Christopher Pillitz

CULTURES OF THE WORLD

Christopher Pillitz has seen the world. His reportage and finely wrought image series have been produced in over seventy countries and are published in the globe’s largest magazines. With his eight monographs and numerous international exhibitions, Pillitz counts among the last decades’ most renowned photo journalists.

The experienced photographer travels in order to explore the manifestations of the world’s cultures. A strong sense of empathy defines his travel images, as does a deep understanding of the grace of foreign peoples, whom he consciously and harmoniously depicts in their local landscapes. Pillitz hopes to portray Asians’ nearness to the elements, particularly to water; he accomplishes this in his haunting documentary color photographs, which, however, exceed the boundaries of pure representation. Thus the works become an atmospherically dense allegory of a life pervaded by the wisdom of the Far East.

But Pillitz is not only an attentive observer of the world; he is also a master of staged photography. He feels particularly connected to the culture of his homeland. The Argentinean calls his picture story from Buenos Aires The Spirit of Tango.

He sets his stage in a neighborhood of charm and character. The lively actors have well-known names: ballerina Barbara Bertone and dance Oscar Velazquez classically court one another, while a perfectly polished 1948 Alfa Romeo Freccia D’Oro serves as the classy backdrop to the amorous game. The journey into a lost era of romantically danced gestures is captured in stylish black-and-white, full of contrasts. Such a choice emphasizes the structures of the historical building, and the reflections on the classy car and gives them a singularity in the vivacious composition.

Horst Kloever

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