Ruediger Ganslandt

Artist statement

In an age when images can be created with a single click on a mobile and accessed anywhere in the world with another click, printmaking with its slow, artisanal process takes on a significance beyond its historical function as a means of reproduction. For me, the process of etching and printing is at least as important as the motif, and this process should leave a distinct mark on the picture. This means deciding against printing techniques that are close to pictorialist photography and opting instead to grapple with copper, acids, lyes and a challenging dry film that significantly limits grey scale and resolution. For me, my role as an artist lies in isolating a motif in the frame of a photo, in further reducing it towards the meaning that made me choose it, and then in controlling a process that (hopefully) makes this meaning visible in an intaglio print. My inspiration comes primarily from the coastal landscape in which I live or the places I travel to.

Biography

Born in 1955. I graduated in art at RWTH Aachen University (Germany). Alongside the compulsory specialisation in sculpture, my personal focus was on etching and photography. Even whilst I was a student, I had the opportunity to contribute to a number ofinterdisciplinary books on modern art history. Keyboard and screen gradually pushed printing press and camera further into the background, and writing about an ever-wider range of topics became my profession for many years. However, I have now picked up where I left off during my student days and am working on developing my own visual language for photo etchings.