Thomas Struth - Photographs 1978-2010
Tobias Bezzola, James Lingwood, Annette Kruzynski, Armin Zweite, Thomas Struth, Tobia Bezzola, James Lingwood, Anette Kruszynski,
ISBN 10: 1580932843 / ISBN 13: 9781580932844
Published by Monacelli Press October 2010, 2010
'Thomas Struth's photographs are about making order visible. And with the help of these images, the viewer finds him- or herself better able to grasp some of the many and varied faces of reality.' Photographer Thomas Struth is one of the most acclaimed artists to emerge from Europe in the late twentieth century. With great precision, clarity of color, and an unwavering instinct for composition, he addresses both important photographic motifs and informal, often little-known subjects. Struth characteristically treats the various aspects of his photographs in an even-handed way, a neutrality he also applies to the viewer, for he puts the viewing public on a par with his pictorial world. 'Struth poses aesthetically formulated issues that make such an impact not least because they concern us personally and are, above all, crucial to the future of human civilization.' This lavish volume is the most comprehensive study of Struth's oeuvre, showcasing all of the famous series and images: the streetscapes of Dusseldorf, New York City, Rome, China, and elsewhere; the family portraits; the museum photographs; the flowers, plants, and rainforests; and most recently, the studies of science and technology. Struth revisits many of his subjects, adding ever more layers of complexity and interpretation. Essays by renowned curators and critics complete this essential study of one of the world's major artists. 'Struth's work suspends both belief and doubt and shifts the subject to a bigger picture about the inescapable entanglement of experience and ideology.'.
Campo dei Fiori Rome 1984
Rome
Struth had first experienced Rome during a three-week study trip with his school in 1971, at the age of seventeen. Already interested in the relationship between the individual figure and the urban environment and the psychological, social, historical and political contexts of the city, he made photographs with a small-format camera as a resource for possible drawings and paintings.
Compared with the German cities he knew, the historically intact and multi-layered urban environment of Rome left a deep impression on Struth. Rome was the first city Struth travelled to after completing his civilian service in Germany. He prepared for the trip by making a resume of his work to date in the form of small prints gathered in albums: one each on the central perspective photographs from New York City and the Düsseldorf street photographs; one on other European cities, the Beaugrenelle project in Paris and the Tower Hamlets project with Axel Hütte in London. In reviewing his work to date, Struth realised that the central perspective was no longer imperative, and that he could ‘see analytically’ without needing a single overarching structure or compositional device.
Visiting Rome in 1984 felt like a new starting point for Struth. He stayed with his friend and former fellow student Janice Guy who had also been at the Kunstakademie and had subsequently moved to Rome.
For three weeks Struth explored the city on foot and by car, systematically checking out a range of potentially interesting neighbourhoods. He was searching for “locations of condensed or compacted meaning in the city, places which could be identified and decoded very precisely.” He recalls that the city he experienced in 1984 was filtered through recollections of his previous visit, as well as scenes from Italian neo-realist cinema, literature, Piranesi’s prints and so forth.
Struth’s thinking at the time was influenced by a book he had read in the mid-1970s as part of his philosophy studies at the Kunstakademie, Wolfgang Köhler’s Gestalt Psychology (Psychologische Probleme), first published in 1929. Köhler’s book contained a detailed analysis of the dynamics of perception and argued that no single phenomenon could be evaluated in an isolated way. “The idea that everything is interrelated, that it is always the dynamic between the different elements which creates information, the ‘reality’ of what one can see” profoundly influenced the way Struth constructed his city photographs.
As in his earlier city work in Düsseldorf and New York, he chose to photograph in everyday urban environments as opposed to more well-known or touristic locations. He looked for places in the city where the elements would work together in a very precise way.
In the photograph Piazza Augusto Imperatore, Rome, Struth was interested in the relationship between several different elements: the gesture of the monumental sculpture of archbishop San Carlo and the conscious construction of the public space through its placement; the imposing nature of the neo-classical architecture (the Piazza was planned and built between 1934 and 1937 under Mussolini’s direction) and the single Fiat car, emblematic of the history of post-war car manufacturing in Italy, its diminutive scale in stark contrast to the monumental character of the built environment. “What I am trying to address in the city pictures is a state of mind, a narrative about a culture embedded in the picture, depicted with clarity and a consciousness as to the intention. I am less interested in the depiction of a personal state of mind, but in the state of mind of the city, of the community.”
Campo dei Fiori juin 9 2014
CAMPO DE' FIORI
The Campo dei Fiori in the Parione district is one of the jewels of Rome. In the morning it's a bustling marketplace, that transforms into a nightlife centre in the evening – all amid a beautiful setting steeped with history.
It has always been the piazza for races, palios, and executions.
It is located where the Temple of Venus Victrix stood in ancient Rome, attached to the Theatre of Pompey.
The name of the piazza seems to have come from Flora, Pompey's beloved, for he had already built a theatre in the area. It could also have come from the fact that by 1400 the piazza was deserted and had become overgrown with wildflower meadows and vegetable gardens.
In the mid-1400s, Pope Callistus III reorganized the whole district and paved the entire area. It was during this renovation work that many elegant palazzos were built: the Palazzo Orsini, for example, is located right on the Campo dei Fiori. It was the Orisinis who gave the little piazza alongside Campo dei Fiorithe name Piazza del Biscione (large snake), because their family crest included an eel.
Once the piazza was restored, it became a mandatory place for prominent figures such as ambassadors and cardinals to socialize. All this helped the Campo dei Fiori area become the centre of a thriving horse market held every Monday and Saturday. As could be expected, hotels, inns, and artisan workshops sprung up in the area, making it one of the most vibrant parts of the city and a lively cultural and commercial centre.
But Piazza Campo dei Fiori was infamous as well, being the place where executions were carried out. A statue in the centre of the piazza commemorates this fact to passers-by: Giordano Bruno – a philosopher and Dominican monk accused of heresy – was burned alive here on February 17, 1600.
His bronze statue was created in 1888 and placed in the centre of the piazza at the exact location of his execution.
Over the centuries, the piazza has remained a lively and tumultuous place. Since the second half of the 1800s, it has hosted a vibrant and picturesque daily street market, where you can still sense the soul of the Roman populace among the colourful cries of vendors and the throngs of buyers.
Homage to this place was even paid by Italian cinema with a 1943 film, “Campo dei Fiori”.
Another idiosyncrasy is that this place is perhaps one of the few “lay” corners of the capital: Campo dei Fiori is the only piazza in Rome without a single church.
At sunset Campo dei Fiori transforms into a beloved nightlife haunt. It is packed with young people – Italians and foreigners alike – hanging out at the numerous clubs in the piazza and the neighbouring streets. It is often patrolled by police, who try, sometimes without much success, to prevent excessive partying and rowdiness.
