"Portraits of Artists" | Michael Dannenmann

“Let us see the great thing of all time / On the boards that mean the world / Passing past us in meaningful silence. / Everything just repeats itself in life, / Only the imagination is eternally young / What has never happened anywhere / That alone never becomes outdated!”

This formulation from Friedrich Schiller's poem "To Friends" becomes a symbol in the photographs of Michael Dannenmann, whose images subtly manage to detach people from their professional roles and at the same time provide references to their profession. Dannenmann studied painting and stage design at the Stuttgart Art Academy and finally found his form of expression in the medium of photography. Perhaps his studies also explain his great affinity for theatre, dance and acting or other places where the imagination is inspired and art is created, the studios. The renowned photographer Dannenmann, whose work has been shown in the Kunstmuseum Thun/Switzerland, the Kunsthalle Osnabrück, the Galerie Beck & Eggeling, Düsseldorf and can be found, for example, in the Ludwig Galerie Schloss Oberhausen or the Museum Kunstpalast Düsseldorf, mostly creates scenic portraits of people , whose calling became a passion. Whether Richard Serra, Katharina Grosse, Tony Cragg or Isabella Rosselini, they seem to be connected in the photographs, even becoming one with their characteristic works. Dannenmann, on the other hand, took the ballet dancers from New York's “Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo” off the stage and deliberately portrayed them in costume, but without their typical make-up and accessories, against a monochrome background. In contrast to their role of parodically reinterpreting famous classical ballet pieces, the artists appeared in front of the camera with serious expressions.

Dannenmann masterfully manages to convey the interface between stage, art and drama in his recordings through subtle references, gestures and attitudes. Taken in square medium format, for example, the French singer Patricia Kaas looks confidently into the camera in simple black clothing. The master of cinematic illusion David Lynch awakens our imagination with a mere movement of his hand and the actor Christoph Waltz conveys his suggestive power wordlessly with an penetrating look.

Framework program:
Saturday, April 6, 2024, Hildener Kunstcafé
Thursday, May 2, 2024, guided tour of the exhibition

Access to the art room is barrier-free.