A Conversation with Anne Lass

Milwaukee Avenue #2, 2005, © Anne Lass

Milwaukee Avenue #3, 2005, © Anne Lass

The photography of Anne Lass is often about the relationship to landscape and the question of anonymity. In this week's conversation, she presents a selection of photographs from several different series.

Nymphoto: Tell us a little about yourself?

Anne Lass: I grew up in northern Germany being part of the Danish minority. Our family has always enjoyed to travel and discovering all these unknown places as a child has had a great impact on me. After high school I moved to London, then to Copenhagen where I attended different art schools. Hereafter I began my Diploma Studies in Essen, Germany, where I studied Documentary Photography with Jörg Sasse. I was lucky to be in a group with quite a few very talented photographers - we still have good exchange and collaborate in different projects. Right now I am based in Berlin, am the proud mother of a one year old boy and enjoy to live in this diverse city.

Untitled, Zurich, 2006, © Anne Lass

Untitled, Chicago, 2005, © Anne Lass

NP: How did you discover photography?

AL: As a teenager I attended a darkroom course and found out what a mirror reflex camera is all about. The work with photography immediately became highly fascinating to me and has been ever since.

Untitled, Aspen, 2006, © Anne Lass

NP: Where do you find inspiration?

AL: I like to walk for hours and observe my surroundings. Going places and discovering new areas is always inspiring to me. From recreational areas to places which people avoid - it does not really matter, as long as I find this certain atmosphere I am looking for. Despite of this, a good conversation, an interesting article or an old image found on a flea market can be very inspiring too....

Untitled, Praia das Macas, 2009, © Anne Lass

NP: How do your projects come about?

AL: For my project Wandeln, which is about contemporary life and living space, I can photograph anytime and everywhere. The project contains so far over 60 images from Australia, Europe and the States. The images are connected in different groups and relations depending on the context Other projects deal with a specific geographic area, for example the Milwaukee Avenue in Chicago. At the moment I feel drawn to situations which seem staged, yet it is not a dogma that my photographs have to be "real". If something needs to be changed to make the image better, I will do so. The final image is important to me and the world delivers the material.

Untitled, Chicago, 2008, © Anne Lass

Untitled, Portugal, 2009, © Anne Lass

NP: What’s next?

AL: I am currently working on a project about areas changing because of erosion, places which might disappear within the next days, months or years. Furthermore I will do a landscape project in Belgium this spring and have plans to photograph a suburb of Lisbon - and I have quite a few new images for my project Wandeln which I am looking forward to connect with the other ones. And today my solo exhibition, In Our Time, opens at the Goethe Institute in Washington D.C.

Untitled, Milan, 2009, © Anne Lass

Untitled, Victoria, 2005, © Anne Lass

Thank you for participating Anne!

To see more of her work, please head to www.annelass.de.

In Our Time (In unserer Zeit)
Photographs by Anne Lass
Thursday, 25 March 2010 - Friday, 28 May 2010
Goethe-Institut Washington, FotoGalerie

Opening reception
Thursday, March 25, 6 – 8 pm
with photographer Anne Lass and Al Miner, Independent Curator and Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Curatorial Assistant

Talents 15: In Our Time: Anne Lass

o.T., Las Vegas, 2004, © Anne Lass

C/O Berlin presents
Talents 15 . In Our Time . Anne Lass / Katja Melzer
June 13, 2009 through August 11, 2009

From the press release:

The places in the photos seem familiar, the people almost recognizable, the situations common, everyday. They show normality—so normal that it’s disconcerting. Where and when were the photographs taken? Who are the people in them? How are they connected? In the search for details that might provide answers, the viewer cannot find or decipher either meanings and identities, or relationships and histories in the photographs of Anne Lass. They are images of deindividualized people who find themselves in places devoid of history – documents of disorientation and interchangeability. Anne Lass’ skillful experimentation with anonymity and the lack of references is what makes her photographs so fascinating.

Since 2006, in the "Talents" exhibition series, C/O's has been promoting young photographers and art critics at the threshold between education and career, thus providing combined support to new talent in visual and text media. Each year, four photographers are chosen to exhibit their work on a specific theme at C/O Berlin in the Postfuhramt as well as at the Goethe Institute in New York City. Each solo exhibition is accompanied by a publication in which images and text enter their dialogue. "Talents" is an experimentation space for young international contemporary photograph and art criticism. As a platform for the future, the C/O Berlin talents program is unique and unrivalled in Europe.

Since its founding in the year 2000, C/O Berlin has been presenting a lively cultural program of international stature. As an exhibition center for photography, C/O Berlin presents the work of renowned artists, organizes events, promotes talented young artists, and accompanies children on voyages of discovery through our visual culture.

Anne Lass, Estelle Hanania: Vol 1

Remain in Light (edited by Shane Lavalette & Karly Wildenhaus) has announced which artists it will feature in Vol.1. Among the list of 20 photographers are the very talented Anne Lass and the innovative Estelle Hanania.
Take a look at the whole list of artists - many great 'finds' and talents to watch.