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Karl Blossfeldt - Whitechapel Gallery
Karl Blossfeldt 16 April – 14 June 2013 Large print labels and interpretation Gallery 8 It is vain to consider, in the appearance of things, only the intelligible signs that allow the various elements to be distinguished from each other. What strikes human eyes determines not only the knowledge of the relations between various objects, but also a given decisive and inexplicable state of mind. Thus the sight of a flower reveals, it is true, the presence of this welldefined part of a plant, but it is impossible to stop at his superficial observation; in fact the sight of this flower provokes in the mind much more significant reactions, because the flower expresses an obscure vegetal resolution. Georges Bataille, The Language of Flowers, 1929 No image available Cow Parsley 1900-1926 Silver gelatin print Eryngium 1900-1926 Silver gelatin print Karl Blossfeldt Archiv / Stiftung Ann und Jürgen Wilde, Pinakothek der Moderne, München No image available Maple c.1900-1926 Silver gelatin print No image available Larkspur c.1900-1926 Silver gelatin print No image available Weber Thistle c.1900-1926 Silver gelatin print Karl Blossfeldt Archiv / Stiftung Ann und Jürgen Wilde, Pinakothek der Moderne, München Ice Plant Undated Silver gelatin print Stonebreaker Undated Silver gelatin print Siluan Silaus Undated Silver gelatin print Private Collection Top from left to right: Documents 3 1928 Magazine No image available Documents 3 featuring plates by Karl Blossfeldt 1928 Magazine Documents 3 showing translation of ‘The Language of Flowers’ by Georges Bataille 1928/2013 Facsimile of article published in Documents 3 Karl Blossfeldt Archiv / Stiftung Ann und Jürgen Wilde, Pinakothek der Moderne, München Private Collection Karl Blossfeldt Archiv / Stiftung Ann und Jürgen Wilde, Pinakothek der Moderne, München ‘Grün Architekture’ by No image available No image available Robert Breuer featuring plates by Karl Blossfeldt, printed in UHU June, 1926 Magazine Bottom right: UHU June, 1926 Magazine Karl Blossfeldt Archiv / Stiftung Ann und Jürgen Wilde, Pinakothek der Moderne, München Queen’s Anne’s Thistle Blossoms Undated Silver gelatin print Centaury Blossom Undated Silver gelatin print Courtesy of Berlin University of the Arts and Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur, Cologne Hazelwort Blossom Undated Silver gelatin print Courtesy of Berlin University of the Arts and Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur, Cologne Unidentified Wood Opposite leaves Undated Silver gelatin print Pacific Dogwood Branching Undated Silver gelatin print Courtesy of Berlin University of the Arts and Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur, Cologne Unidentified Wood Opposite leaves Undated Silver gelatin print Courtesy of Berlin University of the Arts and Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur, Cologne It is in the detailed enlargements of plants that the New Objectivity and Surrealism meet, and Blossfeldt’s photos stand at the point of this intersection. Much like an umbrella and a sewing machine on an autopsy table, Moholy-Nagy and Bataille meet before Peacock’s barley and enlarged horsetails. This constellation stems from their mutual desire to seek the modern period in prehistory. Gert Mattenklott, Art Forms in Nature, 1999 Unidentified Plant Opposite branching Undated Silver gelatin print Unidentified Plant Opposite branching Undated Silver gelatin print Courtesy of Berlin University of the Arts and Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur, Cologne Sow Thistle Leaf base Undated Silver gelatin print Sow Thistle Leaf around stem Undated Silver gelatin print Courtesy of Berlin University of the Arts and Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur, Cologne Red Elderberry Young florescences Silver gelatin print Red Elderberry Bud of blossom Undated Silver gelatin print Courtesy of Berlin University of the Arts and Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur, Cologne Unidentified Plant Opening bud Undated Silver gelatin print Witch Hazel Blossom Undated Silver gelatin print Courtesy of Berlin University of the Arts and Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur, Cologne Cut-leaf Teasel Opposite leaves at stem Undated Silver gelatin print Pasque Flower Withered leaf at stem Undated Silver gelatin print Courtesy of Berlin University of the Arts and Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur, Cologne Compass Plant Leaf Undated Silver gelatin print No image available Pasque Flower Withered leaf Undated Silver gelatin print Courtesy of Berlin University of the Arts and Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur, Cologne Display case - top from left to right: No image available Die Literarische Welt featuring ‘Neues von Blumen’ (News about Flowers) by Walter Benjamin 1928 Newspaper Malerei, Fotografie, Film László Moholy Nagy 1925 Softback publication No image available Painting, Photography, Film László Moholy Nagy 1969 Hardback publication Karl Blossfeldt Archiv / Stiftung Ann und Jürgen Wilde, Pinakothek der Moderne, München Chelsea Art and Design Library, University of Arts London Private Collection Bottom from left to right: No image available Atlantis 1929 Magazine (facsimile) No image available Das Leben der