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Lot Essay
With its ethereal light, the image of Fabrik (mit Namen) evokes the magical and immaculate qualities that Thomas Demand creates in all of his photographs. Its lack of humanity and the almost impossibly perfect lines, relate very strongly to the architecturtal heritage of the artist. Demand's grandfather was one of the foremost architects in the city of Munich after the Second World War and also knew Richard Vorhölzer, another important architect in the city heavily influenced by the Bauhaus, who by coincidence had designed the post-office in the village of the Demand family. Again by pure chance the image of Vorhölzer's office was used for another of Demand's works, Zeichensaal in 1996.
This architectural heritage spawned a fascination and love for sculpture and this is where the genius of Demand begins. Most people realise that they are looking at a fairly simple photograph, but many do not realise, on encountering his work for the first time, that the image is of a life size sculpture made entirely out of paper and cardboard. The large photograph is the historical record of the transient sculpture created within his realm.
"The concept of constructing a reality in the studio is much stronger than faking things for the camera. They are genuine sculptures, documented. I make my decisions about objects first, the second step is to photograph them. I work 1:1" (Thomas Demand quoted in 'Vik Muniz/Thomas Demand, A Conversation' reproduced in Thomas Demand, Freiburg in Marienbad 1998, p. 44).
Most images for Demand's work are sourced from history or the media and most have a story to tell, stories that are sinister or tragic. Fabrik (mit Namen), an important early work in the artist's oeuvre, appears at first to buck this trend as it is an almost banal image of the everyday industrial landscape. What gives the work its edge and story is the artists name on the top of the building
"Fabrik (mit Namen) was created from a power staion by the motorway ... . This factory clearly demonstrates the care with which Demand selects his multivalent motifs. The factory with its family name, which suggests 'demand', in the marketing sense of 'supply and demand', thus becomes self critical and ironic illustration of its own fabrication or artistic production, which satisfies an increasing 'demand'" (R. Schumacher, 'Translation and Metamorphis-Thomas Demand's Sculptures', reproduced in Sculptural Sphere, Munich 2004, p. 82).
This architectural heritage spawned a fascination and love for sculpture and this is where the genius of Demand begins. Most people realise that they are looking at a fairly simple photograph, but many do not realise, on encountering his work for the first time, that the image is of a life size sculpture made entirely out of paper and cardboard. The large photograph is the historical record of the transient sculpture created within his realm.
"The concept of constructing a reality in the studio is much stronger than faking things for the camera. They are genuine sculptures, documented. I make my decisions about objects first, the second step is to photograph them. I work 1:1" (Thomas Demand quoted in 'Vik Muniz/Thomas Demand, A Conversation' reproduced in Thomas Demand, Freiburg in Marienbad 1998, p. 44).
Most images for Demand's work are sourced from history or the media and most have a story to tell, stories that are sinister or tragic. Fabrik (mit Namen), an important early work in the artist's oeuvre, appears at first to buck this trend as it is an almost banal image of the everyday industrial landscape. What gives the work its edge and story is the artists name on the top of the building
"Fabrik (mit Namen) was created from a power staion by the motorway ... . This factory clearly demonstrates the care with which Demand selects his multivalent motifs. The factory with its family name, which suggests 'demand', in the marketing sense of 'supply and demand', thus becomes self critical and ironic illustration of its own fabrication or artistic production, which satisfies an increasing 'demand'" (R. Schumacher, 'Translation and Metamorphis-Thomas Demand's Sculptures', reproduced in Sculptural Sphere, Munich 2004, p. 82).