Aufsicht

by Wolfgang Tillmans (Photographer), Felix Zdenek

Wolfgang Tillmans, the first German-born artist, and first photographer, ever to be awarded Britain's prestigious Turner Prize, has become, in recent years, "Mr. Zeitgeist," as the German magazine ARt has called him. His best-known photographs, such as portraits of friends and youth culture denizens, stillifes, images of garments, and the "Concorde" series, have been shown in exhibitions and magazines throughout the world. Presenting him, however, as far more than a documentarian of Gen-X and youth culture, this major monograph on his work will present primarily unpublished photographs: land and cityscapes that have been manipulated with light during the printing process, images created without negatives, only by the use of light on photographic paper, and other abstractions. The book also includes a variety of more familiar works in which Tillmans examines the abstract qualities of nature and common, man-made goods. Wolfgang Tillmans is a remarkable publication on one of the most important artists of his generation.

203 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2001

About the author

Wolfgang Tillmans is an influential contemporary German photographer whose work is in dialogue with artists such as Andreas Gursky and Gerhard Richter. Emerging in the 1990s with his snapshots of teenagers, clubs, and LGBTQ culture, Tillman’s practice has expanded to include diaristic photography, large-scale abstraction, and commissioned magazine work. “I want the pictures to be working in both directions,” the artist has said. “I accept that they speak about me, and yet at the same time, I want and expect them to function in terms of the viewer and their experience.” Capturing landscapes from an airplane window, still lifes of crustaceans, or straightforward portraits, his work conveys the profundity of an encyclopedic archive. Tillmans’ attention to even the most incidental moments can be seen in his Concorde Grid (1997), a group of 56 color photos depicting the airplane taking off along with the surrounding scenes captured during the moments in between.

Born on August 16, 1968 in Remscheid, West Germany, Tillmans spent the early part of his career in London after graduating from the Bournemouth and Poole College of Art and Design. In 2000, he was awarded the prestigious Turner Prize, marking the first time the prize had been awarded to a photographer or non-British artist. In 2006, Tillmans established Between Bridges, a non-profit exhibition space located in Berlin. His survey show “Wolfgang Tillmans: 2017” opened at the Tate Modern in London to critical acclaim, cementing his stature in the contemporary art world. The artist currently lives and works between Berlin, Germany and London, United Kingdom. Today, his works are held in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Hamburger Bahnhof in Berlin, and the Kunstmuseum Basel, among others.