By his own admission the artist Florian Hetz central theme is objectification. Objectification is often seen as being defined as one of two things, it can be the transference of an entity into an object, or it can be the transference of an abstraction into an object.
It can of course be be many other things as well, many other transferences, it often depends what word you place in front of objectification, but for the purposes of this article and of the work of Florian Hetz, we will go with the first two mentioned.
Florian hones in on avenues of the body, the body becomes both landscape and need. His photographs show both broad general vistas as well as a focused intensity. There is in each piece a balance between a sense of calm and a need, between a steadiness and an abandon.
Florians work shows us the beauty that is inherent in the human body. Not the generalised beauty of correct proportion, not that of the symmetry of perfection. No, this is about the beauty of the human body as small acreage, of seeing the human body as micro poetry, contained vignettes of being.
Florians work, through its objectification of self, helps us to understand and therefore see the beauty of a strained muscle, of a relaxed hand, of an open mouth, a downcast eye.
These are compositions that both explore and celebrate the human vessel, the complex vehicle that we all know so well, but rarely take the time to really understand, or more importantly, to revel in.
To see a tense or a relaxed shoulder as a composition in its own right, is to revel not only in the abstract beauty of that composition, to understand the detail and confinement of its objectification by the artist, but to also understand that through a defined close up Florian is also creating the material for a storyline for the viewer, a personalised interpretation guided only by the imagination of that viewer.
By removing the personality of the model, by removing any judgement as to the proportion and bearing of the individual, the artist frees up any expectations and any conclusions on the part of the viewer.
Some see objectification as a negative, perhaps the idea of the human condition, the human spirit being somehow sectioned off, corralled into bite sized pieces, doesn't sit well. But this would be a misunderstanding of the purpose of objectification in general, and of Florian's understanding of it specifically.
There is a staggering beauty here, whether it is the slow journey of a drip of perspiration down an extended throat, whether it is the eruption of a rouged bruise against a pale white background, whether it is an undulating smoke trail passing across deep toned skin.
All are moments, never repeated moments, all part of the great adventure of humanity, both singular and general. These are achingly special moments captured by Florian as compositions that you can connect to, intimately understand, and expansively celebrate and cherish.
All work is copyrighted to the artist. Please ask permission before sharing imagery. Thank you.
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