Opera, Lille (2009)

It’s always a very special and strange moment when a person looks out of a picture and directly into our eyes. We feel trapped like a peeping Tom. This sometimes happens in still images, but almost never in a movie; it would destroy the illusion.

What happens if not only one person looks at us, but 2500? This is one of the main questions in the work. Suddenly, the viewer is on the stage, and the image is the audience. The direction of viewing is reversed.

MARTIN LIEBSCHER
born in 1964 Naumburg/Saale (Germany), lives in Berlin and Frankfurt am Main (Germany)
www.liebscher.biz

Martin Liebscher grew up in Speyer and began studies at the Städel School, Academy of Fine Art in Frankfurt / Main under artists Martin Kippenberger and Thomas Bayrle. He also studied in London at the Slade School of Fine Art. In 1998 Liebscher was recognised in the Guinness Book of Records for the longest group photo with one person in the world. He has received several awards such as an Art Directors Club / Germany Award for A Man with Opportunities in 2007 and the Gold Award of the Deutscher Fotobuchpreis in 2010 for his book, Einer für Alle (One For All). Since 2007, he has been a professor at the Hochschule für Gestaltung, Academy of Art and Design, Offenbach. His works have been internationally exhibited and are on display in major collections and museums.