Dance Extreme
Dance Extreme
Dieter Blum
May 28, 2016
In January Dieter Blum celebrated his 80th birthday, and for over fifty of those years he became one of Germany’s most successful photographers. His trademark is the intensity of the moment. Whether cool cowboys, sensitive musicians or acrobatic dancers, whether politicians or artists, whether special moments or everyday scenes, Dieter Blum’s work has many facets.
Among the highlights of his creative endeavours are his long-term projects dedicated to culture, music and, as shown in this exhibition, dance. The display at the Leica Gallery in Zingst presents a selection of dance studies taken from a number of different series. They were chosen because of their joy of experimentation combined with an exceptional sensitivity towards the world of dance. In every case, it is the incredible impact of the imagery that is so outstanding. The photographer’s camera transforms the moment of intense physical control into a monument to perfect expressive form.
Eroticism also plays a role, as many of the dancers from the renowned Stuttgart Ballet appear naked in front of the camera. In the breathtaking series of pictures, Blum manages times and again to capture the sensibility, dynamism, musicality and magic of the performers. Each image fixes a truly magical moment of an art form that, by its nature, is fleeting and transient.
Dieter Blum: Dance Extreme. 28.05.2016 - 28.08.2016
You can read more about Dieter Blum’s complete oeuvre at: LFI 1/2016.
Further information about the exhibition at: www.erlebniswelt-fotografie-zingst.de.
Dieter Blum+-
Born in Esslingen in 1936, Blum already discovered photographer as a youngster. After starting out with his father’s camera, he used a Retina 1a before purchasing his first Leica. The Leica IIIf was followed by other models. After graduating from high school and training in business, he started working free-lance in 1964, taking pictures for numerous magazines and clients. His pictures and series have appeared, among others, in Stern, Spiegel, National Geographic and Vanity Fair. Among his best-known motifs are his cowboy pictures for cigarette manufacturer Philip Morris’s Malboro campaign. Blum photographs artists and politicians, though he has had a special interest in the worlds of dance and music for many years. He has published over seventy photo books and his work has been shown in many exhibitions. He lives and works in Düsseldorf. More