TITLE: Fractured Architecture in Black & White

‘Fractured Architecture, Cubist Photographs’

Consider a mashup of the old saying ‘familiarity breeds contempt’ and the song ‘Everything Old is New Again’ and you will begin to see the world as Thomas Kellner depicts it.
Thomas is known for his photographs of seemingly dancing architectural exteriors of familiar structures from all over the world. Even though his photographs show well known buildings whose ‘straight’ pictures would be immediately recognisable, his work is unique due to the artistic method he calls ‘visual analytical synthesis’ in which he does not take one shot but a number of thoughtfully planned ones in order to create a picture out of contact sheets. His work is often referred to as Cubism as his creative process includes a construction but with the results resembling a deconstruction.

‘I think I am more of an artist than a photographer.’ says Thomas. ‘At the moment I am working on architecture, but it is not classic architectural photography. There are definitions in art about ‘construction/deconstruction’ or ‘collage/decollage,’ but I don’t think any of it really fits what I am doing right now, maybe my work is closer to conceptual art or conceptual photography. Many have said it is ‘very German,’ and that might be closer.’
Thomas’ work imitates the wandering look of the eye, showing segments of the total which come together as one image. His photographs do not necessarily deconstruct architecture but instead reconstruct our view of it. Thomas has developed his own unique visual language of multiple perspectives whereby the finished image is a sequence mounted on a contact sheet of 35-mm roll of film and sometimes, two or more rolls.

AUTHOR: Thomas Kellner (Germany)

German photo artist Thomas Kellner is known for his photographs of seemingly dancing architectural exteriors and interiors of tourist attractions from all over the world. Even though his photographs show popular motives that have been mass-produced, his work is unique due to his new artistic method called “visual analytical synthesis” in which he does not take one shot but several thoughtfully planned ones in order to create a picture out of contact sheets. His work is often referred to Cubism considering that his creative process includes a construction but the results resemble a deconstruction. Thomas Kellner’s works imitate the wandering look of the eye, showing us segments of the total which come together as one image. Therefore his photographs do not deconstruct architecture but reconstruct our view on it. At the same time his work also reflects the flood of pictures we live in nowadays and furthermore contains the question of decaying cultural values.