70 Years of LFI – the best covers – part 7

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21.11.2019

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Issue 8/20104, commented by Julia Baier

“I myself only ever met him once. In the mid-nineties, Daniel Josefsohn was invited to give a talk at the university of arts in Bremen, just at a time when his work was going through the roof. He came dressed in a very casual ex-skater style, and spoke about his past and his MTV campaign, called Miststück (Bastard), in a very narcissistic way. Then he left again, leaving behind the impression of someone unapproachable and arrogant. I was annoyed by the fact that he behaved as though it was all so easy. The whole thing was of no use to me and his pictures didn't affect me at all. It took some years for me to see him more positively, as a result of his pictures. I came to like his work more and more – such as the red line in the pictures for Prada, and the famous poster for the Volksbühne in Berlin. This work had something that did impress me: a pretentiousness, this colourful obliquity and consequence. He appeared to do whatever he wanted to – without compromise. And it was all extremely alive.

The thing that touched me most was a very personal picture column, Am Leben (Alive), in ZEITmagazin. After suffering a stroke, he did this column every week with his life partner. All of a sudden, he felt close to me and authentic. His pictures were funny and, despite his circumstances, had a light feeling. He had obviously not lost the ability to laugh about himself. When I now look at the series of photos in LFI, I see bizarre scenes in an equally bizarre landscape. Ever since I travelled in Iceland on a grant, I've been fascinated by the uniqueness of the island's landscapes. Josefsohn playfully used this setting as a backdrop for his pictures. On the whole, I am less interested in staged photography; but it's great the way that, despite being staged, his pictures always have a degree of authenticity, even though that doesn't appear to be the intention. Gentle, funny, loud and quiet worlds emerge, coming together with the landscape, to create a wonderful, aesthetic and bizarre something.

I'm very amused by his photographs. At the end of the day, they say, ‘Hey, let's not take life so seriously.’ Easy going, in other words! It seems as though I'm gradually able to accept his message – just like that.” (dar)

Julia Baier

The freelance photographer was born in Augsburg in 1971, and now lives in Berlin. In addition to assignments for international agencies, magazines and newspapers, she works on her own personal photographic projects. One of her subject preferences is water and bathing culture around the world. She has received a number of awards and her work has been presented in numerous international exhibitions.

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70 Years of LFI – the best covers – part 7

EVENTS

21.11.2019

Julia Baier

EVENTS

15.10.2019

70 Years of LFI – the best covers – part 5

EVENTS

05.11.2019

70 Years of LFI – the best covers – part 6

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