Abstract Photography

What is abstract photography?

Abstract photography, sometimes called non-objective, experimental or conceptual photography, is a means of depicting a visual image that does not have an immediate association with the object world and that has been created through the use of photographic equipment, processes or materials. An abstract photograph may isolate a fragment of a natural scene in order to remove its inherent context from the viewer, it may be purposely staged to create a seemingly unreal appearance from real objects, or it may involve the use of color, light, shadow, texture, shape and/or form to convey a feeling, sensation or impression.

History

Some of the earliest images of what may be called abstract photography appeared within the first decade after the invention of the photography. In 1842 John William Draper created images with a spectroscope, which dispersed light rays into a then previously unrecorded visible pattern. The prints he made had no reference to the reality of the visible world that other photographers then recorded, and they demonstrated photography’s unprecedented ability to transform what had previously been invisible into a tangible presence. Draper saw his images as science records rather than art, but their artistic quality is appreciated today for their groundbreaking status and their intrinsic individuality. Another early photographer, Anna Atkins in England, produced a self-published book of photograms made by placing dried algae directly on cyanotype paper. Intended as a scientific study, the stark white on blue images have an ethereal abstract quality due to the negative imaging and lack of natural context for the plants.

The discovery of the X-ray in 1895 and radioactivity in 1896 caused a great public fascination with things that were previously invisible or unseen. In response, photographers began to explore how they could capture what could not been seen by normal human vision. About this same time Swedish author and artist August Strindberg experimented with subjecting saline solutions on photographic plates to heat and cold. The images he produced with these experiments were indefinite renderings of what could not otherwise be seen and were thoroughly abstract in their presentation. Near the turn of the century Louis Darget in France tried to capture images of mental processes by pressing unexposed plates to the foreheads of sitters and urging them to project images from their minds onto the plates. The photographs he produced were blurry and indefinite, yet Darget was convinced that what he called “thought vibrations” were indistinguishable from light rays.

But it wasn’t before Surrealists such as László Moholy-Nagy and Man Ray that the genre got its first serious boost. Their experiments within the darkroom established a whole new expressive language, which sometimes didn’t even involve the use of a camera, like in the case of rayograms. Walking the line between surrealism and abstraction were the works of Otto Steinert and Heinz Hajek-Halke, who reinvented the concepts of portraiture, for instance, towards the second half of the 20th century. In the 1960s, technology got even more involved in the creation of abstract photos, particularly through microscopes that were now evolved enough to provide remarkable imagery. Then came the computers and with the rise of digital photography in the 1990s, the genre has been taken to a whole new level, although many artists remained faithful to the old-school techniques that didn’t include Photoshop or other editing software.

Deconstructing a Photobook

Research a photo book and describe the story it is communicating with reference to subject matter, genre and approach to image-making.

Who is the photographer?

Siegfried Hansen traces visual compositions from graphics and colours and creates „street photography“ the main point of which is not bodies or faces, but graphic connections and formal relations. It shows the aesthetics of coincidence in a public area, which is full of surprises.
His work has been profiled in the books “Street Photography Now“ published by Thames and Hudson and “100 Great Street Photographs” by David Gibson. Siegfried is a member of the renowned street photography collective UN-PUBLIC and a founder member of the German street photography site and German Street Photography Festival.
Siegfried has been a speaker and a juror at many photo festivals around the world. His internationally acclaimed photo book “Hold the Line” published by Kettler Verlag sold out and won several awards.

“Street photography exists as a genre in incredibly many facets and manifestations. It is always about the right time to release the shutter, at a moment that captures and accurately reflects what is fleeting and coincidental. For Siegfried Hansen, street photography is not so much in the nature of reportage and documentation.” What Hansen is interested in is graphic elements, shapes, interwoven lines and structures that, when harmoniously related to one another, yield an abstract image. “Whereas in the photographs of such prominent role models as Henri Cartier-Bresson and André Kertész people play a major role, in the works of this Hamburg photographer faces and people are only suggested and are at best only dimly visible. No more is shown than is needed to create an interesting and balanced combination of people and objects.“

The Flow of the Lines

“The Flow of the Lines” is the second book by renowned street photographer Siegfried Hansen, featuring an introduction by David Gibson. Following the overwhelming success of Hansen’s first book, which has since sold out, this highly anticipated release showcases 147 captivating photos that capture the energy and vibrancy of the urban landscape.  In “The Flow of the Lines”, Hansen’s ability to notice such small, quiet details, loudly celebrates the joy of graphics and absolute precision, which is indeed typical of Hansen’s love of graphic lines in urban settings.

