The Cinematic Image - Exhibition by Martin Muntenbruch
A girl stands alone in a subway car, an old car with lots of iron and no plastic. Her right hand grips the pole, her left holds a large piece of paper unfurling to the floor. A city map perhaps, with traces of a desperate search for locations and paths.
The girl gazes up to the ceiling. She stares at the subway map above the door. Her face is obscured. Messed up blond hair. Trench coat. She looks lost. Hopelessly forlorn.
Metal pipes reflect the faint light inside the car. Eerie. Emergency lighting? Suddenly, almost en passant, a discovery: the girl is handcuffed. She appears to be wearing an elegant bracelet, but her right hand is chained to the pole!
My God! Chained in a subway. Chained to the Underground!
This could be the nightmare of an urban citizen. A vision: Cold, hard and black and white, photographed by Martin Muntenbruch in the Paris Metro. The picture is currently on display in his exhibition "The Cinematic Image" in the Furore Gallery located at Veterinärstraße 1.
Martin Muntenbruch is 21 years old. After graduating from college in Munich, he moved to Paris where he has been taking pictures for the last year. But does he really take pictures, or rather create true artistic images? And why cinematic?
Muntenbruch's photos are composed and precisely planned. He researches the locations and positions his figures in unreal fantasy scenes. In one image, two hooded men row across a large mountain lake. In another photograph we see a cemetery with giant tomb stones and big stars laid out on the floor. A girl stands in the light and a dark figure sneaks up from behind.
In their clear and often symmetric composition, together with the hard black and white contrast, the photos appear harmonious, calm and somewhat final. Yet, there's something disturbing that doesn't let us rest. The charm and impact of the images creeps up from "behind and is subtle," as Muntenbruch says. His pictures are way beyond silly family snaps or screaming press photography.
Nevertheless, Muntenbruch's work is still photographic. His pictures convey authenticity and believability. You can trust a photo because photos don't lie. You encounter a scene which doesn't actually exist, but you know that at some point it has happened exactly this way. The photo is the proof. Here, in that double play of perception, lies the great attraction of these "cinematic images."
While we are standing in front of one of those "frozen actions" (M.M.), we start visualizing a little film and the hooded men continue to row.
The photos are presented within a magic soundscape. Muntenbruch describes it as "Space-Rock," which he, at least in his mind, always hears while contemplating his ideas. Ideally, the spectator should also make that connection between the musical backdrop and the photo.
Muntenbruch is just starting his professional career and already has had a few assignments. His photographs are as perfect as those of a pro, but his images are becoming even more interesting with these added elements of fantasy.
The two photos shown here represent the scope of Muntenbruch's work - from brutal high fashion magazine chic to eerie cemetery dreams.
Exhibition runs until July 31, Thu-Sun, 3-7 p.m. -Georg Seitz-