avante garde architectural photography?

[Brian Ellis]

I don't know that's it's exactly "avant garde" but I thought Balthazar Korab's architectural work was very creative. http://www.balthazarkorab.com

[Struan Gray]

Thomas Ruff and Candida Hofer are two more of the Becher school photographers who are known at least in part for their architectural concerns. Hofer is probably my favourite of all of them.

The consumptive aesthetic is popular with a host of other photographers who don't make headlines. Three of my favourites from online are Simon Ladefoged (www.simonladefoged.com), Kay Röhlen (www.kaykaykay.de) and Joël Tettamanti (www.tettamanti.ch).

One of Sweden's leading art photographers, Gerry Johansson (www.gerryjohansson.com, click on the yellow squares on the exhibitions page) has an ongoing fascination with the built environment, although his concerns are not exactly the traditional architectural ones.

Finally, I would agree that Sugimoto has, as always, made an unmistakable contribution to the photography of architecture that I am sure will propagate into the mainstream, at least for iconic buildings.

[Struan Gray]

I missed one. Stephen Gill (www.stephengill.co.uk - site occasionally plays up) has some fascinating observations of city life.

[tim atherton]

I'm not 100% sure if avant garde is quite the right term... but most of those listed above are coming to photographing buildings/structures and urban space in a somewhat different way.

Some radically different - some taking a more established way and pushing it somewhat.

Hunting through Consciensous will give you many good links. And I'd second Simon Ladefoged And sometime list member Julian Thomas - www.foundobjectsgallery.com (especial, but not only, oasis, works and rgyb)

Sugimoto is probably in category by himself. Then there are the Becher influenced people - the sort of post-modern/minimlaist group already mentioned - Struth, Hofer, Gursky and several others (see Conscientious). The what I'd call the contemporary Modernists - Basilico, James, Shibata etc - who are often pushing the boundaries a more accepted approach

I'll try and dig through Joergs blog and find some of my favourites

(and there's my own modest contribution - not the worlds best website... www.timatherton.com )

[medform-norm]

Struan, oh wow, thank you for the link to Tettamanti! I'm completely happy for now. Where did you find this?

[Frank Petronio]

yes, this is the best thread in a while. Found a lot of good (and really fricking boring too) stuff to look at.

[Oren Grad]

Agree, this is great stuff. Tim, thanks for the reminder of your own site, just took a quick peek and will definitely go back to spend more time there...

[Struan Gray]

Norm: I lurk at www.galerie-photo.info where it was recommended a short while ago. I loved the Greenland shots most, but the aesthetic is strong thoughout.

The site recommendations at galerie-photo can often turn up hidden gems that don't make it out into the US-biased photo chat sites. There used to be a large thread with website recommendations (of all sorts) there, but I don't think it survived the move to a new server/database.

Do you know Bas Princen's work? Getting a long way from pure architecture, but he has a wonderful way of presenting the sheer daftness of modern urban recreation without sneering or coming over all ironic. Not much online, but his book "Artificial Arcadias" is well worth a read.

And that is where I think the avant garde is: looking at how people use urban spaces and environments, particularly in ways that their designers did not intend. Lars Tunbjörk, Thomas Demand, Paul Shambroom, Paul Raphaelson :-)

Pure depictions of structures are rare. Michael Wesely's year long exposures of things like the regeneration of Potsdamer Platz (http://www.wesely.org/potsdamerplatz.php) would be one counter example, but even that is as interested in time as it is in space.

[tim atherton]

Michael Wesely was one I was trying to find on Conscientious - the Potsdamer Platz works (and similar) are fascinating (you can look at slightly larger images once you've navigated to the page).

Again, I'd second Bas Prinzen - Articial Arcadias is a good book. A lot of this also seems to spill over into the contemporary landscape, with the likes of Jim Cooke

[tim atherton]

"Agree, this is great stuff. Tim, thanks for the reminder of your own site, just took a quick peek and will definitely go back to spend more time there..."

and for something completley different...

www.immersivelandscapes.com