Sunday 9/28

Thomas Demand

Demand is my idea of a perfect photographic artist. Most people who argue that photography is "not an art" and "extremely easy" have never seen his work. Not only does he perform traditional photographic tasks, such as lighting set up and composition planning, he also constructs each aspect of each and every scene. everything from the flag outside a government building to the building itself. Even the stapler on the desk in another image. He, of course, has opportunities to shoot inside sterile federal buildings and buy staplers, but his statement is not about the stapler itself, but about the perception the viewer gets.

At first glance, you would think everything in his photographs was real. But, just because it looks real doesn't mean its true. You had better look again.

http://www.thomasdemand.de/
http://www.takaishiigallery.com/html/artists_profile/a_Thomas_Demand.html
http://www.victoria-miro.com/artists/17,biog/
http://www.moma.org/exhibitions/2005/demand.html

(P.S. The last photo is of the artist. Is he what you'd expect?)