Peter Lippmann

When displaying the work of Peter Lippmann I have drawn images from the fine art section of his website. The two bodies of work I find of most interest here are Cacti and Noble Rot. These are shown below. Lippmanns commercial works are also of particular interest to me and I may revisit these as time goes on.

First to ‘Cacti’. The use of a tight frame on the subject matter and a combination of high key lighting for balanced background illumination and the hard lighting on the subject makes for an impactful image. The images are not black and white but also not full colour. The desaturated feel creates a pleasing aesthetic which one is drawn into. The tight frame accentuates the brutal nature of the subject matter. The falling out of shot at the bottom of the stem leads to the viewer wanting to see more but yet entirely able to fill in the gaps of what may be there. The use of a single stem for most of these specimens helps to reduce our distraction. This focus on the size of the subject in the frame and the consistent framing feeds in well to Szarkowski’s writings on The Frame.

Typically in still life symbolism, plant specimens are used to show the ephemeral and fleeting nature of life. With a cacti however that implication is difficult to secure the connotation for. Typically hardy and in need of little care in terms of watering and maintenance, cacti are not typically ‘ephemeral’.

In Lippmann’s ‘Noble Rot’, his use of hard lighting and a black background create a chiaroscuro feel to the illumination of the subject matter. In still life iconography grapes are used to signify wealth and attainment. Historically they were tough to get hold of and expensive, hence their often appearance in mosaic floors, carvings and paintings. Here we see that symbolism pushed back in the other direction with the use of rotting grapes. In the title, the word ‘noble’ nods back to the historical symbolism found in grapes, while the ‘rot’ shows them exactly for what they are.

Another common feature symbolically speaking in still life works is the use of plants and flowers to express the ephemeral nature of life. Here we have the fruit following the same symbolism and sat here to rot. The use of the lighting has brought out the colours beautifully in this work and some samples could almost have been taken over a period of time to show the progression of that noble rot.