Christian Belker Paragraphs

Waterpower - photographs by Christian Helmle 

Christian Helmle is a Swiss photographer. Nature is a dominant theme of Christian Helmle's work. Not only what we would consider the "wild", but also the nature changed by humans. Nature has undergone fundamental man-made changes but yet we tend to turn a blind eye to these changes when discussing or photographing nature. Christian Helmle incorporates these elements in this book by photographing hydroelectric power stations, transmission towers, and reservoir dams.  These massive structures are put in perspective by the landscape around them. Although we see fresh water, mountains, trees, and other natural features… the scenes are dominated by the machinery. He also incorporates this idea in a second book I picked up that features the work of Christian Helmle, called White Elephants. A white elephant is a possession which its owner cannot dispose of, and whose cost is out of proportion to its usefulness. This book features architectural photography of buildings and complexes which had lost their usefulness or were never used at all. 

Photographien/Photographs 1984-2009 : Boris Becker 

This book examines the work of German Photographer Boris Becker across different stages of his career. His work is primarily focused on formal structures and color which translates into different typologies throughout his career. A typology is an extensive series based on a certain characteristic or set of characteristics. At the beginning of his career we see a series of images of World War II air raid structures. As he learned in his formal schooling from the Dusseldorf photography school, he followed what is known as the Becher style, after German Photographers Bernd and Hilla Becher. As he got into other typologies he began using color in his images. His next few series features more architectural photography of subjects other photographers would pass over including houses, bridges, and large constructions. Many of the images of these subjects are directly facing, which really puts the size in perspective. His prints also tend to be very large. One series in the book was much different than his architectural photographs. This collection is called Fakes, which features photographs of objects designed to smuggle drugs and counterfeit objects. These photos tell a story and allow the viewer to see a part of the world they wouldn't ever have been able to, or really known existed. Learning about this and seeing examples of smuggling designs with the Rotterdam Port Customs through my study abroad experience I found it to be a really interesting subject.

ENDCOMMERCIAL: Reading the city - Hatje Cantz; Luca Pizzaroni, Florian Böhm, Wolfgang Scheppe

This book is a project by three artists revolving around the city of New York. Luca Pizzaroni who was born in 1970 in Italy, and two German photographers, Florian Böhm born in 1969 and Wolfgang Scheppe, who was born in 1955. All three photographers mainly focus on what I would describe as urban/street photography. This book in particular features a collection of images taken in and on the streets of New York City. The book holds the sudden perception of what we frequently see but never really registers to us. This includes writings on the wall, signs on the street, codes, symbols, fragments, authorship of the anonymous, wear and tear of the public living space and also the people who use it. The images can be viewed as a collection of a bunch of different typologies from barricades, script on the street denoting depth, marked steel, shopping bags in the environment. Ultimately these things are the small details that make up the soul of the city.