Siegfreid Hansen’s work is world-renowned and has been exhibited in Galleries across the world, such as in Berlin, and Hamburg, where many of his photographs are created, London, Miami, Krakow and Kentucky. He now holds workshops in Germany on the art of street photography and offers personal coaching as well.

Hold the Line

Book in hand: how does it feel? Smell, and sniff the paper.

It feels robust, and clean cut.

Paper and ink: use of different paper/ textures/ colour or B&W or both.

This book is mostly in colour, and relies on colour in order to create some of the highly intriguing compositions found in the book.

Format, size and orientation: portraiture/ landscape/ square/ A5, A4, A3 / number of pages.

The book is a portrait A4 book, with 56 pages.

Binding, soft/hardcover. image wrap/dust jacket. saddle stitch/swiss binding/ Japanese stab-binding/ leperello

The book is hardcover, with perfect binding.

Cover: linen/ card. graphic/ printed image. embossed/ debossed. letterpress/ silkscreen/hot stamping.

The cover is a printed image, printed on card. The image on the front cover is wrapped from the back to the front, as one image.

Title: literal or poetic/relevant or intriguing.

The title ‘Hold the Line’ can be seen as literal in a sense that the photobook mainly focuses on strong lines and shapes within architecture. However, it can also be seen as metaphorical, as many of the spreads in the book feature lines that are interrupted or ‘held’ in reference to the title. They are interrupted, and continued by another line similar from a different plane of view. For example, in the image to the right below, the red line that intersects the shape at the bottom of the pole and wall in the background is broken apart by the line of the pole of the left – this creates a geometric composition.

The Narrative: what is the story/subject matter? How is it told?

The narrative of this book is the idea of street photography but without faces or humans, but visual and graphic connections in our everyday world, by coincidence. Hansen presents these ideas by using bold colours and shapes, creating spreads where each image / colour fit well together with similar lines and shapes. In this book, Siegfried seeks to prove that all of these compositions are found coincidentally in an everyday landscape – creating a new perspective on street photography, without the inclusion of faces.

Structure and architecture: how the design/ repeating motifs/ or specific features develop a concept or construct a narrative.

Design and layout: image size on pages/ single page, double-spread/ images/ grid, fold-outs/ inserts.

The pages in this photobook are mixed. Some feature two images, that link strongly together, through shape, line or colour. However, some pages are with one image, and the other page a similar colour to a key one in the photograph. (See right below). Images are on a single page mostly, with 3 or 4 double page spreads scattered in the book.

Editing and sequencing: selecting images/ juxtaposition of photographs/ editing process.

There is clear juxtaposition in the photobook – each spread features two images, and some with a plain colour and an image on one side. Each spread has some sort of link between each image or colour. For example, In the spread above to the right, the blue lines of the vehicle in the top right link well with the solid blue of the same colour on the left, with the solid down the centre line of the spread creating a strong frame with the three subjects.

Links to my Simple and Complex project

https://www.lensculture.com/siegfried-hansen?modal_type=project&modal_project_id=132705&modal=project-323446 – a link to a preview of my studied book.

This book links quite well to my Simple and Complex project, not only the theme but also my personal project for my exam. Before finding this artist to cover, I was searching for a book / artist who documented the idea of fragmented landscapes or an abstract photographer documenting landscapes. My project and photobook are similar to the work of Siegfried Hansen as I am also focusing on the less traditional ideas of my genre – not taking so many traditional landscapes, but thinking more about the formal elements of the landscapes: light, shape, line and shadow. I also am going to draw inspiration from Hansens’ unique layout with colour blocking, and single images, mixed with a few double page spreads, although not in colour.