Werner Amann’s photo book ‘American’, deals with the people and landscapes of America. For this, he developed a visual language, in which cineastic clichés and semblances, meet intimate and fragile moments.
‘American’ encompasses the period from 1996 to 2008, with an emphasis on the urban spaces of Los Angeles, complemented by other US cities like Miami and Kansas City.
Since the middle of the nineties, America has been a central focus of Amann’s photography, whose impressive landscapes and people, he seems to have internalized. These pictures carry an arresting cineastic quality, while allowing one to dive into mysterious night atmospheres and the seemingly boundless desserts of California and Mexico. In addition, his sensitive portraits, frequently catch a fleeting glance, a frolicsome laughter or someone just waiting on a parking lot. Amann makes these public moments to intimate ones, emphasizing the preciousness of the in-between.
In the end, ‘American’s’ quality lies in its combination of a romanticized perception with a more down to earth component. This makes the photographs not just to a document of their time, but also to carriers of a captivating and timeless vitality.
Werner Amann was born in 1969 and studied visual communication with Arno Fischer at the FH Dortmund and the London School of Printing. His works were already internationally exhibited and honoured. Werner Amann lives and works in Berlin.
(Text by Cornelia Thonhauser)
Werner Amann
http://www.werneramann.com
http://surffiction.blogspot.com
‘American’ won the „Dummy Award“ 2010 at the 3rd International Photobook Festival in Kassel.
