Thomas Ruff
Born in 1958 · Germany
Examining what a photograph allows us to see.
The story
Thomas Ruff works in series, regularly shifting his subject: interiors, portraits, architecture, astronomical images or digital files. His large frontal portraits use the conventions of identification without promising access to an inner personality. Other groups of works question image resolution and circulation. His practice invites us to study photography as a system as much as a representation.
Understanding the work
Compare format, resolution and protocol from one series to another. What appears neutral or purely technical strongly determines what the image can tell us.
Key works and series
Portraits; Sterne; Jpegs; photograms.
Sources & further exploration
Works in collections.
10 recordsPhotographs to explore on museum and library websites, with titles, dates and processes. Each link opens the collection record and its image where one is available.
