Karl Blossfeldt (June 13, 1865 – December 9, 1932 - age 67) was a German photographer, sculptor, teacher, and artist who worked in Berlin, Germany. He is best known for his close-up photographs of plants and living things, published in 1929 as, Urformen der Kunst. He was inspired, as was his father, by nature and the way in which plants grow. He believed that 'the plant must be valued as a totally artistic and architectural structure.He photographed plants by the thousands - photographs which feature flowers, buds, branched stems, clusters or seed capsules shot directly from the side, seldom from an overhead view, and rarely from a diagonal perspective. He usually placed the subjects of his photographs against white or grey cardboard, sometimes against a black background. |
These photographs show the Fibonacci spiral, a natural form found within nature which was such an influence on Karl Blossfeldt. It is a shape which is often repeated in nature -each one looks unique but the shape occurs again and again.
Opposite is Wikipedia's entry on the Fibonacci Spiral.
Blossfeldt's picture on the Left, also demonstrates - although not as obviously as some - an expanding sequence of the Fibonacci spiral. The petals go outwards in an expanding circle. The Picture on the right is an example of symmetry and another variant of the Fibonacci sequence, again finding order in nature. |
My Blossfeldt Inspired Photographs
This alpine I saw in the Botanic Gardens in Leicester. It has an obvious, repeating geometric pattern, similar to the plants photographed by Karl Blossfeldt. Similarly shaped succulent leaves fan-out in ever increasing circles.
To See how I created this Photograph - click here |