Description
Elger Esser is another important proponent of the Dusseldorf School of Photography showcased in the UBS Art Collection. The predominant color tone of the pictorial landscapes photographed by this student of Becher is a milky white with shades of yellow – the classic "Esser patina". His photographs transport us to distant worlds and landscapes thought to have been lost forever.
The images, shot with an analog large-format camera using slow shutter speeds, confront the viewer with places of longing imbued with a magical tranquility and invite them to pause for a moment of internal reflection. The aesthetics of his photographic work are a metaphor for the passage of time slowing down, and perhaps even for the presence of the eternal. Esser is no enraptured romanticist, however; on closer inspection his works betray the telltale signs of modern civilization: litter on the banks of the Nile, satellite dishes on rooftops, people in contemporary clothing.
Elger Esser’s meditative landscapes of the soul contrast with the hard aesthetics of his fellow Dusseldorf School students under the aegis of Bernd and Hilla Becher: Andreas Gursky and Juergen Teller, with representative works also featured in the UBS Art Collection, employ digital technology with a blunt and calculated objectivity. It is said that Esser caused a stir in his class at an early stage with his shot of a sunrise, because in choosing this subject he reclaimed subjectivity and sentimentality for photography.
Elger Esser lives and works in Dusseldorf.Details
- Work Date:
- 2011
- Location:
- UBS Zurich, Paradeplatz
- Dimensions:
- 184 x 242 cm
- Medium:
- Photography