Angelika Rinnhofer

Artist : Angelika Rinnhofer
Title: Menschenkunde XIII
Like to webpage : http://www.angelikarinnhofer.com/index_a.htm

The Subject of this photograph is a young woman. The photo is in color, it is formal, high contrast (chiaroscuro), it seems that not everything is in full focus, only the information she artist wants us to focus on, and the negative space and positive space seem to be working as equal importance to the photo.

The photographer uses a large format camera and high contrast lighting to emphasize detail in the photograph.

My interpretation of this photo is how Rinnhofer is taking modern people and a more contemporary form of art work and transforming it into a renaissance/medieval type of piece. She is very keen on the detail of what a renaissance painting of royalty looks like and the detail of what is IN the paintings where. I was reading Rinnhofer's artist statement and she talks at first about how much she enjoyed watching the transition of her models once they put on the fancy/royal costumes. She thought it was interesting to see their personality change and how they all of a sudden became actors. Then she went on about how in her own life as a child with a catholic upbringing, religious symbology was always around her. She immediately connected this with the renaissance paintings and how they most likely had some type of religious iconography in them, even if it was as subtle as a bible on the lap, or rosary beads weaved in the fingers. What is interesting is how Angelika took this idea and put some contemporary iconography in these photos, like a diamond ring, a laptop or a cell phone. When I first look at this photo I did not pick up these subtle hints of modernism, I was really intrigued by how she was able to create these beautiful renditions of these renaissance paintings. So it was really interesting for me to read the artist statement so I was able to see a little further into what she was trying ot portray.