August Sander
was a German photographer who worked between the wars. (For you
kids out there….that’s World War l and World War ll.)

August was a working pro who decided that on his days “off” he would
photograph the “German People”. All kinds of German people. This kind
of photography wasn’t really done back then. Like in pre-postmodern
painting, most “artistic” representation was reserved for the elite.

Well, of course he got in trouble with the Nazis. Ordinary folks and “The
Thousand Year Reich” aren’t exactly compatible. Much of his work was
destroyed.

There’s the brief history. What about the photos?

What gets me about them is the simplicity. On the surface they seem
straight forward, and perhaps they are. But there’s something else at
work here.

Lets get the first thing out in the open…..these are old. And as images
get older they take on a kind of patina, they become little time machines
allowing a glimpse at the past. But these have something more to them.
The character of the subjects comes through, the photos are documents
of another time but they are also portraits of distinct people.

I learned from August Sander’s work that images need not be flashy or
hyper or trendy to make an impression. In fact, I liken it to style vs fashion.
Style stays, it’s a true reflection of an actual person. Fashion comes and goes,
is based on following rather than thinking. Put another way: style is timeless,
fashion gets dated.

As well…..these images reinforce my belief that the human face, body, posture
and costume are endlessly fascinating to study and behold.

.

MEN on WOMEN
is a group show opening next Friday (the 18th) at Gallery La Petite Mort.
Images of women produced by men.

I have a piece in it. I don’t want to post it here because then you wouldn’t
need to go to the gallery to see it. Instead I’ll post an out take from some
portraits I shot in Mississippi a few years ago. This particular image has never,
until now, seen the light of day. It’s a picture of a woman produced by a man.

This was shot in a beauty salon/trailer. Smalltown Mississippi seems to have
as many beauty salons (or, as I prefer to call them: saloons) as churches. Lots
of both.