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Quote by Wolfgang Tillmans

“Boy George of course, was my idol as a teenager. I haven't photographed him, even though I know him now. He wants the pictures to be retouched, and I don't want that.”

Quote by Wolfgang Tillmans

Author

Wolfgang Tillmans

Wolfgang Tillmans, born on August 16, 1968, is a renowned German photographer. Known for his unique visual style and profound insight into contemporary culture, Tillmans captures the diversity and complexity of modern society through his distinctive perspective and expressive techniques. more

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“The picture of the guy pissing on the chair was a picture I had to do. I had the idea of this absurd act of pissing on a chair rather than in a toilet or on the ground, and this minimal act being so transgressive, even though no major harm is done.”

Done Guy Absurd

Author:Wolfgang Tillmans

“This act of piss, which can be considered sexual by some, a pleasurable experience, is at the same time total disrespect. I had once asked a friend to do this picture and he totally refused. So I carried the idea around with me for years. When I was invited to do a Honcho shoot, I approached Phillip, who was the barman at The London Apprentice, and fortunately he knew who I was. He had a copy of my first book, and that broke the ice. At the end of the shoot with him, I realized I could ask him to do this picture. I had waited four years to do it.”

Book I Realized Broke Disrespect

Author:Wolfgang Tillmans

“Sometimes it takes a long time for a picture to incubate. And every time I do that, the rewards are so much bigger than what I would have gotten if I had only done the same as I always do. So each time I make an effort and I get out of a lazy routine, it's amazing how big the reward can be. It's listening to those little ideas knocking on the door in your mind.”

Mind Long Sometimes Done Effort Listening Lazy

Author:Wolfgang Tillmans

“Big ideas don't make them selves known as big. They begin with the little, ridiculous ideas that most people would discard or reject. Every successful picture I've done has really been based on taking a very flimsy, fleeting little idea, grabbing hold of it, and taking it seriously.”

People Done Successful Ridiculous

Author:Wolfgang Tillmans

“The mobility of the eye is such a fundamental treasure that we have, and that coexists with sensation. On the dance floor, you are totally in reality, while also experiencing this dream imagery of changing colors and wet surfaces of skin. Sometimes it's the shadow outline in the strobe light, and in another moment it's the closeup of an armpit that you're looking into. I'm not photographing all the time, but it's something that I actually see all the time, and not just on the dance floor.”

Sometimes Moments Dream Reality Eye Shadow Skins Imagery Coexist Dance Floor

Author:Wolfgang Tillmans

“This ongoing coexistence which makes life sensational. The eyes have this ability to flip around what they see from one second to another, to see something as an object, and then as a design. That's really liberating, and I try to convey that in my work, that your eyes are free and you are free to use them.”

Trying Eye Ability Design Liberating Coexistence Sensational

Author:Wolfgang Tillmans

“The original interest in making pictures that don't directly depict came around '97 or '98, when I felt there was such an acceleration of images in the world, and that was before Flickr and so on. So I felt a need to slow down how one consumes photographs. With the abstract pictures, I was engaged in trying to find new images, but in practice, it was a bit like throwing a wrench in the spokes. The omnipresence of photography is at a level that it has never been in the history of the world. I feel really curious to now reengage and see what the camera can do for me.”

World Trying Interest Photography Photograph Curious Abstract Slow Down World History

Author:Wolfgang Tillmans

“I always think that we know so much more than one would have ever known before. But I don't know if that's really true.”

Thinking Really True

Author:Wolfgang Tillmans

“My true role is to get actors to understand what the camera is doing and what my intent is so they don't waste their good stuff on over-the-shoulder shots and wide shots. They need to know when we're going in to get something important, so they know to really go for it. No human being can give you 1,000 percent on every single take or shot, so you need to let them know what you're heading for. It's important that the actors know they're being looked after and being recorded in a way so they can do their best.”

Giving Important

Author:David Nutter

“It's so hard to get started creatively - it's really hard to get those first ideas out. You just have to do it over and over again, and hopefully better ones start to come. Also, anytime a good idea comes up, for a long time I think, "Oh, my God, that was so lucky that I thought of that idea, whew, I hope that happens again." The more you work at it, the more it happens, but it still feels lucky.”

Thinking Long Lucky Hopefully So Lucky

Author:Katie Dippold