During his time as a student Ruff worked as the ‘art director’ for the Dusseldorf post-punk band EKG. In return, the band members modelled for Ruff’s early photographic experiments. It was at this time that he began working on a series of portraits, a genre that had all but vanished from the Dusseldorf Academy. Ruff embarked on a period of research into the history of portraiture and carried out his own experiments with composition and framing. He decided on a style of portrait that would be as neutral as possible, with the aim of emphasising the face of the sitter. Ruff requested that his models try to be expressionless, and each one was photographed wearing their ordinary clothes, against a plain background.
Title : Porträt (Pia Stadtbäumer)
Year : 1988
Artist : Thomas Ruff
Medium : C-Print
Dimensions : 210 x 165 cm
Edition of 3