With «FIFTY ONE (SELF) PORTRAITS» Thilo Hoffmann invited contemporary artists to create a portrait of themselves.
«You at your location, in your time and world. Compose your own portrait.» Only one parameter was added to the work: The person in the portrait is half the size of the picture. The setting that each artist chooses is thus gaining momentum, giving the viewer a glimpse into the portrayee’s world.
Hoffmann dedicated 16 years to assembling the series, and approached artists, traveled all around the world to meet with them. The portraits come with texts narrating the depicted scenes and written by the artists or authors chosen by them.
«Es ist das grösste buch das ich hab»
Annelies Štrba
«Technisch wunderbar, mit viel Liebe in den Details, schönen Bildern, abwechslungsreichen Texten, einfach eine Wucht!»
Nic Hess
«It’s pretty amazing!»
Mary Heilmann
«Eine Meisterleistung in handwerklicher wie in künstlerischer Hinsicht, die mich an die besten Arbeiten von Iliazd oder Tériade erinnert. Wie schön, dass derartige Werke in Zeiten verlegerischer Überproduktion und gestalterischer Flapsigkeit noch möglich und auch gefragt sind.»
Felix Philipp Ingold
«La passione e precisione nei dettagli è incredibile, la bellezza dell’oggetto fortissima.»
Una Szeemann
«I knew this would be something special. A photographic treasure like I never had in my life.»
Ursula von Rydingsvard
«It is an honor to be in it. And especially moving with Lawrence’s passing.»
Dakin Hart
«I’m feeling greatly honoured to be part of this.»
Zoë Beck
«Der Prachtsband aber gehört zum Eindrucksvollsten meiner reich bestückten Kunst-Bibliothek. Ein Buch zum Behalten – und (dereinst) zum Vererben!»
Christoph Vögele
«Lawrence would have loved it.»
Lawrence Weiner Studio
«It’s amazing!!»
Laurie Anderson
«I hesitate to call it a book as it’s so much more than that–the scale, the design and the attention to detail are amazing.»
Richard Klein
«The angle of the book has a potential for popularity. It plays nicely with a tendency to fetishizing artists. In that sense you succeeded to find the right position. You became the vector that makes the images exist. Even though you made the pictures and that requiers a series of artistic choices, you basically acted as a very good “creative” producer and play low profile in order to leave to the artists the upfront position.»
Pierre Bismuth
For more details, contact: productions@thilohoffmann.com
Artist Portraits 