Planze in Atlantis Jagadish Chunder Bosch 1929 Atlantis magazine Foundations of Modern Art Amédée Ozenfant 1931 Hardback publication Private Collection Private Collection Silk Vine Blossom Undated Silver gelatin print Caper Spurge Cross section of fruit Undated Silver gelatin print Courtesy of Berlin University of the Arts and Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur, Cologne Catsear Young leaf Undated Silver gelatin print Sage Stem with buds of blossoms and leaves Undated Silver gelatin print Courtesy of Berlin University of the Arts and Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur, Cologne Heliotrope Florescence Undated Silver gelatin print Scorpionweed Florescence Undated Silver gelatin print Courtesy of Berlin University of the Arts and Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur, Cologne Slough Grass Florescence Undated Silver gelatin print Honeywort Branch with bracts Undated Silver gelatin print Courtesy of Berlin University of the Arts and Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur, Cologne Arbor Vitae Top of branches Undated Silver gelatin print Courtesy of Berlin University of the Arts and Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur, Cologne The limits of photography cannot be determined. Everything is so new here that even the search leads to creative results. Technology is, of course, the pathbreaker here. It is not the person ignorant of writing but the one ignorant of photography who will be the illiterate of the future. Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, Malarei, Fotografie, Foto, 1925 Northern Maidenhair Fern Young rolled-up fronds Undated Silver gelatin print Northern Maidenhair Fern Young rolled-up fronds Undated Silver gelatin print Courtesy of Berlin University of the Arts and Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur, Cologne Deer Fern Young, rolled frond Undated Silver gelatin print Unidentified Fern Young rolled-up fronds Undated Silver gelatin print Courtesy of Berlin University of the Arts and Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur, Cologne Pumpkin Tendrils Undated Silver gelatin print Courtesy of Berlin University of the Arts and Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur, Cologne Mexican Ivy Bud of blossom Undated Silver gelatin print Common Chilli Nettle Open seed vessel Undated Silver gelatin print Courtesy of Berlin University of the Arts and Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur, Cologne Christmas Rose Shoot of leaf Undated Silver gelatin print Russian Liquorice Shoot of leaf Undated Silver gelatin print Courtesy of Berlin University of the Arts and Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur, Cologne Birthwort Young leaves Undated Silver gelatin print Birthwort Shoots of tendrils Undated Silver gelatin print Courtesy of Berlin University of the Arts and Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur, Cologne Birthwort Shoot with young leaves Undated Silver gelatin print Black Henbane Withered Undated Silver gelatin print Courtesy of Berlin University of the Arts and Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur, Cologne Syrian Bean-caper Shoot with leaves Undated Silver gelatin print Spotted Deadnettle Florescence Undated Silver gelatin print Courtesy of Berlin University of the Arts and Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur, Cologne Cut-leaved Germander Leaf Undated Silver gelatin print Dropwort Leafs Undated Silver gelatin print Courtesy of Berlin University of the Arts and Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur, Cologne Lacy Phacelia Blossoms Undated Silver gelatin print Courtesy of Berlin University of the Arts and Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur, Cologne Water Avens Blossom, the petals removed Undated Silver gelatin print Water Avens Bud of blossom Undated Silver gelatin print Courtesy of Berlin University of the Arts and Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur, Cologne Bellflower Bud of blossom Undated Silver gelatin print Bellflower Blossom, everything removed except the style Undated Silver gelatin print Courtesy of Berlin University of the Arts and Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur, Cologne Snowball Tree Florescence Undated Silver gelatin print Chess Flower Blossom from beneath Undated Silver gelatin print Courtesy of Berlin University of the Arts and Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur, Cologne Sandwort Top view on a flower pad Undated Silver gelatin print Cockscomb Part of florescence Undated Silver gelatin print Courtesy of Berlin University of the Arts and Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur, Cologne Cowslip Blossom Undated Silver gelatin print Iris Blossoms Undated Silver gelatin print Courtesy of Berlin University of the Arts and Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur, Cologne European Ash Opening bud Undated Silver gelatin print Manna Ash Opening bud of blossom Undated Silver gelatin print Courtesy of Berlin University of the Arts and Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur, Cologne If I give someone a horsetail he will have no difficulty making a photographic enlargement of it – anyone can do that. But to observe it, to notice and discover its forms, is something only few are capable of. Karl Blossfeldt, unpublished