Wolfgang Tillmans (German, born 1968)
Anders pulling splinter from his foot, 2004

Run Time: 2:33
Recorded by Jared Ledesma, Associate Curator / May 10, 2021

Hi there this is Jared Ledesma Associate Curator at the Des Moines Art Center and today I am talking about Wolfgang Tillmans. Tillmans is an extremely versatile photographer, his subjects ranged from abstract imagery that focuses on color or form. to portraits, to landscapes and he's also created books. He's also interested in installation and how his art is installed in museums and what kind of arranging groups of his pictures together and installing them in certain ways. So he is a really interesting artist and his portraits, including this one here Anders pulling splinter from his foot we're not quite sure if we're seeing a staged moment or if this is a snapshot. If Anders, the subject of this portrait who is Tillmanns's ex-boyfriend and best friend, if he actually sat this way posed or if Tillmans captured him striking this pose at a random moment. This idea evokes for Tillmans this concept of identity and how when we have both authentic identities but also how identity is composed. How when we leave our houses what we present to the world is kind of a mixture of both and so he likes to evoke that concept in his photographs through this mixture of both a staged photograph and a random or a snapshot. the pose that Anders is in is a reference to a Greek sculpture called Boy with Thorn that was copied many times by the Romans. It is famous because of its portrayal of youth and depicting youth in such a vulnerable or innocent moment. And we could say the same about Anders in this photograph, the way that Tillmans has constructed the composition of the photograph, the angle at which we look at Anders, the perspective, even the balance of tone or color, all kind of evokes this vulnerability in Anders or this innocence or even sensitivity.