht selten behandelt, im Unterschied zu allen anderen Genres. In der Malerei, in Bildhauerei, in der Grafik, etc. Immer diskutieren wir heute den Duktus, das gewählte Material an sich, wie die Pigmente, die Leinwand, den Stein, etc. In der Fotografie, die stark medialisiert ist tendieren alle immer dazu nur das Fenster der Renaissance zu betrachten, den abgebildeten Gegenstand, maximal die Komposition oder die Autorenschaft dahinter. Seltenst wird über das gewählte Fotopapier, seine Oberfläche, seine Pigmente, oder sein Korn, bzw. Bedeutung der Pixel verhandelt. Dies wäre allerdings mit Rücksicht der Einbeziehung der Fotografie in die Kunst nach zeitgenössischen Kriterien längst notwendig. [...] Das gewählte Material, der Duktus des fotografischen Prozesses sollte mit zur Entscheidung des Autors gehören und zur Bildaussage unabdingbar hinzugehören."[12]

When Kellner takes on a project, he makes sketches beforehand by dividing the object to be photographed into square sections and noting the planned camera settings for each section.[13] When actually photographing the object, there can be several hours between the first and the last picture of a roll, because Kellner takes his photographs in chronological order, one after the other.[14]

Whereas Kellner used to work with only one roll of film in the beginning – with the finished photograph consisting of only 36 individual 35mm images - he now uses up to 60 rolls of film. For his photograph of the Grand Canyon, 2160 individual pictures were thus created, and with them 2160 different views of the natural wonder, which he then assembled into a single photo with a length of 5 meters.[15][16]

Effect of the pictures

The first photograph Kellner created with this technique was an image of the Eiffel Tower (1997), which he conceived as a homage to the Cubist artist Robert Delaunay. Delauney was very fascinated by what was then the highest building in the world and dedicated much of his work to its depiction. Kellner took the typical cubist "multi-view" (in German "Mehransichtigkeit")[17] approach of the objects and developed it into the central design element of his photographs. The perspective of the individual images – shifted in relation to the Central perspective – gives the impression of movement of the immobile architectural icons: "The viewer thinks that by dismanteling a building into individual pieces of an image and by tilting the camera several times the most famous sites in the world – from the Eiffel Tower to the Brooklyn Bridge – begin to rock, to sway, even to dance. Architecture is turned upside down."[18]

When Kellner traveled to Mexico in 2006 to photograph important buildings there, one critic noted that his photos looked very similar to those taken after the 1985 Mexico City earthquake.[19] "Kellner’s photographs are often read as deconstructing the landmarks of human culture. From this perspective, his pictures are a visual manifestation of the way in which culture has become vulnerable, broken, and collapsing."[20] Dance and destruction thus lie close together in the works of Kellner.

The perception of large objects is usually not perceivable to humans at a single glance. Only as the eye wanders and adds up a "total view" of many different impressions does the depicted object become clear: "Our brain completes incoming sensory information into a uniform whole and ascribes meaning to this perception" (In German "Unser Gehirn ergänzt einlaufende Sinnesinformationen zu einem einheitlichen Ganzen und schreibt dieser Wahrnehmung Bedeutung zu").[21] Kellner not only shows exactly this combination of individual images to form a Gestalt perception in his works, but the viewer himself actively recreates this experience when watching a Kellner photograph. His eyes, too, constantly move back and forth between the perception of the individual images to the overall shot and the photographs of Kellner thus can be perceived as a kind of experimental arrangement for a direct experience of what happens when we see large objects: "It is no coincidence that Kellner’s works should look like assembled puzzles because they engage the thoughtful viewer into unraveling —both visually and intellectually—the meaning of these architectural structures. We decode the scenes from the fragments he puts together, from the automatic expectations submitted by our brain, and from the more or less vague memories we have of the structures.".[22]

Works in Collections (Selection)

Solo Exhibitions (Selection)
  • 2002: Griffin Museum of Photography,[30] Winchester, Massachusetts, United States
  • 2003: Monuments,[31] Rosenberg & Kaufmann Fine Art, New York City, United States
  • 2006: Tango Metropolis,[32] Cohen Amador Gallery, New York City, United States
  • 2006: Tango Metropolis,[33] Stephen Cohen Gallery, Los Angeles, California, United States
  • 2008: Thomas Kellner: Architectural Photos,[34] Schneider Gallery, Chicago, Illinois, United States
  • 2012: Small wonders,[35] Photography Museum of Lishui, Lishui, China
  • 2013: Genius Loci,[36] Metenkow House Museum of Photography, Yekaterinburg, Russia
  • 2017: Fractured Architecture,[37] Fox Talbot Museum, Lacock Abbey, England
  • 2017: Black and White,[38]Reykjavik Museum of Photography, Reykjavík, Iceland
  • 2018: Tango Metropolis,[39] Conny Dietzschold Gallery, Sydney, Australia
  • 2019: All shook up: Thomas Kellner's America,[40] American Museum and Gardens, Claverton Manor, Bath, England

