Juergen Teller is a German born phtoographer who studied photography at the Bayerische Staatslehranstalt fur Photographie in Munish from 1984-1986. After school, Teller moved to London where he continues to create most of his work today. He focuses maily on human nature and is a well-known fashion photographer.
Teller's images are personal and autobiographical; they dive into the area of human emotion. Many of his images focus maily on the human body- whether modeling high fashion clothing or posing nude, the main subject of almost all of Juergen Teller's photographs is the human figure. Teller has published numerous books such as Tract, Go-Sees, Marchenstuberl, and Nurnberg. His photographs have been featured in many magazines such as Vogue, The Face, W Magazine, Details, and more. He has collaborated with fashion icons such as Marc Jacobs and Vivienne Westwood, creating gorgeous photographic pieces for their ad campaigns.
Teller creates very raw images, many of which seems to be candid shots. He carefully creates the set to each photograph, placing the subject where he wants, but then captures a very real, seemingly unplanned shot. Many of his photographs embody true emotions; shock, surprise, terror, happiness. Instead of strictly focusing on the fashion aspect of his photography, he focuses more on the aspect of humanity. Some photographs look as though they were shot by an average individual, not as if they were shot by a professional photographer- but the lighting creates the edgy, fashion forward look that Juergen Teller is so well known for.
I love the harsh lighting in many of his photographs. It sometimes creates an uncomfortable feeling, seeming somewhat unnatural. His muted color choices give the viewer the feeling that they are looking at an old, worn out photograph. Many of his photographs remind me of Poloroid photos from the 70's. Teller captures uninhibited, raw, human interactions and emotions which help the viewer to connect more personally with his images. I found it interesting that Juergen Teller often uses friends and family members as models in his photographs, which creates personal tension. He began doing this when he started working with Marc Jacobs, who incorporated his friends and family as well. To me, his images are so aesthetically pleasing- the subjects are interesting as well as the composition of each image. Each image has a personality of its own which is shown through the eyes of the model, evoking emotion from the viewers. His fashion photograph isn't just your typical catalogue or magazine photograph attempting to sell a brand- they are well thought out, gorgeous shots that intergrate human emotion and high fashion.
Many of his photographs have a washed out, high contrast look. The image of the model in white for Marc by Marc Jacobs is a perfect example of the use of harsh, white lighting creating an uncomfortable, almost hospital-like atmosphere. The image of Meg White from the White Stripes sitting cross-legged in the forest, surrounded by handbags also gives the viewer the sense of awkward, but nonetheless very interesting lighting and space. It appears as though he has used multiple flood lights to illuminate the space. The colors in this photo are very natural; yellows, browns, grays and blacks. Even the model and the handbags blend in with the natural colors of the forest at night (photograph will be added). It is interesting how Juergen Teller usually uses a muted, limited color palette, yet whatever it is he is trying to emphasize (a piece of clothing or an accessory) is easily visible and attracts the eye immediately.
http://www.lehmannmaupin.com/#/artists/juergen-teller
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