Dreams of Desire 54 (Written on the Body)

~ Cakeordeath

heinz-hajek-halke-german-experimental-photographer-10[1]
Heinz Hajek-Halke
The German photographer Heinz Hajek-Halke concentrated almost entirely on montage techniques. Influenced by the great Dada and Surrealist innovators of the 1920’s and 30’s he experimented with solarisation and camera-less photographs. During WWII he turned to photographing small animals for scientific publications. The 1950’s however saw Hajek-Halke returning to experimental photography; he joined the fotoform group and participated in two of the groups subjektive fotografie exhibitions, becoming one of the few photographers to be involved in the avant-garde of different generations.

40 thoughts on “Dreams of Desire 54 (Written on the Body)”

  1. Wow, just wow! I love the first one. I took some photos of the marks left by medieval stone masons on the cathedral in Avila: they are incredible. I never thought of superimposing them on a body … wow again. Nothing like (post Monet) watching light walk across the face of a cathedral.

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    1. Thanks Roger I was starting to worry that my site’s first page was becoming safe for work and I couldn’t have that. See how contrary I am, I worry when it is becoming too smutty and then worry when it isn’t smutty enough.

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      2. I wouldn’t as well but I do remember at one point after a long run of posting nudes I thought oh dear what you your Gran think that it is all getting a bit smutty. But agreed it isn’t smutty at all, it is art and that is one of the most important things in life. A life without art is one I would never want to live for even a week.

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    1. Thank you Audrey…I feature a lot of Golden Age Surrealist photographers on this site…Man Ray, Lee Miller, Dora Maar…also models of that period, Assia, Nusch Eluard, Lee Miller (again). I can send you links if you would like.

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      2. Well my site is a bit of an odd mixture…mainly art, mainly Surrealism and Symbolism though I do stray occasionally to either artists working today or the pre 19th century…then some of my stories or poetry, then books, movies, and other random posts but the underlying thematic is Surrealism in a way. That makes it sound heavy but at least the pictures are great. Oh and I also feature women artist a lot (through obviously not exclusively). I will send you the links.

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  3. The body as a canvas – an ancient idea but I love the modern take on it. I especially like the morphing with the stone walls. Very, very cool. Curious about photography without a camera… what does that mean exactly?

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    1. Thank you Meg… it is very cool you know I have an eye for such things (well I hope I do otherwise I am deluding myself). It is the same basic idea behind rayographs (created by… you guessed it… Man Ray) you place objects against photographic film then expose it.

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      4. When I was about ten I used to get a magazine called The Unexplained, it was hokey, all ghosts and UFO’a and such stuff, however one issue had an article on the unconscious and featured a Max Ernst ‘The Elephant Cerebus’ and a De Chirico ‘The unquiet muses’ I think as well as Bosch’ s The Garden of Earthly Delights… I loved them and although I was to pursue Surrealism for many years to come they left an inedible mark upon my imagination. I loved Alice and later discovered Ballard who mentioned the Surrealists constantly and everything became connected. Since writing about them I have discovered artists who I didn’t know before, especially in the photographic side, which is probably the field they have had most influence on, with the exception of advertising.

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      5. That is fantastic! How fortunate to have had exposure to these things through unconventional sources – I’m thinking not many ten year olds have been introduced to Max Ernst. I love that it stuck with you. Or you with it, perhaps…

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