Karl Blossfeldt: Working Collages [Hardcover]

Ann Wilde (Editor), Jürgen Wilde (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 5, 2001

Karl Blossfeldt (1865-1932) achieved overnight fame in the late 1920s with the first publication of his photographs of plants. Those photographs, which revealed the inner structures of the organic forms, immediately made him a pioneer of New Objectivity -- an innovative movement in art and photography of the 1920s and 1930s. Blossfeldt, however, was neither a trained photographer nor a botanist. He was a sculptor and art professor who did his photographic work to generate teaching material for his students.The publication of this book is the result of an extraordinary event -- the 1997 discovery in Blossfeldt's estate of sixty-one previously unknown collages, in virtually mint condition, of photographic contact prints arranged on large cardboard sheets. Blossfeldt apparently used these to study the relation and similarity of the photographs and to compare them graphically and aesthetically. On some, Blossfeldt had made marks or handwritten notations. Others show lines for cropping. The collages, published here for the first time, unveil a hidden treasure of modern photography and cast fresh light on the systematic approach Blossfeldt used in his photographic studies. All collages are reproduced in four colors.Introducing the book is an essay by Swiss art historian Ulrike Meyer-Stump, a contributing curator to the exhibitions at the Kunsthaus in Zurich.Not for sale in France, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, and Austria

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The late German artist Karl Blossfeldt spent much of his career as a sculptor and teacher but broke artistic ground by photographing and isolating plant forms and achieving what was considered objective photography. Blossfeldt made an art historical impact with the release of his 1928 book of photographs, Art Forms in Nature, and was thrust into the limelight as the forefather of the New Objectivity art movement of the 1930s: "The rigorous composition of Blossfeldt's photographs of plant details, like wrought iron shapes on a neutral ground--originally intended for use in his classes on plant modeling--struck his contemporaries as being exemplary for modern photography." Now, his photographic collages of plant forms (discovered in 1977) are shown in their entirety in Karl Blossfeldt: Working Collages. These collages have stirred the curiosity of some in the field because they are so different from Blossfeldt's known work.

An insightful introduction by Swiss art historian Ulrike Meyer Stump explains the importance of the discovery of the collages as well as their possible influence and relationship to other conceptual artists. If you're interested in the beginnings of conceptual artwork, this book is a great chance to wonder and draw your own conclusions about the thought process of an important contributor to photography. -- J.P. Cohen

From Library Journal

German sculptor and professor Blossfeldt (1865-1932) is best known for his close-up photography of plants and for his association with the New Objectivity movement in German photography. This book, edited by the curators of the Karl Blossfeldt Archive in Z lpich, Germany, mostly comprises his 61 previously unpublished collages of contact prints, with little text. These large, high-quality color reproductions effectively reveal the aesthetic value of the prints as the artist arranged them, side by side on large cardboard sheets. In an introductory essay, Swiss art historian Ulrike Meyer Stump discusses the purpose of Blossfeldt's contact prints, which he suggests was to aid the photographer in studying the forms of plants. Offering a view into an important photographer's methods, this is a recommended addition to museum and art school libraries; Hans Christian Adam's Karl Blossfeldt (LJ 7/99), however, is the best overview of Blossfeldt's work for general academic and larger public library collections. Eric Linderman, East Cleveland P.L., OH
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 145 pages
• Publisher: The MIT Press; 1stEdition edition (February 5, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0262025019
• ISBN-13: 978-0262025010
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 12.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,666,894 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars for photo editors and students of Edward Tufte, August 4, 2001

By 

Philip Greenspun (Cambridge, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Karl Blossfeldt: Working Collages (Hardcover)

If you're a student of Edward Tufte's work on small multiples, this is a great book. By comparing lots of fairly similar things within one visual field, one can learn a lot. That's a Tufte insight and this book shows that Blossfeldt was taking advantage of the idea 75 years ago. This book is also good for those who appreciate the beauty of contact sheets and the photo editing process. The book makes a great gift due to its unusual nature and extremely high printing quality.