Chargesheimer/Jo Ann Callis

Another week means another 2 books. This week I checked out a book by German photographer Karl-Heinz Hargesheimer, better known as Chargesheimer. The book Chargesheimer features works by Chargesheimer from 1949-1970. Going through the images from the book, I get the sense that Chargesheimer enjoyed experimenting with photography. There were images of photomontages, experiments with light photography as well as abstraction. Although he experimented with photomontage, a large portion of the book featured are street photographs.

Camping An Der Lorelei

The second book I checked out contained photographs by Jo Ann Callis. Callis is an American photographer who became an important figure in the "fabricated photographs" movement. In Objects of Reverie, Callis's photographs are paired with poems by Raymond Carver. The two don't necessarily illustrate one another but because of a share sensibility.

Parrot and Sailboat, 1980

There are a mix of images in color and black & white in the book. Callis was one of the pioneers in color photography. In Objects, the color photographs appear more saturated. It gives a sense of vibrancy and possibly even emphasizing the oddity of the paired subjects. I find the image above quite odd., a tub filled to the brim with water with a toy sailboat and a parrot. Within the book context, the image could evoke a kind of absentmindedness. When I daydream, my mind wanders from thought to thought and I think this photo captures that quite well.