The Brooklyn Rail

DEC 22–JAN 23

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DEC 22–JAN 23 Issue
1x1 ON WOLFGANG TILLMANS: TO LOOK WITHOUT FEAR

Concrete Column III, 2021

Wolfgang Tillmans, <em>Concrete Column III</em>, 2021. © Wolfgang Tillmans. Courtesy David Zwirner, New York; Galerie Buchholz, Berlin/Cologne; Maureen Paley, London; and the Museum of Modern Art, New York.
Wolfgang Tillmans, Concrete Column III, 2021. © Wolfgang Tillmans. Courtesy David Zwirner, New York; Galerie Buchholz, Berlin/Cologne; Maureen Paley, London; and the Museum of Modern Art, New York.

Time is frozen in Concrete Column III, which is of course what we have come to expect of photography. A monumental moment is captured and frozen in a minuscule moment in time, too brief to ever be seen as it passes in the blink of an eye. It is a metamorphosis we are seeing: the concrete particles flying about are transitioning from liquid to solid, both consequential states of being. Even though it is a solid, concrete acts like a liquid for a short period of time. In this picture I froze that liquid stage into a solid column. Still, looking super close up one can see momentary splashes.

Twenty years ago, I’m not sure I could have anticipated that I would be captivated by the act of poured concrete, however it does reflect my life-long fascination with materials and matter, and their evolution over time.

Technically speaking, even ten years ago, it would have been impossible to comprehend that this depth of information would become a possibility: gushing liquid concrete recorded in such infinite detail and so real. The digital camera has enabled pictures of endless information density, and this increased sharpness corresponds to what feels almost like a new mode of perception.

I find this humbling and not numbing. It forces me to let go of information. Let it wash through without getting cluttered.

Contributor

Wolfgang Tillmans

Wolfgang Tillmans is an artist, based in Berlin and London, working primarily in photography over the past 35 years. His practice encompasses three-dimensional installations, sound and video, book making, journalism, and writing as well as photographs generated both with and without a camera.

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The Brooklyn Rail

DEC 22–JAN 23

All Issues