International Design Museum Munich Presents Black N Dark: Photographs by Hubertus Hamm
December 2, 2010 by All Art News
Filed under Photography
MUNICH.- A provocative approach in the field of product photography: Hubertus Hamm’s photographic work, the contents of which only become apparent to the viewer at a second glance.
They can be irritating, giving the viewer few clues as to what objects are actually depicted. For a number of years Hubertus Hamm has been working conceptually with the use of black in his photographs to fathom the limits of human perception.
- All Black Bike by Hublot. Photo © Hubertus Hamm
He made the »Black in Dark« series of images in early 2010 for ZEITmagazin: black design objects in a dark room without any artificial lighting.
The objects include – for example – lamps such as Tobias Grau’s »Falling Water« or »Sparkle Shady« from Swarovski, cutlery, glasses and beakers, clocks and televisions, furniture such as »Yo-Yo2« from Ligne Roset, and the deluxe bicycle »All Black Bike« from Hublot.
Despite the virtually non-existent illumination, the objects reflect light very slightly and, as a result, are rendered visible in the first place. On top of this, the jet black, matte surfaces of the photographs themselves absorb almost all ambient light.
It is, however, not merely the darkness of the shots that hinders any interpretation of the objects photographed, but the unconventional angle also leaves much unexplained. The viewer is left groping in the dark. Nothing tangible can really be seen and partially dissolves into abstraction.
Hubertus Hamm will be present at the exhibition opening. Christoph Amend, Editor-in-Chief, ZEITmagazin and Prof. Dr. Florian Hufnagl, Director, Die Neue Sammlung – The International Design Museum Munich will be speaking.
Opening: 02.12.2010, 19.00
Exhibition Duration: 03.12.2010-27.02.2011
