Keld Helmer-Petersen was heavily inspired by Albert Renger-Patzch. They share the same philosophy based around the study and transformation of everyday objects. He achieved fame with 122 Farvefotografier/122 Colour Photographs but his later work exploring how light falls on an object highlighted by two tone photography was an abstract extension onto the New Objectivity philosophy. This is obviously his series using Black light which can be described as two tone as there is no colour but only black and white. His book named 'Black Light' has a very interesting display of his work. This shows that the editorial process of photographs on a page can change the way we look at a series. The ways in which Helmer-Petersen has seamlessly blended one photograph into the other highlight how effective the Black Light style is. He has captured a unique way of describing each photograph with the support of another. The abstract nature of Black Light allows each object to be viewed only for its shape rather than by its relational properties. By displaying the photographs on two pages next to each other, it helps to remove the relative connection we have with these objects. This turns our attention and focuses us to see these ordinary, non-traitional perceptions of beauty being transformed into a spread of new, abstract beings.
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I used the word 'beings' in the section above as it is can perfectly describe this specific photograph here. It summarises the incredible nature of abstract photography. Turning one 'thing' into another. When I look at this photograph I see an animal trying so hard to stand up. Its limbs are twisted and broken and it doesn't have much strength in it to carry on moving. I cannot tell how large or small it is because there is nothing relative to it that I can compare it to. There is nothing else in this photograph that reveals any background information about this creature. That is why it is such a wonderful abstraction. It creates a whole new object and world. What is on the page can be interpreted differently in my mind to someone else's. I think the most interesting part about Black Light photography is that it completely removes the context of the object but leaves the shape intact, allowing you to fill in the blanks.
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This is an example of a photograph where one tone is much more prominent than the other. This photograph is by Keld Helmer-Petersen. The effect it gives is that the black makes the pattern and the white acts as the background of the pattern. It is still needed because without the white the black would not be highlighted. You could say that the white creates the pattern but the black is the pattern or subject.
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