'The still lifes, one could say, I think that they are all lived in, lived with, made by me, half made by me, half collects ed over t.mes . But there is, there has to be, a deep connection for them to become meaningful, for the objects to become so charged that I can take a picture that transforms them from this stuff into something of a larger whole.'
With an unconventional sense of beauty, coupled with a focus on capturing the immediacy of everyday life, Wolfgang Tillmans mines a traditional subject matter of still lifes for its potential to convey the beauty in the banal. Albeit Tillmans strives to capture the sense of the present moment and not.mes rely reconfigure a predetermined art historical category, the photographer’s still lifes cannot be viewed without recalling 17th-century Dutch vanitas paintings and realistic studies portraying inanimate objects. The presence of fruit, with its symbolic associations, and the suggestion of a domestic context are redolent of the golden age compositions and the subsequent lineage of the genre. In works such as Jacob van Hulsdonck’s painting, the painted tableaux of objects offered artists the platform to show off their technical virtuosity rendering objects while also imparting a multiplicity of allegorical meanings. In Summer still-life, the placement of the fruit beside the window evokes a mediation on both the pleasures of consumption and the inevitable process of decay.
Similar to the 17th century Dutch painters, Tillmans is highly attune to the formal composition of his still lifes. Taken as a whole, the overhead angle of Summer still life lends a formal unity and abstract visual appeal to the composition, refuting the apparent casualness misassociated with his “snapshot aesthetic.” In contrast to the seemingly unfettered approach to his everyday subject matter, the formal elements of his compositions are carefully composed—from the large red tomato at the center of the vibrant fruit plate to the repetition of circular forms throughout the arrangement of plates, bowls, glasses and vases viewed from above. These elements and their placement may appear arbitrary at first glance, but sustained looking reveals the photographer’s physical and emotional engagement with the inanimate objects.
'In my daily experience, I don't consider portraits separately from still lifes. Now I look at you and I see a portrait; now I look over there and I see a landscape. I look over here, I see a still life. So it is this experience of daily life: how all art comes out of the ordinary of daily life and how everything has the potential to be extraordinary…Pictures are always the transcription of an experience we have had in the world; ideally they pose the question of there being another way to experience the world in all its complexity.'
Wolfgang Tillmans updates the age-old genre of still life by conveying a strong sense of the here and now. The window sill and shelf ledge anchor our sense of place, while the August 1995 Interview cover reinforces the moment in t.mes . From the pile of reading materials begging to be read, to the plate of fruit inviting the next bite, to a lighter craving to spark a flame again, there are elements of the domestic vignette to which nearly any viewer can relate through personal associations. Furthermore, the presence of the seemingly discarded vernacular debris, including the plastic cup encircling the venus fly trap pot, disposable lighter placed askew at the shelf ledge, and imperfect arrangement of fruit, cumulatively connote the presence of a life lived in the space without the need for an overt human representation.
The natural light source from the window lends a soft luminance that highlights the vibrant colors and diverse textures present throughout the composition. These techniques of light and formal arrangement help to transform the objects out of their banal existence and imbue the elements with new life. As evidenced by the title of his 2003 Tate Britain exhibition, “if one thing matters everything matters,” the artist believes in a visual democracy whereby any object in daily life holds the potential to represent a worthy subject. In Summer still-life, Tillmans encourages viewers to pause amidst the chaos of contemporary life and find beauty in our everyday reality.
Since the early 1990s, Wolfgang Tillmans has continually pushed the boundaries of the medium of photography through his multifaceted approach to image-making. In 2000, Tillmans was the first non-British and photographer to win the prestigious Turner Prize. Following the accolade, the artist’s work has been the subject of numerous solo museum exhibitions including Tate Modern, London (2017); Fondation Beyeler, Basel (2017) and most recently, The Museum of Modern Art, New York (2022-2023).