Name/Title
press++30.47Entry/Object ID
2018.03.01Description
Thomas Ruff (b. 1958) is a German photographer who lives and works in Düsseldorf, Germany. Described as a master of photo manipulation, Ruff has used his practice to pose the question “what is a photo?” His passion for pushing the limits of photography comes from experimenting with a wide range of techniques spanning from antiquated darkroom production to digital editing. Originally, working in portraiture, Ruff later embraced more diverse subject matter to expand his study of the medium and retrace the history of different photographic subjects.
press++ (2015-2018) are a series of photographic prints that use archival press images from newspapers and media. The imagery of the series focuses on themes of space exploration, technological development, fashion, and entertainment. Ruff scans the fronts and backs of the original documents and combines the two sides into a single image. Signatures, stamps, handwriting, markings, watermarks, or damage from the back side become overlaid on the main image, adding a layer of hidden context and information seen by only publishers and editors. Ruff makes evident this invisible and intentional process of editing and design that fundamentally changes these images for later publication.
Ruff has exhibited in New York, London, Tokyo, Berlin, Paris, and many other cities. His work belongs in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Moderna Museet, the Guggenheim Museum, and the S.M.A.K. Museum of Contemporary Art, among others.
https://www.thomasruff.com/en/works/Made/Created
Date made
2016Edition
ed. 2/8 + 3 artist prints