In the 1890s, the Berlin artist, sculptor, and lecturer Karl Blossfeldt began photographing plants, seeds, and other natural materials to show his students patterns and forms found in nature. His close-ups of the smallest plant parts, which he enlarged up to 30 times, are striking in their geometric and sculptural appearance. Blossfeldt's photo collection was first published in 1928 under the title Urformen der Kunst (Primal Forms of Art) and caused a sensation. The publication became an international bestseller and remains one of the most important photography books of the 20th century.
Karl Blossfeldt: Variations is the first comprehensive monograph entirely devoted to the reception of Blossfeldt's work. Drawing on unpublished materials, Ulrike Meyer Stump analyzes the reproduction of Blossfeldt's photographs in teaching aids, sample books, art books, and the illustrated press. In six chapters, this richly illustrated study traces the paths Blossfeldt's legendary plant motifs took from 1890 to 1945—as specimens, illustrations, analogues, models, and abstractions. Thematic excursions into the present illustrate the rediscovery of Blossfeldt's motifs in design and architecture over the past two decades and provide a contemporary perspective on the famous German photographer.
info
Author: Ulrike Meyer Stump
Number of pages: 516 pages, 205 illustrations
Published: 27.11.2020
Publisher: Lars Müller Publishers
Type: Hardcover
Language: German
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