André Kértész
Kértész, Mondrian Glass and Pipe, 1926
Kértész was known for his still life portraits and the way he could present normal, everyday objects in a new light and sometimes give them a new meaning. For example, in Mondrian Glass and Pipe, Kértész shows the presence of his friend, another well-known artist Mondrian, who is known for executing geometric shapes in a simplified manner. In the portrait we do not see Mondrian, but rather his glasses and pipe, to represent his presence. A still life like this shows that context is vital to the meaning behind a piece. To any ordinary individual stumbling upon this portrait, one would be confused as to why Kértész decided to take a photo of two pairs of glasses and a pipe. Luckily, we know that he is capturing his friend's presence through their possessions that help create who they are. Kértész was a true modernist, capturing the essence of beauty through the mundane.
Kértész, The Fork, 1928
I would say The Fork is a prime example of Kértész captured the beauty of the mundane. Kértész only uses to objects in this still life, a plate and a fork. The way he places the fork on the plate, along with his use of lighting gives this still life a dream like effect. Much like a Dali painting the shadow of the fork is melting down onto the plate. The light captures both objects and the fork's shadow flows into the shadow of the plate. On the outside this looks like a fork on a plate, but upon further Kértész knows the brain wants to find more meaning within such a simple piece. This adds to the essence of this still life.
I don't necessarily care for still life portraits. Kértész, however, has given me a second opinion on the subject. When I first thought of still life going into this project, I pictured the classic fruit bowls and plants and was dreading to begin this project. However, once I realized a still life was not held down in strict rules of fruit bowls and utensils, I enjoyed building the subjects and figuring out the lighting to get the most out of the experience. Kértész inspired me to do some out of the box kind of submissions for my final assignment. Such as the toy cat with computer mice and a honey bear guarding his cup with a spoon. Overall, I enjoyed looking at Kértész and even finding a deeper meaning within his pieces.
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