Artist Entry: Hans-Christian Schink

 

 A 71, Brücke Schwarzbachtal, from Traffic Projects (1995-2003, a series of 43 works

 

  A 14, Saalebrücke Beesedau (3), from Traffic Projects (1995-2003, a series of 43 works

 

 Antarctica (8), from Antarctica (2010), a series of 10 works

 

Toyomi (2), from Niigata (2009), a series of 16 works

I discovered Hans-Christian Schink through reading a review of his recent photo book, entitled Hans-Christian Schink, photographs by Hans-Christian Schink. The review, found on Conscientious described Schink’s work as “you can be somewhat certain it’s not what you’d imagine, and you can be very certain that it’s going to be very interesting”. The review also discussed how he is not very well known in America, or even in Europe, but mainly in Germany. I was curious to see what the talk was all about, and I was excited to discover a photographer who pays meticulous attention to line and form. This is relevant to my work because I have recently been trying to find ways to improve my landscape photography. I have been looking at Jitka Hanzlova’s use of lighting, and I think Schink will be another helpful influence to my work. 

Biography

Hans-Christian Schink was born in 1961 in Erfurt, Germany. He received a degree in photography at the Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst (HGB) Leipzig (Academy of Visual Arts) in 1991. In 1993, he earned a master’s degree at HGB Leipzig. For nearly every year since 1997, Schink has earned an award or grant. He has been showing his work in personal exhibitions since 1991, and his work has been shown in other countries including Austria, Argentina, Spain, The Netherlands, Portugal, and The United States.

"Hans-Christian Schink." Hans-Christian Schink. Web. 10 Oct 2011. <http://www.hc-schink.de/vita/biography_e.html>.

Quotes:

As mentioned above, Schink is more well known in Germany than anywhere else in the world. Because of that, the vast majority of his interviews or press written about him is in German. I wish I could have gotten my hands on better quotes.

“On the one hand, he went to the desolate city limits at high noon and made views that were almost linded by the light – blown-out pictures he took with a large-format camera. On the other, he photographed the heart of the city in the dead of night with a hand camera. These images were panoramic despite their tiny negastives. When he printed them, he enlarged the film and then enlarged the enlargement until he was working with only one-centimeter square of the original negatives. The example above is so grainy that you can hardly discern the back of a car at a traffic light. L.A. is like that, Schink feels: “The harder you stare at it, the more it dissolves before your eyes”.

Westerbeck, Colin. “LA Night #1”. Web. 10 Oct 2011. <http://www.hc-schink.de/presse/2006_02_19_LAT_Magazine.pdf>.

“MF: The relationship to reality is a very interesting component of these photographs. Although the landscapes are real, the black trace of the sun makes us question the reality of these images. In general, it seems that photography’s link to reality has become more and more hazy with technological developments in recent years. Do you think that people would still be as attached to photography if it were no longer perceived as a document of reality?

H-CS: I don’t think of photographs as documents of reality. Even if they are taken from reality, to me photographs are beyond reality, in either a positive or negative sense. Looking at hundreds of holiday snapshots taken with enthusiasm during a trip to an exotic location, you will most likely realize that these images do not translate the atmosphere of that place at all. Your own experience of reality is far from what’s depicted in a photograph. On the other hand, in a photograph as a work of art you will always find more than you can actually see in the picture. It will create it’s own kind of reality.”

Schink, Hans-Christian. "Christian Schink, A different kind of discovery." EYECURIOUS. Interview by Marc Fuestel. 03 Mar 2011. Web. <http://www.eyecurious.com/interview-christian-schink-a-different-kind-of-discovery/>.

Review: http://jmcolberg.com/weblog/2011/10/review_hans-christian_schink/

 

Interview: http://www.eyecurious.com/interview-christian-schink-a-different-kind-of-discovery/

Gallery: http://www.dezaal.nl/

Artist’s Website: http://www.hc-schink.de/index_e.html