Researching links and creating ideas.

When developing and creating new ideas obviously artistic research and understanding is crucial to help understand the focal point of pieces of work and how photographers have changed over time. I have searched through many artists and photographers work and one particular photographer that caught my eye was August Sander. He was a German photographer working during the war mainly in Germany and Austria. His work has had much influence on other photographers because of the detached style he uses to create atmosphere throughout his work.

Both these images are included into the collection named 'faces of the twentieth century'. The collection portrayed life in Nazi Germany of the people that lived in and around the area in which Sander lived. Sander did not just photograph the rich and young people but also included the elderly, homeless and minority groups, which did not sit well with the Nazi's so many of his tapes were destroyed. Sanders work has inspired many other photographers to create pieces that are different and detached. Photographers such as Bernd Becher and following that Thomas Ruff have created images that seem to hold some visual comparisons with the work of Sander. Bernd Becher was a German artist who worked with his wife to form the duo of Bernd and Hilla Becher. The couple are most renown for their work of industrial buildings and structures.

These images are the structural architectural style images that the Bechers specialised in. They did not only photograph german architecture but also travelled across the world to places including, Britain, Belgium, France and USA. The Bechers also started to teach photography and have created the Becher School which has inspired photographs such as Thomas Ruff, Thomas Struth and Candia Hofer. The work of the Bechers is very detached yet still incredibly different and structured. The way in which they create each piece is a masterpiece of detail and pinpointed accuracy. This is turn influenced photographer Thomas Ruff.

Thomas Ruff was influenced by the Bechers as he was taught by them for 8 years. The detached style in his work does differ slightly from that of the Bechers, but the concept of estranged images is still clear. The portraits exhibition of Ruff's photo's is off 8 people that he photographed in a straight forward, face on manner with the subjects remaining expressionless and looking straight into the camera. The passport format images were enlarged to create 200x150cm canvases. Ruff's images were experimenting with light, however he also says that there were connections between the portraits and the police observation methods in the 1970's. This being said create a different perception on the images as they could be hiding truths and lies behind the expressionless faces.