Wim Wenders: Master of the motif
Wim Wenders has made his name as a film director. However, his motifs are not purely reserved for the screen - he is also a keen photographer, and his work portrays remarkable scenes and landscapes.
The view finder
The German film director has become a celebrated star of the cinema worldwide, and as such an in-demand subject for photographers. Here, Peter Lindbergh - best known for his pictures of famous models - captures an image of the director. Wenders' own photographic work can be seen in the coming weeks in his "4 Real & True 2" exhibition in Düsseldorf.
Treasure hunting
The filmmaker has photographed for many years. Previously, his photographs were often taken during or surrounding the shooting of a film. However, more recently, Wenders has been traveling the world with a new, single motivation: to photograph. He often takes images of abandoned places and landscapes.
A deserted place
Wim Wenders frequently photographs deserted spaces. The Düsseldorf-born artist is fascinated by locations and areas with open space and perspective. This vision also characterizes his cinematic work. As in his acclaimed film "Paris, Texas," the spaces in his images often appear infinite.
Image of the world
Wenders is an avid landscape photographer. He seeks out subjects for his camera all over the world. He is particularly well known for his photographs of American landscapes and city vistas. But he also seeks motifs in places such as Australia and Japan, and his homeland of Germany. He found this light-flooded forest in Brandenburg, outside of Berlin.
Photo from the film
Sometimes the mediums of film and photography come into contact with one another. Writing about this motif of a lobby in a hotel in Arizona, he says: "The painting above the Coke machine haunts me (…) it is the perfect setting to start a dreamy road movie."
Looking into the abyss
People in Wenders' photographs often appear on the fringes, microscopic in size. He frequently shoots wide vistas which burn out in the field of view of the observer. Here the filmmaker has sought out a spectacular location in Europe: on the roof of the Etna volcano in Sicily.
Unique perspectives
The photographs in Düsseldorf also play with time. Depending on the location, viewers enter a different time zone and space. Who could suspect that this view of a bus and the famous Ayers Rock (Uluru) in the Australian desert was taken on December 24, Christmas Eve?
The other America
Wenders continues to uncover fantastic motifs in the US that tell unique stories. He has made several films there over the past few years, and is always searching out American mythology with his camera. He called this image, shot in 1983 in Houston, Texas, "Two Cars and a Woman Waiting."