PHOTOGRAPHER RESEARCH
AUGUST SANDER (1876-1964)
For my in-class group presentation our chosen topic was Vernacular Photography. I was responsible for researching the work of August Sander - my research and elaborations relating to my future photographic work are included below.
BIOGRAPHY
August Sander was a German
portrait and documentary photographer, most famous for his career-long project
titled People of the 20th Century, consisting of portraits of
German people from all segments of society.
He has been described
as ‘the most important German portrait photographer of the early twentieth
century’ – Tate (2018).
Sander first discovered
photography when helping to carry the equipment of a company photographer at a
local mine. He didn’t come from an artistic background/heritage – his father
was a mine carpenter and later ran a small farm.
From 1897-99 he worked as a
photographer’s assistant, then established his own photography studio in
Cologne in 1909.
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The
Painter Otto Dix and his Wife Martha 1925-6, printed 1991 - Tate.org (2018)
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The
Architect Hans Heinz Lüttgen and
his Wife Dora 1926, printed 1990 -
Tate.org (2018)
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GERMAN HISTORY
Collectively, Sander’s photographs depict the life and
society of inter-war Germany. This was a time where rapid social change and
newfound freedom existed alongside financial insecurity and social and
political unrest.
Sander’s work portrays an uncertain cultural landscape,
photographing the various citizens of the Weimar Republic from the artistic,
bohemian elite, to the Nazis and those they persecuted and controlled.
The faces of those Sander photographed show traces of
this collective historical political turmoil and experience:
‘Sander has succeeded in writing sociology not by
writing, but by producing photographs – photographs of faces and not mere
costumes’
- Alfred Döblin, author of the 1929 novel Berlin
Alexanderplatz.
In the photos above, it is evident that Sander's intention to let the subject speak for themselves shines through, yet not without his clever angle of shot. Particularly in the image of a Nazi Soldier, the side profile with non-direct eye contact evokes a shielded, detached emotion, one that contrasts with the direct and demanding eye contact seen in the subjects of almost all his other works. Also seen in the first two photographs I have included in this blog, Sander's construction of eye contact is clearly evident and intentional, used to perhaps reflect the power relations between the subjects of his photographs, and the power he wishes the viewer to feel from it.
This clever and effective use of eye contact is something which I will utilise in my own work and use to portray different power relations.
'PEOPLE OF THE 20TH CENTURY'
In the mid-1920s, Sander decided to begin a highly
ambitious project titled People of the 20th Century, a task that would last the
entirety of his remaining career. The project aimed to capture people from all
walks of life, from all ages, in portrait photographs.
As the project continued, the portraits distinctly
collected into seven groups: ‘The Farmer’, ‘The Skilled Tradesman’, ‘The
Woman’, ‘Classes and Professions’, ‘The Artists’, ‘The City’ and ‘The Last
People’.
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The above photos are taken from the collection ‘The Farmer’
Young Farmers 1914, printed 1996
Farming Couple - Propriety and Harmony
1912, printed 1990
Farmer's Child 1919, printed 1990
‘Bricklayer’,
1928; ‘Painter’s Wife [Helene Abelen]’, 1926; ‘Pastrycook’, 1928
Sander’s
portraits are occupation focused, highlighting the labour of the everyday citizen, and
emphasizing the way their work influences their identity. All three of the
above portraits show the subject in the same central stance, the subject figure
dominating the overall compositional space leaving less room for the background
environment to be depicted, putting more emphasis on the person themselves. Bricklayer
and Pastrycook portray a particular confidence and assurance in
their posture and expression.
‘The
portrait is your mirror. It’s you.’ – August Sander (Tate 2018).
He aimed to reveal the personal
characteristic traits of people, to tell each person's story, their profession,
politics, social situation and background.
The Notary, 1924; Blind Children, 1930;
Widower, 1914
Sander’s work represents classes, age, occupation, family
relations, education in early 20th century German life.
Sander's use of intentional eye contact is seen again. Here, the direction of eye contact (indirect, distant, direct) can be noted, evoking
a sympathetic emotion (Blind Children, Widower) and a sense of
athority/mystery (The Notary).
TECHNIQUE AND FOCUS
Sander rejected the newly invented Lecia camera and
favoured the old-fashioned large-format camera, glass negatives and long
exposure times, and prized the daguerreotype technique:
‘it cannot be surpassed in the delicacy of the
delineation, it is objectivity in the best sense of the word’. - August
Sander (Tate, 2018)
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| Aviator, 1920 |
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| Man of Soil, 1910 |
His portraits were anonymous, often shot against neutral
backgrounds or leaving little room for setting to be of high significance in
the composition, the focus of his work was truly on the people themselves. The
works are almost always titles by the profession alone, letting the images and
the faces in them speak for themselves. His use of the profession in title
emphasises his aim to highlight the work of everyday German citizens, linking
to social context of the time of financial insecurity and political
uncertainty.
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Boxers,
1928
© Die
Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur – August Sander Archive, Cologne;
ARS, New York, 2018
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“Nothing is more hateful to me than photography coated
with gimmicks, poses and false effects. Therefore let me speak the truth in all
honesty about our age and the people of our age”
–August Sander, 1927
I will challenge myself to evoke the intended messages through my emotions with the balance of allowing the content to speak for itself without over-editing, or false gimmicks - a balance that will no doubt be challenging.
Images and references:
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