Dreamy still-life portraits from around the world

Evelyn Hofer’s encounters — From New York and Dublin to Rome and Istanbul, photographer Evelyn Hofer took timeless snapshots of life around the globe.

“It’s really a shame that photography was invented,” Evelyn Hofer is quoted as saying in the new book Evelyn Hofer: Encounters (Steidl). It’s a strange statement from a master of the medium, whose landscape, portrait, and still-life photographs immortalise the essence of her subjects. 

Andreas Pauly, the executor of the Evelyn Hofer Estate, explains that Hofer’s perspective came as a result of her artistic practice: “She had some periods in her life where she was just painting, but then she gave it up again,” he explains. “She always said her main influence was painting and not photography. You can see that clearly in the way she treats the light.”

Springtime, Washington, 1965

Influenced by Dutch and Italian Renaissance painters, Hofer maintained friendships with artists of her era, most notably fellow German émigré Richard Lindner. She approached her compositions as a painter would, using a 4X5 camera, through which she saw the world upside down as an abstraction of light, colour, shape, and form.

“She wasn’t interested in the everyday life,” Pauly says. “She wanted to capture the everlasting; the eternal aspect of the city that existed for 500 years. She didn’t want to show cars or telephone poles; she wanted to do things that always were there.”

Hofer brought this approach to all of her work, whether photographing cities such as New York, Washington DC, Dublin, or Istanbul. Her encounters with these cities are portraits of a sort, the face of a place that reveals its character and heart. 

Bowery, New York,1965

While accompanying Hofer to the Villa Medici in Rome on an assignment for House & Gardens magazine, Pauly noticed she went without her camera on the first day. “I was so surprised,” he recalls. “She said, ‘For me, the most important thing is the first impression. I want to get a feeling for a place. I’m not going there and starting to shoot like crazy. I want to feel what it’s about.’ Then only the next day we started to work with the camera.”

This depth of feeling towards her subjects is wonderfully resonant in her portraits. Whether photographing artists like Yayoi Kusama, Ed Ruscha, and Andy Warhol in their studios, gravediggers in Dublin, or even a lion in the Central Park Zoo, Hofer was keenly attuned to the spirit of life that animates the flesh.

“She was very good with people,” Pauly says. “Sometimes it is very hard; you only have 10 minutes for the photograph – but in that short time she really connected to the people and she made them show her something or open themselves.”

Pewter Pitcher with Grapes (Still Life No. 7), New York,1997

Phoenix Park on a Sunday, Dublin, 1966

Beauty Palace, New York, 1963

Gravediggers, Dublin, 1966

Pollock Studio, Long Island, 1988

Arteries, New York, 1964

Balthus, Switzerland, 1989

 

Evelyn Hofer: Begegnungen mit der Kamera will be on view at Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Wörlen in Passau, Germany, from July 20 – October 27, 2019. 

Follow Miss Rosen on Twitter.

Enjoyed this article? Like Huck on Facebook or follow us on Twitter


Ad

Latest on Huck

Elderly man with glasses, white hair, and suit; young woman with long brown hair playing electric guitar on stage in green jacket.
Activism

Bernie Sanders introduces Clairo at Coachella, urging young Americans to “stand up for justice”

Coachella charmed — The Vermont Senator praised the singer-songwriter for her efforts in raising awareness of women’s rights issues and Gaza.

Written by: Isaac Muk

Vans

The Changing Face Of Brooklyn, New York’s Most Colourful Borough

After three decades spent capturing stories around the world, Magnum Photographer Alex Webb finally decided to return home to Brooklyn – a place that champions chaos, diversity and community spirit.

Written by: Alex Webb / Magnum Photos

Black and white image of subway carriage interior with sleeping man seated on bench
Culture

The mundane bliss of New York’s subways in the ’70s

NYC Passengers 1976-1981 — During a very different decade in NYC, which bounced between rich creativity and sketchiness, photographer Joni Sternbach captured the idiosyncratic isolation found on its rail networks.

Written by: Miss Rosen

A man playing a guitar whilst a horse stands beside him in a rocky, moonlit landscape.
Music

Analogue Appreciation: lullahush

Ithaca — In an ever more digital, online world, we ask our favourite artists about their most cherished pieces of physical culture. Today, it’s Irish retro-futurist lullahush.

Written by: lullahush

Two people of unidentified gender intimately embracing and kissing on a bed.
Culture

Spyros Rennt captures connection and tenderness among Berlin’s queer youth

Intertwined — In the Greek photographer’s fourth photobook, he lays out spreads of togetherness among his friends and the German capital’s LGBTQ+ party scene.

Written by: Isaac Muk

Surfers against sewage protest box floating in water with people swimming around it.
© Alex Brown / Surfers Against Sewage
Sport

The rebellious roots of Cornwall’s surfing scene

100 years of waveriding — Despite past attempts to ban the sport from beaches, surfers have remained as integral, conservationist presences in England’s southwestern tip. A new exhibition in Falmouth traces its long history in the area.

Written by: Ella Glossop

Signup to our newsletter

Sign up to our newsletter to informed with the cutting edge of sport, music and counterculture, featuring personal takes on the state of media and pop culture from Emma Garland, former Digital Editor of Huck, exclusive interviews, recommendations and more.

Please wait...

Accessibility Settings

Text

Applies the Open Dyslexic font, designed to improve readability for individuals with dyslexia.

Applies a more readable font throughout the website, improving readability.

Underlines links throughout the website, making them easier to distinguish.

Adjusts the font size for improved readability.

Visuals

Reduces animations and disables autoplaying videos across the website, reducing distractions and improving focus.

Reduces the colour saturation throughout the website to create a more soothing visual experience.

Increases the contrast of elements on the website, making text and interface elements easier to distinguish.