ABOUT THE WORK

Kopfüber

Using digital techniques, Dirk Brömmel broadens the scope of our perceptions. Kopfüber (English: Headfirst) takes us to lofty heights, where the view seems much clearer. The ships Dirk Brömmel photographs from above are not the main focus, he explains. “For me, it’s about what is hidden on or behind them and making that visible.”

The photographer assembles his “reality” from many individual pictures, isolating the subject and placing it in front of a colourful background. By doing this, he creates a digital image that bends the rules of time and perspective, letting us discover more than would be possible with the naked eye. In Brömmel’s work, ships become models, studies.

MIG

The war is long-since over. Airplanes that once symbolised power have become rusty war monuments. Dirk Brömmel captures the diverse moods these symbols create. They speak of the failures of politics, the population’s hope for a better future, and of a past that won’t loosen its grip on the present.

When exhibited without the context of their surroundings, the aircraft seem like lost ideals. Bolted in place, the terror-inducing effect they had in the air seems almost forgotten. Dirk Brömmel’s pictures tell stories that remain in the collective memory.

To me, photography is the longing to hold something tight, to make thoughts tangible in the form of a picture.
Dirk Brömmel

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Born in 1968 in Bonn-Bad Godesberg, Germany, Dirk Brömmel grew up on the small island of Grafenwerth on the River Rhine. At age nine, the artist began to photograph his own microcosm. After finishing a photography apprenticeship in 1993, he found his own means of artistic expression while studying art in Mainz, where he discovered all the possibilities inherent in digital image editing.

In his photographs, Brömmel aims to retain “things in their disappearance” while making “the movement of time” visible. A recipient of multiple awards, the artist now lives and works in Wiesbaden, Germany.

TECHNIQUE

Kopfüber

For his Kopfüber series, Dirk Brömmel sets up on bridges spanning rivers. There, he points his lens straight down at the water. In a burst of as many as 60 individual pictures, he captures passing ships in their entirety. Using a computer, he then assembles the pieces into a single image. Finally, he crops out everything apart from the ship, replacing the water with a monochrome background. Exhibited in this way, the ship’s decks seem like detailed and razor-sharp showcases.

1968	born in Bonn
1990-1993	Photography traineeship
1993-1994	Technical School for Design in Bonn
1995-2000	Studies at the Wiesbaden Technical College, Diploma in Communications Design
2001-2004	Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Diploma under Prof. Dr. Vladimir Spacek
	Currently studying at the Mainz Academy of liberal Arts under
	Vladimir Spacek
	Lives and works in Wiesbaden

Награды (избранное)

2003	Emy Roeder Prize 2002 of the State of Rheinland-Pfalz
2002	zeitsicht 12, Hauserconsulting artist grant 2002
2001	First Prize, Kodak Photo Calendar Prize, Jury 2001
	All Japan Calendar Competition, Bronze Prize
	Art Directors Club New York, Distinctive Merit Award
	World & National Calendar Awards, Chicago
	Wall Calendar: Best Scenic/Other Photography Gold Award,
	Best Use of Paper Gold Award
	Table Calendar: Best Scenic/Other Photography Bronze Award
	Stuttgart Calendar Show, 2 x Gold for Calendar
	Stuttgart Calendar Show, Gregor Award 2001
	Kodak Calendar Prize for Photography
2000	Stuttgart Calendar Show, Silver Prize
	All Japan Calendar Competition, Gold Prize
	Best Typography Merit Award
	Best Use of Paper Gold Award
	13th Polaroid Student Competition
	1st Prize for Experimental Photography
	Art Directors Club New York, Distinctive Merit Award
1999	Graphis, New Talent Design Annual
1998	Lufthansa AERO artist grant
	Type Directors Club New York
	Certificate of Typographic Excellence
1998	International Stuttgart Calendar Show
	Prize for Experimental Design
1992	Winner in the Photo Presse Cover-picture Competition

Персональные выставки (избранное)

2005	Villa Tugendhat, Artothek Wiesbaden
2004	Kunst Köln, Gallery Erhard Witzel
	Art Frankfurt, Gallery Erhard Witzel
	Art Bodensee, Gallery Erhard Witzel
2002	Kleines Haus Gallery in the Mainz City Theater, Mainz
	Goethe Institut Helsinki, Helsinki
2000	Wiesbaden Casino, Wiesbaden
1999	Wiesbaden Casino, Wiesbaden
1995	Haus der Springmaus, Bonn

Групповые выставки (избранное)

2004	with Tape 10 in U.F.O., Frankfurt/Main
2003	atelier-dreimann, with the group Kunstlicht during the kurzen Nacht der
	Museen und Galerien (Short night of museums and galleries)
	Young artists from Rheinland-Pfälz in the Wilhelm Hack Museum, Ludwigshafen
	with Tape 10, ElectroVillage, Museum for Applied Arts, Cologne
2001	Action group Vene Hammerschlag
1999	Haus am Dom, Mainz
1998	Permanent exhibition in the offices of Lufthansa AERO, Frankfurt/Main
1996	Permanent exhibition in Galerie Kupferberg, Mainz

www.dirk-broemmel.de

Книги/Каталоги (избранное)

Junge Rheinland Pfälzer Künstlerinnen und Künstler, Emy-Roeder-Preis 2002, Kunstverein Ludwigshafen zu Gast im Wilhelm-Hack-Museum, Kunstverein Ludwigshafen am Rhein e.V., Künstler, Autoren und Fotografen, 2003