Karl Blossfeldt’s photographs of plants inspired a generation of designers.
He began as a sculptor, working in an iron foundry.
He wasn't trained as a photographer. He made his photos of plants with a home-made camera that was able to magnify leaves and buds, revealing symmetry and order in an apparently objective manner.
He became a professor of applied arts, and his photos were used mainly as teaching tools.At age 63, he became a success overnight when his photos were published as Urformen der Kunst (sometimes translated as Art Forms in The Plant World), which is still in print.
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1 comment:
He and Ernst Haeckel are two of my go-to inspirations for organic forms, and to re-inspire a sense of wonder at the complexities they revealed.
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