Aenne Biermann

original image

Born in 1898, Aenne Biermann was born Anna Sibilla Sternfeld in the Rhine Province of Germany. After her marriage and the birth of her two children Biermann began to engross herself in the New Objectivity art movement of the 1920's. This was a highly transitional time for the German state and for the art world. New Objectivity rejected expressionistic principles and favored work with simple form and social content. The movement ended with the fall of the Weimar Republic and the rise of Hitler. Her work was displayed at every major photography exhibition in Germany in the 1920's.
Biermann's work featured tight frames, highly structured material and subjects, and an emphasis on tactile surfaces. She experimented with metaphorical imagery, everyday objects, minerals, and plants.

my recreation

The biggest challenge in developing my recreation was imitating the framing and positioning of the hands. This self-portrait was taken using indoor lighting from above. Although the original looks to have been taken outside on a textured surface, the surface that I used was also very tactile. Due to the differences however, the edges of the shadows in the original are sharper.