Group Exhibitions (Selection)

Further reading
  • Thomas Kellner, ed. (September 30, 2019). All shook up. Thomas Kellner's America. Lüdenscheid; Berlin: Seltmann und Söhne. ISBN 978-3946688709.
  • Thomas Kellner, ed. (October 30, 2014). Genius Loci: Zwei Siegener im Zarenland [Genius Loci: Two People of Siegen in Tsarist Russia]. Lüdenscheid; Berlin: Seltmann und Söhne. ISBN 978-3944721026.
  • Thomas Kellner, ed. (October 1, 2014). Kontakt (in German and English). Lüdenscheid; Berlin: Seltmann und Söhne. ISBN 978-3944721286.
  • Thomas Kellner, ed. (June 1, 2013). Houston, we've had a problem! (in German and English). Lüdenscheid; Berlin: Seltmann und Söhne. ISBN 978-3942831772.

References
  1. Flukinger, Roy (2013). "Breathing Space". In Kellner, Thomas (ed.). Houston, we've had a problem!. Seltmann und Söhne. p. 11. ISBN 978-3942831772.
  2. "Thomas Kellner". University of Siegen. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  3. Scheit-Koppitz, Stefanie (2014). "Not what, but how. From early photographic work to the main work of Thomas Kellner". In Kellner, Thomas (ed.). Contact. Lüdenscheid; Berlin: Seltmann und Söhne. p. 16. ISBN 978-3944721286.
  4. Huang, Yihui (2018). "Artist 1: Thomas Kellner". Theories in Digital Composite Photographs. 12 Artists and Their Work. Abingdon: Routledge. p. 15. ISBN 978-1138719170.
  5. "Tanzende Architektur in Schwarz-Weiß" [Dancing architecture in Black and White]. Town of Münster. September 4, 2019. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  6. "Lehrauftrag im Bereich Kunst und Kunstvermittlung. Kuratorische Praxis" [Teaching position in the field of art and art education. Curatorial practice]. Paderborn University. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  7. Adam, Florian (June 28, 2013). "Die Bandbreite des fotografischen Blicks" [The range of the photographic view]. Westfalenpost. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  8. "Brasília pelas lentes de Thomas Kellner". Brasilialemanhanews. May 17, 2010. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  9. Mohr, Anja (May 4, 2011). "Mit Kunst Geschichte entdecken. Ein Fernmeldebunker im Blickfeld außerschulischen Lernens" [Discover history with art. A telecommunications bunker in the field of extracurricular learning] (PDF). Spiegel der Wissenschaft (in German). 28: 57. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  10. Mohr, Anja (May 4, 2011). "Mit Kunst Geschichte entdecken. Ein Fernmeldebunker im Blickfeld außerschulischen Lernens" [Discover history with art. A telecommunications bunker in the field of extracurricular learning] (PDF). Spiegel der Wissenschaft (in German). 28: 64. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  11. "Kunst trifft Technik" [Art meets Technology]. RWE. November 24, 2014. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  12. Müller, Dirk (September 25, 2012). Wir sind von Idealbildern umgeben. Zwiegespräch mit dem Künstler [We are surrounded by ideal images. Discussion with the artist]. Siegen: ars victoria. p. 30. ISBN 978-3942831673.
  13. "Thomas Kellner: Tango Metropolis. Ausstellung im Deutschen Fotomuseum" [Thomas Kellner: Tango Metropolis. Exhibition at the Deutsches Fotomuseum]. Deutsches Fotomuseum. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  14. Wombell, Paul (2010). "Skeleton". In Netto, Karla Osorio (ed.). Brasília – 50 Anos de Utopia Moderna. Brasilia: ARP. p. 29.
  15. Thies, Reiner (February 28, 2020). "Originelle Architekturfotografien Thomas Kellner präsentiert im Haus der Kunst" [Original architectural photographs. Thomas Kellner presents at Haus der Kunst]. Kölner Stadt–Anzeiger. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
  16. Gafke, Matthias (October 24, 2016). "Der bewegte Mann" [The Man in Motion]. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  17. Scheit-Koppitz, Stefanie (2010). "Thomas Kellner. Sehen mit und ohne Kamera". In Netto, Karla Osorio (ed.). Brasília – 50 Anos de Utopia Moderna [Thomas Kellner. Seeing with and without camera]. Brasilia: ARP. p. 29.
  18. Langer, Freddy (2019). "The Grand Canyon". In Kellner, Thomas (ed.). All shook up. Thomas Kellner's America. Lüdenscheid; Berlin: Seltmann und Söhne. p. 24. ISBN 978-3946688709.
  19. Castro R., Fernando (2011). "Kontakte einer unendlichen Stadt" [Contacts of an infinite city]. In Kellner, Thomas (ed.). Mexico. Lüdenscheid; Berlin: Seltmann und Söhne. p. 55. ISBN 978-3942831215.
  20. Pappas, Alison (2013). "The Space Between". In Kellner, Thomas (ed.). Houston, we've had a problem!. Lüdenscheid; Berlin: Seltmann und Söhne. p. 33. ISBN 978-3942831772.
