The photographer spoke in the context of the exhibition Urban Spaces at the auditorium of Fundación Proa.

On Friday July 10th at 5.30 pm, the German photographer Axel Hütte presented his work to journalists and renowned photographers at Fundación Proa’s auditorium. This activity was part of the exhibition Urban Spaces currently held at the museum, where the photographer exhibits his work next to other members of the so called Düsseldorf School: Andreas Gursky, Candida Höfer, Thomas Ruff, and Thomas Struth. A group of notorious Argentinian photographers attended the talk: Adriana Lestido, Alberto Goldenstein, Alejandro Lipzik, Bruno Dubner, Daniel Merle, Eduardo Carrera, Eduardo Gil, Esteban Pastorino, Facundo de Zuviría, Gabriel Valansi, Ignacio Iasparra, and Jorge Miño.

There, Hütte showed a selection of photographs not included in the exhibition Urban Spaces.

Within that sample of photographs there were images of the project “In Strange Lands”, which Axel Hütte took during his journey through Ecuador, Venezuela, Belice, Peru, Chile, and Argentina following the steps of the conquistadores. Whilst commenting the series – which was edited with texts of the writers César Aira, Pablo Neruda, Octavio Paz and together with documents of historical figures such as Bartolomé de las Casas, Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, and Christopher Columbus – Hütte manifested his views on the relationship between literature and photography. For him, imagination is a key element when it comes to making sense of a work in both disciplines.

During the presentation, Hütte mentioned his interest in capturing images where the        parameters of scale disappear. He highlighted the importance of imagination when looking at a photograph. The audience, interested and drawn to the work of the photographer, tried to comprehend his particular way of looking at the world and tried to unravel the thinking and logic behind the images exposed.

In his final words, Hütte stated that the role of the spectator is most relevant in order to complete the meaning of the work. When referring to his methodology he stated: “I only work when I’m irritated or dreaming”, thus putting into words the poetry evoked by his images.

Tags: Andreas Gursky, Axel Hütte, Candida Höfer, Düsseldorf School, Esoacios Urbanos, Fundación Proa, Ludovico Pratesi, Thomas Ruff, Thomas Struth