Marc Trautmann - Pictures, Art, Photography

Marc Trautmann

Background Information about Marc Trautmann

Introduction

Off the radar

In his series Off the Radar, Marc Trautmann portrays erstwhile aeronautic masterpieces in their elementary beauty: vulnerable and in some cases robbed of their commanding gear. The metallic reflections on their naked exteriors are one last shiny testament to the bygone technical precision. Their slow decay hides any traces of former airline signets or signatures, bonding them together in anonymity as though they were a rare breed.

The panoramic desert backdrop emphasizes their enormous dimensions and graceful lines; there is a resolute flash, as though these co-conspirators have collected here in peace and quiet away from their passengers.

But the dismantled doors seem to invite the curious onlooker to board the impressive machines that seem to stretch their wings leisurely to the sky. In the desert sands the one-time aeronautic icons no longer depend on anyone marveling at the engineering feat of their oversized structure. They evoke no pity but rather respect for the former capabilities and capacities that have now become monuments to the history of technology.

In the Mojave Desert Trautmann was faced with an unusual scenario: scrapped Lockheeds, disassembled Boeings, ransacked TriStars, jet planes without noses. The planes have staked their claim here in the desert, stubbornly defying their inevitable decay. Planes from around America will someday take-off on their last flights; here under the glaring sun they find their final landing strip. Trautmann’s title Off the Radar seems rather to mourn these machines’ disappearance from airports around the world than to relinquish them to nature for good.

Christina Wendenburg

Bio

1960er    Born in Frankfurt a.M., Deutschland
1987-1990    Studies of photography
1989    Journey to Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras
1990    Studies of photography at the New York University, NY, USA
   
1994    Assistant of Annie Leibovitz
2000    Journey to Asia, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia
2002    Journey with Sven Väth to Japan
2004    Videoproject Mindgames
2006    Project Landscapes in Patagonien, Argentina
    Photoproject Off the radar
2007    Skylineproject Tigercities vs Neue Welt
2009    Fotoproject secret areas, an Illustration of Paul Virillos Guerre et cinema

Exhibitions

2008    Off the radar, Kirsten Roschlaub Gallery, Triennale der Fotografie, Hamburg, Germany
2007    Off the radar, Kunstverein Baden-Württemberg, Stuttgart, Germany