(from “Dalliendorf”)
© Albrecht Tübke
(from “Dalliendorf”)
© Albrecht Tübke
(from “Dalliendorf”)
© Albrecht Tübke
On the list of New Photographers 2006, besides William Lamson, Matthew Monteith, and Pieter Hugo, the full body portraits from Dalliendorf (a village in Germany with a population of 150) by German photographer Albrecht Tübke stood out. His subjects were just seeping with character.
After making my way to Tübke’s website I discovered his Heads series, reminding me of the Different vs. The Same conversation that was happening over on Speak, See, Remember, where Christian proposed that repetitious projects are essentially the same idea and the same shot executed over and over and are, therefore, less interesting than projects that incorporate a variety of subject matter and approach in their work.
While I often find myself agreeing with this, I can’t say this is always true.
(from “Heads”)
© Albrecht Tübke
(from “Heads”)
© Albrecht Tübke
(from “Heads”)
© Albrecht Tübke
It seems that Albrecht Tübke often works in this manner, but Heads is his most repetitious endeavour, placing his subjects in virtually the same lighting situation, location, and even, for the most part, keeping the same framing. For me, these types of photographs can really resonate when paired with other, more “establishing” images, such as landscapes and interors (which Tübke does with his Dalliendorf project) but something about this type of series can, somehow, work on its own.
So, not to add fuel to the fire, but I can’t help but ask — more specifically:
When does “sameness” work and when does it fail?
6 Comments
May 20, 2007 – 9:32 pm
a really great example of a project that utilizes repetition is sarah stolfa’s the regulars because, as a bartender, she intrinsically witnessed her subjects from a single vantage point and thus the viewer is able to imagine himself in her stead behind the bar. as to the more general discussion, repetition allows our eyes to more easily identify differences. alec soth talks about how photography is the closest visual medium to poetry, but i think that projects that function by stringing together a variety of symbolic imagery exemplify that idea best. repetitious projects are about making visual comparisons. thus both approaches really rely an abundance of images to allow the viewer to connect one visual element to another. and, yeah, i’m gonna be really lame and go add this same comment to speak, see, remember…
May 21, 2007 – 5:46 pm
Series vs. Sequence. One of my most favorite questions. Nathan Lyons brought this stuff to my attention at the Visual Studies Workshop in Rochester, N.Y. A series of photographs of buildings or like Tubke, a series of heads. Sequencing tends to be more elusive, more poetic. With sequencing you don’t always know why one image follows another but you look for that visual flow. I remember Nathan saying, you can have a series within a sequence but you can’t have a sequence within a series. I think sequencing, compared to series, tends to be more challenging. But what do you want to say with your work? How do you want to group your work? Like Harry Callahan says leading towards a life’s work.
May 25, 2007 – 7:49 am
i think sameness, or typologies work when it is necessary to neutralize the background in order for the subjects being portrayed to reveal their narrative of either unity of uniqueness. i agree that establishing images make the individuals more resonant, but that information as a part of series like this would seemingly dilute the intent by averting the viewers attention from the subject. typologies seems to more successful when they are used to promote an examination of their subjects, and less successful when they are used conceptually as a statement about the becher’s method.
May 25, 2007 – 8:02 am
thanks for the reference to tubke’s work, just went to his site. the heads series seems very different than his other projects, with the environment being crucial to the person’s description. is the heads his most recent work? it almost seems to speak about his own process, a questioning of whether the environmental information is actually important. his other work seems to draw a lot from a. sanders though, so maybe he is actually poking fun at the hipness of sterile typology work. interesting topic, thanks for getting the gears turning this am.
May 30, 2007 – 1:01 pm
Okay dude, it’s been ten days. I know you’re in England or whatever, but give us a new post!
May 31, 2007 – 10:42 pm
(don’t rush ‘em, haha)
One Trackback
[...] the recent discussion of ‘Different vs. The Same’ or what might better be called ‘Series vs. [...]