09/23/2005
If One Thing is Important, Everything is Important
I love the photography of Wolfgang Tillmans and the Guardian today profiles the hard-to-categorize artist who recently enjoyed another show at the Tate in London.
"Mountains have been made out of the fact that he is gay, that many of his subjects are young and semi-clad, and that he does not flinch from photographing genitalia as steadily as he would capture a bulb of garlic or a vase of anemones. And so, by reputation at least, everything he photographs seems to have acquired a thin film of sexuality: those are not merely socks drying on the radiator, they are sexy socks; they are homosexual socks; they are naked socks.
'It's not really an issue except for the Anglo-Saxon world,' he says, with bafflement. 'It's funny that it only comes up in an English show.' Take his huge solo exhibition at Tate Britain in 2003. 'There were two penises in the entire show, and yet there was a small quota of newspapers writing how 'I couldn't look anywhere else for cock.' It's so absurd, the whole thing. But then again, even by talking about it one reinforces it.'"
Joy Boy [guardian]
The Joy of Socks [guardian]
Posted 9:40 AM EST by Andy in Art & Design, Photography | Permalink
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The problem with his work is that you can probably open up tens of thousands of photo albums belonging to gay men and find work equally as interesting, if not more so. His work is nothing more than snapshot stuff with no real skill. I'd rather spend hours on Flickr looking at gay or straight amateur work there than attend a Tillman showing.
Posted by: Patrick | Sep 23, 2005 11:49:26 AM
such a talent
Posted by: Patrick | Sep 23, 2005 10:46:48 PM
Love photography here (esp. your great work Andy!) but have never quite seen what others do in Tillmans. And his video for the Pet Shop Boys "home and dry" reduced what was one of the PSBs better songs into a treatise on two London Underground vermin. Charming he's not - but pretentious and banal are closer to the money.
Posted by: resurrect | Sep 24, 2005 12:09:10 AM