essay, 1929 Common Butterbur Florescence Undated Silver gelatin print Centaury Blossom Undated Silver gelatin print Courtesy of Berlin University of the Arts and Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur, Cologne Rhododendron Bud Undated Silver gelatin print Courtesy of Berlin University of the Arts and Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur, Cologne Woundwort Top of shoot Undated Silver gelatin print Wayfaring Tree Shoot with bud Undated Silver gelatin print Courtesy of Berlin University of the Arts and Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur, Cologne Rough Horsetail Stem Undated Silver gelatin print Rough Horsetail Stem Undated Silver gelatin print Courtesy of Berlin University of the Arts and Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur, Cologne Rough Horsetail Stem Undated Silver gelatin print Rough Horsetail and Scarlet Runner Bean Stem and young plant Undated Silver gelatin print Courtesy of Berlin University of the Arts and Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur, Cologne Unidentified Plant Top of stem Undated Silver gelatin print Courtesy of Berlin University of the Arts and Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur, Cologne Rough Horsetail Stem Undated Silver gelatin print Rough Horsetail Top of shoot Undated Silver gelatin print Courtesy of Berlin University of the Arts and Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur, Cologne Rough Horsetail Basal parts of shoots Undated Silver gelatin print Rough Horsetail Cross section of stem Undated Silver gelatin print Courtesy of Berlin University of the Arts and Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur, Cologne Karl Blossfeldt Karl Blossfeldt trained as a sculptor and taught at what is now Berlin University of the Arts from the late nineteenth century until his death in 1932. Throughout his career, Blossfeldt amassed a vast body of botanical photographs that are now acknowledged for the critical role that they played in new approaches to observation and scale, heralding the transition from Art Nouveau’s preoccupation with form to Modernism’s analytical methods. Gallery 8 shows over 80 images that were used by Blossfeldt in his teaching practice. These photographs acted as a tool to assist students in his plant modelling class and simultaneously formed part of the research and development of Blossfeldt’s argument for the primacy of natural form over man-made constructions. The subsequent publication of a selection of these images in 1928 caught the attention of artists including Bauhaus tutor László Moholy-Nagy, who applied Blossfledt’s close scrutiny of flora to the emerging tendency of New Objectivity photography, which opposed expressionistic form in favour of a direct approach to recording subject matter. The final selection of works in this gallery focuses on Blossfeldt’s exhibition-making with a series of seldom shown, larger-scale prints that are understood to have been produced for Blossfeldt’s first display at Karl Nierendorf’s gallery in 1926. These are shown with a number of journals and magazines such as Atlantis, Documents and UHU that demonstrate the way in which Blossfeldt’s practice was recontextualised within the discourses of Surrealism in the period immediately after his death in 1932. Please return large print to the gallery assistant Karl Blossfeldt 16 April – 14 June 2013 Large print labels and interpretation Gallery 9 Karl Blossfeldt Karl Blossfeldt (1865–1932) is now recognised as one of the key figures in the development of twentieth century photography. As a self-taught photographer, Blossfeldt used this newly emerging medium in support of his argument that all forms created by man had their origins in nature. Building a series of cameras with interchangeable lenses, he was able to examine his botanical specimens in unprecedented, microscopic detail revealing their tactile nature, intricate forms and uncanny characteristics. Blossfeldt produced the majority of his photographs during his tutorship in Berlin, where he worked in relative obscurity until he was invited to exhibit at Karl Nierendorf’s gallery in 1926. With the encouragement of this gallerist, Blossfeldt brought together a number of his images of plants in one volume, a selection of which are shown here. The response to the first edition by such figures as critic Walter Benjamin repositioned Blossfeldt at the heart of debates around modern art and photography. This exhibition looks at the circulation and use of these images through such activities as book production, teaching and exhibition making. It also considers the reaction to the publication in 1928 of Blossfeldt’s Urformen der Kunst (Artforms in Nature). Shown alongside his book works are five, rarely-seen ‘working collages’, which are believed to have assisted Blossfeldt in the editing and organisation of material for his publications. While they follow a format that we are now familiar with through conceptual art practice’s analysis through a grid structure, they demonstrate how Blossfeldt at an early stage categorised his subject matter and drew comparisons between diverse natural forms. Karl Blossfeldt Archive, Stiftung Ann and Jürgen Wilde 1974 By acquiring the remaining glass negative plates, Ann and Jürgen Wilde founded the Karl Blossfeldt Archive. In the late 1980s vintage prints and further material was re-discovered. Today, the archive holds Blossfeldt’s vintage prints, working collages, first editions of his books, documentary material, and an extensive archive of correspondence. 