  21. Grüter, Thomas (May 8, 2014). "Gestaltwahrnehmung: Überall Gesichter. Ob Wolken, Baumrinden oder die Mondscheibe - alle möglichen Objekte scheinen oft menschliche Züge zu haben. Woher kommt diese Illusion, und was geschieht dabei im Gehirn?" [Gestalt perception: Faces everywhere. Whether clouds, tree barks or the disc of the moon - all kinds of objects often seem to have human features. Where does this illusion come from and what happens in the brain?]. Spektrum der Wissenschaft. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  22. Castro R., Fernando (2011). "Kontakte einer unendlichen Stadt" [Contacts of an infinite city]. In Kellner, Thomas (ed.). Mexico. Lüdenscheid; Berlin: Seltmann und Söhne. p. 50. ISBN 978-3942831215.
  23. "Eastman Museum: Thomas Kellner". George Eastman Museum. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
  24. "Thomas Kellner 51#01 Houston, Dancing Chimneys, Houston Refinery". Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
  25. "Schupmann Collection: Gallery". www.ms-collection.de. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
  26. "Collection: Thomas Kellner". Art Institute of Chicago. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
  27. "Thomas Kellner: La Sagrada Familia, Barcelona". Worcester Art Museum. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
  28. "Fractured Architecture, Cubist Photographs' by Thomas Kellner". National Trust UK. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
  29. "Thomas Kellner: Washington, Capitol 1". Library of Congress. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
  30. "Solo-Exhibitions Thomas Kellner Selection". Infocus Galerie. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  31. "Exhibitions at Rosenberg & Co". Photography Now com. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  32. "Amador Gallery – Fuller Building. Exhibitions at Amador Gallery". Photography Now com. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  33. "Cohen Gallery: Thomas Kellner". Photography Now com. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  34. "Thomas Kellner: Architectural Photos". Chicagoreader com. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  35. "Collections: Works". Photography Museum of Lishui. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  36. Museum of Photography Metenkov House (November 19, 2013). "Thomas Kellner. Genius Loci. Projekt-Video-Chronik" [Thomas Kellner. Genius Loci. Project Video Chronicle]. Youtube. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
  37. Jessica Miller (June 9, 2017). "Thomas Kellner: The Artist Distorting Your Perspective of the World". The Culturtrip com. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  38. "Black and White. Exhibition by Thomas Kellner in Skotið at Reykjavík Museum of Photography". Reykjavik Museum of Photography. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  39. "Thomas Kellner: Tango Metropolis". Conny Dietzschold Gallery. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  40. "All Shook Up: Thomas Kellner's America". Artfund org. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  41. "Les expositions: Archives 2000–2002". Musée de Grenoble. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  42. "Palazzo Ducale Presents Arti & Architettura 1900–2000" [Palazzo Ducale Presents Arts & Architecture 1900-2000]. Artdaily. October 25, 2004. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  43. "Pieced Together – Photomontage from Victorian Albums to Contemporary Work". Art Institute of Chicago. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  44. "New to View: Recent Acquisitions in Photography". Worcester Art Museum. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  45. "A Mind at Play". Art Institute of Chicago. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
  46. "Madrid, oh cielos!" [Madrid, oh dear!]. Círculo de Bellas Artes. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  47. "Fotografias – Coleção Joaquim Paiva. Exposición en Rio de Janeiro, Brasil" [Photographs - Joaquim Paiva Collection. Exhibition in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil]. Arteinformado com. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  48. "After Photoshop: Manipulated Photography in the Digital Age". Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  49. "New Arrivals: Photographs from the O'Neil Collection". Baltimore Museum of Art. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  50. "TeilnehmerInnen 2016" [Participants 2016]. Die Große. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
  51. "Landschaft, die sich erinnert" [Landscape that remembers]. Museum for Modern Art Siegen. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  52. "Analog und Schwarzweiß: Fotografie in Westdeutschland 1945 – 2000 aus der Sammlung Schupmann" [Analog and black and white: Photography in West Germany 1945 - 2000 from the Schupmann Collection]. Kunstmuseen Erfurt. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
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