'In many ways those pictures now are a reverence not only to movement but also to times lost.'
Regular FH readers no doubt recall the work of artist Stephan Tobias. I have featured the Berlin based artist's work as both a model and photographer. As a photographer one of my favorites pieces was the 2015 feature Row Boat. (HERE:) As a model, I especially loved the spectacular views of Stephan on The Italian Island of Ischia shot by Stephan's friend Marco Cortese. (The Forces of Nature)
Today's set of images again feature Stephan's modeling work, and well as his artistic editing and creative collage work. For this shoot at Teufelsberg, a former US air control and surveillance station in West Berlin, Stephan collaborated with US dancer and photographer David P. France, who was visiting Stephan from Basel.
'After the end of the cold war, Teufelsberg fell derelict. Although there was a fence and some security, it became a popular place for sprayers and urban explorers. They cut into the textile cover of the high radar tower, and until around 2010, it hung down around that tower like a theater curtain.'
'We crawled under fence and were lucky to get into the tower with no one else around. We were stunned by the aesthetic qualities of the place. I was happy to do some nude modeling there and while David wanted to focus on my body movement and tension I was more interested in interacting with the surreal and unique background of the tower and radar domes and the Grunewald forest and suburban Berlin cityscape on the horizon.'
Stephan shares that he and David shot there for almost two hours in pretty chilly conditions. Despite the cold temperatures, Stephan was pleased with the results. So pleased, that he used many of the images from the series to compose a set of digital collages. Stephan loved the look of the curtain-like of the curtain like tatters of the tower, especially how the looked flowing in the air and wind.
'When asked this year to come up with a contribution about movement I again thought of this series and decided to rework some of those older collages. They indeed represent David's concept of movement, but also mine of surreal combinations. They also are portraits of my younger and more handsome self, which now for me adds to the intended surreal twist.'
'In many ways those pictures now are a reverence not only to movement but also to times lost, Teufelsberg has been leased to an artist community shortly after that shooting which closed all the holes in the fences and allows a restricted regime of occasional guided tours only. No creative nude shootings are possible there any more and those beautiful tattered curtains have been cut off. Movement of time could be considered a sad affair, if it were not for a new opportunity springing up for each old one lost.'
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