presented by Simon Menner
from the sequence:
Evidence
Sven Gatter, who is working on an interesting project called “Ordinary People”,
mentioned Simon Menners “secret Stasi archives” on Facebook.
After Clare Strands fictitious evidence now some real evidence
from the evidently absurd perspective of the former East German Ministry for State Security.
Wikipedia writes about the Stasi,
“that it has been widely regarded as one of the most effective
and repressive intelligence and secret police agencies in the world.”
As years went by, the perspective has changed,
and former normality has now become a complete absurdity to us.
It´s really only a question of attitude.
The way of life, our way of life,
is easily as absurd as the secret life of secret agents now made public.
These photographs are not only about a state of mind,
but they also depict a culture vanished by now.
Images from East Germany,
through Menners intelligent selection bearing the air of a very German photographic tradition
cultivating the drab, the dry and the unspectacular.
Simon Menner is an artist using photography.
The starting point of his work are ideas for which he finds visual representations.
His thinking is creative and precise,
and when using a camera he is producing fine photographs.
Born in 1978, he already has produced a rich and excellent body of work.
