A l b e r t R e n g e r - P a t z s c h Renger-Patzch was a well known German photographer that associated with the movement of the 'New Objectivity.' His journey of photography began by the age of 12, whereby he began creating photographs. His second book, published in 1928, known as 'Die Welt ist Schön' (The World is Beautiful) includes a series of his photographs which conveyed the natural forms of objects and industrial things through scientific illustrations. Renger-Patzch was famously known for being associated with the New Objectivity, alongside with Ernst Jünger who was a writer and philosopher that described his depth of feelings during the First World War. The series of Renger-Patzch's photographs below are from his second book 'The World is Beautiful'. I really admired his photography work and how the sharp details of objects were clearly shown through clarity. I think that the black and white effects enhances the darker details of the objects and image as a whole which creates the focus of the actual details of the object. I particularly like the first one because I couldn't identify what it was but I was mesmirised by the striking sharpness of the repetitive lines and patterns. I also liked the third one, which I think is a photograph of train tracks, but I like the specific details of the metal tracks, it definitely highlights its natural formal elements and the idea of objectivity is evidential in his photography work.
N e w O b j e c t i v i t y (Neue Sachlichkeit) The 'New Objectivity' was an German art movement that came about in significance in the 1920s. The emergence of this movement was particularly to react against the ideology of expressionism. Thus, the post-expressionism and the fact that German art was under the influence of Futurism meant that the idea of objectivity was neglected and abandoned. Moreover, this movement was seen as a refreshing rebellious movement that challenged the traditional expressionistic art that many Germans favoured. Ernst Junger and Renger-Patzch played a key role in conveying the truest forms of nature and industrial objectivity in their collaboration in 1960. As I also study History A level, I also learn about the German history and warfare. Therefore, researching about the artistic approaches and movements that arose during the WWI has definitely supplemented my knowledge of German History. To further heighten my understanding of the New Objectivity, I watched a short film of the exhibition created by the Department of Special Collections’ Ernst Jünger Collection and Dr. Frank Krell and Jeff Stephenson of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. The Youtube video below definitely elaborated my understanding of the New Objectivity and how it came about in significance.
Whilst researching about Albert Renger-Patzch and the movement of the 'New Objectivity'. I made a brainstorm of notes that may be applicable to my ideas in responding to the 'World is Beautiful' challenge. I made note of other influential artists that also has a familiar style of objectivity which may also elaborate my artists notes and research. I initially didn't know how I would respond to Renger-Patzch's work because I haven't familiarised myself with detailing of objects and natural forms. Therefore, making notes and aims of what I intend to focus on definitely catalyses the process of creating an outcome. Also, the PhotoPedagogy website also included advice such as focusing on surroundings and everyday mundane objects that we use or come across all the time. Therefore, I decided to start the practicality of the research by carefully focusing and analysing my domestic surroundings that I often neglect.
RESPONDING, EXPLORING AND CAPTURING
Beginning the process of capturing and exploring, I firstly began with analysing small details of my surroundings. I didn't really know what to expect but I continuously looked for objects or forms that had repetitive patterns on it. I captured photographs using my regular IPhone, of unusual but every day things such as boxes of clothes, boxes of shoes, hangers, the dusty AC, jars of sugar + brown sugar, hangers, cotton buds and more. I then elaborated this exploration by capturing unusual surfaces or angles of objects, for example the 5th photograph below is actually the flat surface of an iron also the 6th photograph is a detailed photograph of the ceiling. Moreover, I went further in depth of detail by capturing the inside of a hairdryer, which is the photograph next to the cotton buds photograph and also the last photograph below is the inside of a toaster. As I noticed that Albert Renger-Patzch also incorporated natural plants, I captured close up details of nature that I had in my house. It was very interesting to see and notice smaller details of my domestic home and what I use every single day that I do not capture of. This was experimental to me because I have never conducted a series of photographs based on objects in my home, therefore it was a very unordinary despite me capturing of things that I am familiar with.
REFINING AND EDITING
Subsequently, as I am not entirely satisfied with the original photographs, I used the VSCO App on my phone to refine and edit my photographs. I firstly uploaded all my 25 photographs into the studio of the app so that I could apply filters and edit the range. As Albert Renger-Patzch's photographs were mainly hues of darker and monochrome colours such as hints of browns, black and white, I used the B1 and B5 filters to add a base of black and white filters and effects over my photographs. The B1 filter is black and white but still shows the negative spaces thus the white is enhanced. Whereas the B5 filter is slightly on the darker side, and reinforces the shadows of negative spaces. Therefore, according to what photograph I used and the lighting it consists of, I either chose to use the filters B1 or B5. Reference to Renger-Patzch work, I noticed that his photography gives the feel of the olden days of war due to the colour, saturation and slight grain of his photographs. Therefore, to enhance that effect on my photographs, I used a grain effect which I could adjust its levels as according to my desire. Moreover, as I noticed in my research that the scientific clarity of his photographs were essential in emphasising the natural forms; I also used a clarity tool to reinforce the specific details of my photographs. I tried to avoid adding too much clarity otherwise the quality would become pixilated and appeared more like a water coloured painting rather than a close photographic detail of objects and nature.
f i n a l o u t c o m e
This is my final outcome after refining my 25 photographs and editing through using the VSCO app. Overall, I am relatively pleased with my final results and feel that the editing definitely enhances the natural forms of the objects I captured. Albert Renger-Patzch and Ernst Junger's approaches towards the movement of the New Objectivity definitely heightened my artistic and skilful analysis of of objectivity. The supplementary video and research has enabled me to instinctively explore and capture focuses of different types of objects, patterns, nature and form. I particularly enjoyed this documenting experience because it is also a challenge that I never tried out and it made me open my eyes for the specific details of my photographs. I really like how each photograph consists of different types of form and material which makes each photograph differ from each other. It was fascinating to me to explore details of objects such as the inside of a toaster and the inside of a hairdryer because they are everyday objects that I use yet I rarely focus on the natural formal elements of it. Renger-Patzch and Junger's work definitely made me view objectivity in a non-narrative and more scientific and specific way.
The whole 25 series of my photographs below. My favourites from the range of my photographs would be the first photograph because although it is actually in reality boxes of clothes, I really liked how the black and white effect creates monochrome colours of the different clothes and materials. I also like the next second photograph because it is a photograph of the inside of a hairdryer. If I hadn't known that it was a hairdryer, I wouldn't have been able to tell what exactly the object is. However, the striking details of the inside of a hairdryer fascinates me because I use it almost daily yet neglect the natural forms of the objects and how the object is built within and constructed. Although I am relatively satisfied with the outcomes, in future I would have been more experimental and conduct a public photography trip to explore the outer world and what interesting objects I may come across.