Author: jamesrhoden

Dusseldorf School

I took these photographs based on my impression of the Dusseldorf School of Photography. This style was founded by Bernd and Hilla Becher which in turn was inspired by the New Objectivity movement of the 1920s. This style could be expressed in its objective expression of its visual content, as well as its often industrial images. There was also inspiration which came out of the works of Marcel Duchamp’s often conceptual “readymades”. These were often industrial in style as well. 

This style stands in contrast to the popular German style of Otto Steinert which is considered subjective. Otto considered his style more human and expressive (however both styles are inherently expressive from my point of view). 

The photographs which I have taken intend on following suit with the layout, industrial content, and objective nature of the works previously associated with this movement. However  rather than taking the shots “straight on” as often done by the Becher’s, I decided to take photos straight upwards. This is to reflect on the object’s place in its objective space.

I decided that it would be ideal to take the pictures in black and white. This is due to the fact that I thought the use of black and white would be able to provide a starkness to the images which would help exemplify the telephone polls utilitarianism. I figured that they were a straight forward object and because of this I wanted their visual representation to also be as blunt as possible. 

I really enjoyed the subtle, and sometimes stark differences between the different telephone polls. I thought this was a nice similarity to the famous images taken by the Bechers of the water towers. One of my favorite aspects of photography is line, and so in my hunt to find a relative nod to the water towers, I decided on an object with more relatively straight lines. While walking I realized that telephone polls make for an interesting subject with regard to this penchant for straight lines. With these images I hoped to shine light on the interesting and unassuming qualities of the objects.

When reading the assignment I interpreted the line “Where is the comfort and consolation of home when you have to lock yourself in it to protect yourself and others?” to have a negative connotation. In this sentence I found relation by taking photos of the outside world through my windows. This is due to the obvious fact that many of us would like to spend more time outside, or at least spend more time being able to go outside. However on the other side of the spectrum, I did take photos of the sincere comforts on the inside of my apartment as well. I built a squat rack in my apartment which looks out at the trees from the seventh floor, and then I took a photo of my guitar (my favorite thing) and of Parks and Rec/Netflix (which I binge the seasons repetitively). So in these images I wanted to represent a dynamic aspect of the time spent dealing with the spread of the epidemic from the desire to go outside to the comforts I have with me inside.

For this assignment I had taken a few pictures of outside that were direct markers of the pandemic we are currently facing, but most of my time associated with the virus is marked by hours stuck in a small apartment by myself. As my parents are seniors and my brother has a compromised immune system, I felt it best to be cautious and stay by myself. So because of that, I felt that my experience with this moment our lives is (luckily) defined by the monotony of the time spent inside the apartment. This being the case I took pictures of my apartment.