Julius von Bismarck

The other day I was doing what I always do when I'm bored, stumbleupon.com, and I happened upon the work of Julius von Bismarck. von Bismark is a German artist. He is a photographer and film-maker (of sorts) and his work focuses on perception and reality. von Bismark manipulates his cameras in order to seek out what he wants them to accomplish. His most interesting apparatus is the Image Fulgurator which is described as "a device for physically manipulating photographs"1 The fulgurator looks like a weapon, but it is a 35mm camera meant to work like a camera in reverse.  von Bismarck loads an exposed and developed roll of film into his camera which will projects its image into the world. The fulgurator contains a sensor that registers when another camera's flash unite goes off. At the exact moment, the fulgurator then synchronizes the image/ projection from the exposed film it contains and projects it out into the world to be captured by the extraneous cameras. Ingeniously, the fulgurator acts like a spying device, this time to "intervenes when a photo is being taken, without the photographer being able to detect anything."

Projections made with Fulgurator

I really dig von Bismarck's creative process. He does not only create his own art, but he forces them onto other cameras. In this way, he is able to manipulate the world around him in ways typically unmanipulatable. As a relatively young artist, I believe von Bismarck really knows his direction.  His projects are very innovative. von Bismark's work interacts well with its environment: they are often both still lives and performance pieces.

New media projects such as "Top Shot Helmet" are easy to understand and interesting to follow. For "Top Shot Helmet" von Bismarck designed a helmet camera that hovers about 5 feet above its wearer. The helmet encases the entire head, but contains a projection of the camera footage.  von Bismarck sites video games, especially Grand Theft Auto, where the player controls his character from directly above, as his inspiration for the idea. von Bismarck describes the experience as "...a simultaneous expansion and restriction of the sense" but as one ventures and is more comfortable in his new perspective,  he is able to "...begin to sense and to trust [himself to make] bigger steps and maneuvers."2   But the top shot helmet is more than a sensory experience. von Bismarck links the experience to the idea that when we die, it is believed that our soul floats above our bodies. von Bismarck's contraption is, to me, a masterful unity of scientific, religious and artistic inquiries communicated through a novel method.

View from the Topshot Helmet

 I believe that a new generation of photographers is needed to make progress photography out of its current state. Photography has generally hit a plateau where creativity the successes of the past and present. But I think it is photographers such as von Bismarck who are captivated by expanding the art form through thinking of new ways to define the camera. I am also encouraged by von Bismarck's purpose as an artist. In this video, [Julius Von Bismarck at the creators project] von Bismarck states that numerous ad agencies and corporations have asked for rights to use the fulgurator and have offered him great sums of money. But he refuses them because in granting such a right, the fulgurator looses its purpose. It is no longer a discreet tool for artistic purposes, and, in corporate hands, it is no longer a novel idea.

 Whenever I need inspiration on being an innovative photographer I will look back on von Bismarck's ingenious concepts and extraordinary contraptions.


Also, check out this video of image fulgurator at checkpoint charlie .


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1: http://www.juliusvonbismarck.com/fulgurator/idee.html
2: http://www.juliusvonbismarck.com/topshot-helmet/fertig.html


Images:
(Top) Photograph of von Bismarck with his fulgurator. Courtesy of Richard Wilhelmer: http://www.juliusvonbismarck.com/fulgurator/idee.html
(Upper Middle) Photograph from von Bismarck's 2008 exhibition in Berlin title Stimmungsgasometer. Courtesy of switched.com http://www.switched.com/2010/08/11/julius-von-bismarcks-feel-o-meter-reflects-public-sentiment/
(Lower Middle) "Fulguration of 'the Magritte dove' on the Mao Zedong portrait at Tienanmen Square in Beijing." http://www.juliusvonbismarck.com/fulgurator/fertig.html
(Bottom)http://www.juliusvonbismarck.com/topshot-helmet/