1991 The archive was included in the list of important national artefacts and archives and protected as cultural heritage. 2001 The Stiftung Fotografie und Kunstwissenchraft Ann and Jürgen Wilde was founded with the aim of supporting science and research. The Foundation helps to conserve, foster, and expand the Karl Blossfeldt and Albert Renger-Patzsch archives, as well as securing its accessibility to the public through exhibitions and publications. 2003 The Foundation publishes a facsimile portfolio version of Urformen der Kunst, Blossfeldt’s most recognised publication, originally published by the Ernst Wasmuth publishers in Berlin 1928. 2010 The Foundation moves to Munich. The Karl Blossfeldt Archive becomes part of the main collection of the Foundation Ann and Jürgen Wilde, affiliated to the Pinakothek der Moderne, Bayerische Staatsgemaeldesammlung in Munich. Working Collage 12 Monkshood, Eryngo and Yarrow Before 1928 21 silver gelatin prints and 2 cyanotypes on card Working Collage 14 Ferns 1 Before 1928 22 silver gelatin prints on card Karl Blossfeldt Archiv / Stiftung Ann und Jürgen Wilde, Pinakothek der Moderne, München These photographs reveal an entire, unsuspected horde of analogies and forms in the existence of plants. Only the photograph is capable of this. For a bracing enlargement is necessary before these forms can shed the veil that our stolidity throws over them. Walter Benjamin, News about Flowers, 1929 Cabinet: Top from left to right: Urformen der Kunst 1929 Publication containing 120 photogravure plates, second edition printed in Germany No image available Plate 98 Lacy Phacelia 1929 Photogravure in Urformen der Kunst, second edition, printed in Germany Courtesy of Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur, Cologne Courtesy of Rajka Knipper Bottom from left to right: Urformen der Kunst 1928 Publication containing 120 photogravure plates, first edition, printed in Germany No image available Plate 119 Milfoil 1929 Photogravure in Urformen der Kunst, second edition, printed in Germany Courtesy of Michael Hoppen Gallery, London The plant may be described as an architectural structure, shaped and designed ornamentally and objectively. Compelled in its fight for existence to build in a purposeful manner, it constructs the necessary and practical units for its advancement, governed by the laws familiar to every architect, and combines practicability and expediency in the highest form of art. Not only, then, in the world of art, but equally in the realm of science, Nature is our best teacher. Karl Blossfeldt, Wundergarten der Natur, 1932 Cabinet: Wundergarten der Natur 1932 Portfolio of 120 photogravure plates, printed in Germany Courtesy of Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur, Cologne Top from left to right: No image available Plate 10 Chilli Nettle, flower bud, enlarged 15 times No image available Plate 7 Columbia Leaf, part of leaf showing vein system, enlarged 45 times Courtesy of Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur, Cologne Bottom from left to right: No image available No image available No image available Plate 10 Globe Flower, seed, enlarged 10 times Plate 55 Barley, enlarged 1.5 times Plate 103 Nettle, closed seed capsule, enlarged 18 times Plate 98 Grass Family, seed, enlarged 12 times Courtesy of Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur, Cologne Blossfeldt’s working collages.. are not an end product. His photographic archive of plant forms is not a finished work but material awaiting processing. If one wanted to draw a current parallel, Gerhard Richter’s Atlas would be closer in function to Blossfeldt’s cardboard sheets…Richter has been collecting photographs for almost forty years, which he uses for paintings. Like Richter’s Atlas, Blossfeldt’s working collages are comparable to a photographic sketchbook that an artist refers to throughout his life. Ulrike Meyer Stump, Working Collages, 2001 Cabinet: Top from left to right: No image available No image available Portrait of Karl Blossfeldt 1942 Wunder in der Natur publication containing 120 photogravure plates, printed in Germany Plate 8 Passion Flower, enlarged 4 times 1932 Photogravure plate from Wundergarten der Natur, portfolio printed in Germany Courtesy of Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur, Cologne Bottom from left to right: No image available No image available Plate 107 Sesli, bract, enlarged 10 times 1932 Photogravure plate from Wundergarten der Natur, portfolio printed in Germany Plate 48 Poppy Seed Head 1942 Photogravure in Wunder in der Natur, printed in Germany Courtesy of Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur, Cologne Courtesy of Rajka Knipper Working Collage 40 Cobaea and Scabious Seeds Before 1928 51 silver gelatin prints on card Working Collage 56 Cereal Before 1928 28 silver gelatin prints on card Working Collage 9 Umbellifers and Love-ina-mist Before 1928 16 silver gelatin prints on card Karl Blossfeldt Archiv / Stiftung Ann und Jürgen Wilde, Pinakothek der Moderne, München Please return large print to the gallery assistant
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