portraits – andreas weinand photographie

LES YEUX DANS LES YEUX

Artist Residence – Bruxelles 2007
Espace Photographique Contretype
curated by: Jean-Louis Godefroid

portrait einer jungen frau mit einer weissen stoffschleife // portrait of a young woman with a white fabric bow

portrait eines mannes mit zarter brille, anzug, hemd und kravatte // portrait of a man with delicate glasses, suit, shirt and tie

portrait einer frau deren haarsträhne vom wind leicht in die höhe gehoben wird // portrait of a woman whose strand of hair is lifted slightly into the air by the wind

portrait eines mannes mit offenem blick // portrait of a man with an open gaze

portrait eines mannes in existenzieller befindlichkeit // portrait of a man in an existential emotion

portrait einer jungen frau mit hund. beide schauen in eine andere richtung //

portrait eines mannes mit bart, trenchcoat, anzug, hemd und hell- dunkelblau gestreifter krawatte // portrait of a man with beard, trench coat, suit, shirt and light-dark blue striped tie

portrait eines mannes mit randloser brille und kräftigen ringen in beiden ohrläppchen // portrait of a man with rimless glasses and strong rings in both earlobes

junges mädchen mit strahlendem gesicht. es war der letzte schultag vor den sommerferien // young girl with a beaming face. it was the last day of school before the summer holidays

portrait eines mannes mit zigarette im mundwinkel // portrait of a man with a cigarette in the corner of his mouth

Beim Flanieren reagiere ich intuitiv auf Menschen. Ich spreche sie an und frage sie nach ihrer Erlaubnis, sie zu photographieren. Durch diese Handlung entsteht eine neue Situation: Ich bin mit der Herausforderung konfrontiert, eine Atmosphäre entstehen zu lassen, die dem vorher gesehenen, intuitiv wahrgenommenen Gesichtsausdruck der Person entspricht. Dieses kreative Spannungsfeld bietet mir die Möglichkeit, durch meine gestalterische Einflussnahme, eine lebendige Bildwelt zu erschaffen.

While gambling along the streets I intuitively react on certain persons. I contact each person and ask her or him for permission to photograph. This act causes a new situation: It confronts me with the challenge, to arouse an atmosphere that responds to the previously seen and intuitively perceived countenance of each person. This creative field of tension offers me the opportunity to create a lively imagery by means of my artistic influence.

[…] Continuing the tradition of social documentary through the specific genre of street portraiture, Andreas Weinand has created portraits of passers-by, asking them to stop for a while and pose. This momentary pause leaves an impression on the image, and literally places the city dwellers in the centre of the image‘s space and right at the heart of the urban environment. The intensity of their photographic presence is related to the fact that their expressions reflect the photographer‘s own expression — and by extension that of the spectator.

Georg Simmel highlighted this curious phenomenon of the establishment of a form of relational reciprocity through a mutual glance: ‚When people look at each other eye to eye, a strange thing happens […]: the glance by which the one seeks to perceive the other is itself expressive. By the glance which reveals the other, one discloses himself. By the same act, in which the observer seeks to know the observed, he surrenders himself to be understood by the observer. The eye cannot take unless at the same time it gives. The eye of a person discloses his own soul when he seeks to uncover that of another. What occurs in this direct mutual glance represents the most perfect reciprocity in the entire field of human relationships.‘18 […]

Danielle Leenaerts – THE URBAN VIEWPOINT

SIMMEL (Georg), Sociologie des sens, Paris, Payot, 2013 (1907), p.84. //
Translated and adapted from Georg Simmel, Soziologie, pp. 646-51.
(Leipzig: Duncker und Humblot, 1908)

BRUSSELS UNLIMITED – Collection CONTRETYPE ( participation )
ISBN 978-2-87572-008-5 I Coédition CFC-Éditions, Contretype et ARP2 I 2014