Uta Barth

Uta Barth is a contemporary photographer, who was born in Berlin, 1958 and currently lives in Los Angeles. She received a B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1985. In 2012, Barth was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship. She has taught at the University of California, Riverside since 1990, where she is currently a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Art. 

“For seventeen years I have made work that consists of sequences in order to talk about the passage of time while looking at things that don’t change much at all. The strategy is about duration, and about vision for vision’s sake. Nothing much changes in these sequences except maybe the light or a slight turn of the camera in order to follow it.

I want to slow the viewer down. I want a slow rhythm from image to image and from work to work when the pieces are installed for exhibition. Slowing down the viewer is hard at a time when people race through exhibitions. But I watch people in my shows, watch many of them move slowly, return to the beginning of a sequence, circle the room once again. Viewers who are not art writers talk about my work as being quiet, being slow and being calm. I think that is only one aspect of the work, but I always find myself smiling when I hear it.”

Therefore it is the act of experiencing the photograph, rather than the subject itself that makes Uta Barth work so unique.Her signature unfocused photographs invite the viewers to make their own interpretations, thus creating a unique meaning that is personal to the viewer. Therefore, the majority of her work uses the theme of involving the viewer by challenging their preconceptions in order to find a focus on the image and creating a ‘feeling of familiarity’.

 

Barths work managed to effectively convey a mood and atmosphere that has an element of familiarity, thus giving the location a meaning. For example this image Ground 95.6 creates a tranquil and calm atmosphere that radiates warmth.  Someone once described the photograph as “a place untouched by human influence that belongs only to nature, and I can almost feel the heat of the sun and hear water moving at my feet.” 

I completely agree with this statement and I can fully relate to what they are saying. The gentle warmth of green alongside the angelic glow of white creates a heavenly vibe that seems untouched and un-ruined by human influence. Yet it almost suggests that our human influence has caused nature to fade away. To the extent that we need to help the environment before we can no longer see it. 

On the contrary, Barth has the skill of creating the sense of familiarity within her work. As the unclear background creates the feeling of a forgotten memory that you can only remember small detail to. Thus creating a unique bond between the viewer and photo.

To see more of Uta Barths Photographs go to her website: http://utabarth.net/