Faltenwurf (Stairwell)

2017 - Photography (Photography)
30.5 x 40.6 cm

Wolfgang Tillmans

year born: 1968

gender: male

nationality: German

Wolfgang Tillmans initiated the ongoing series Faltenwurf in 1989, representing compositions of unused clothing, with special attention paid to the ways in which they drape and fold. The title is taken from a Germanic term used in the context of art history, designating classical drapery. In this particular photograph, Faltenwurf (Stairwell) , an assortment of various colored clothes lay tangled on a set of stairs, as a sculpture of abstract forms. Through this work, the artist conveys the fundamentals of the photographic medium as it relates to dimensionality and sculpture, as well as the relationship between surface and materiality. At its core, this formal exploration of color, texture, and shape is concerned with translation—from sculpture to photography, from three-dimension to two-dimension. The garments in this photograph appear to have been cast off or discarded down the stairs, perhaps in a hurry, or a half attempt at putting them in the laundry. In television and film clothing on the floor is a visual euphemism employed to signify that a sexual act has taken place, which suggests a sensual quality to Tillmans’s photograph. In a utilitarian sense, clothing offers protection, while sartorially they aid in creating or performing identity. Often, they are what gets left behind in a moment of urgent displacement. The absence of a body in relation to the clothing in this context also casts a somewhat foreboding impression on the photograph. Symbolically, clothing can convey multiple meanings, all of which are up for discussion in Tillmans’s work.

Wolfgang Tillmans is an influential contemporary photographer, as well as a musician, writer, and political activist. He engages with contemporary culture in its plural forms challenging conventional aesthetics. Tillmans’s work considers issues of sexuality, spirituality, borders, and global events, as well as reflecting on the photographic medium itself. He is well known for his casual documentary photographs of youth, clubs, and LGBTQ culture for magazines in the 1990s. Experimentation and innovation are crucial elements of his methodology and approach to presentation. Social and political concerns have been a constant throughout Tillmans’s practice; he is preoccupied with the destabilization of the world, the refugee crisis, and how global events are communicated. Tillmans is directly involved in political activism as he was one of Europe’s most outspoken critics against Brexit and the rise of the right wing across the continent. In 2006 he founded a non-profit exhibition space, Between Bridges, devoted to the advancement of democracy and now used to address the ongoing European migrant crisis.

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