Eigenzeit exhibition at Kunstmuseum Stuttgart and Elger Esser to go - luxurious photo book published by Schirmer Mosel

His snapshots of river landscapes, bridges, villages and coastlines resemble blurred memories, which are difficult to forget. Born in Stuttgart in 1967, Elger Esser goes on “search of lost time”, an intentional nod to Marcel Proust.

He already managed to recover a piece of time in photograph techniques: He developed heliographs by using a 19th century fine art printing process, the predecessor to today’s rotogravure technique. In an exhibition of approximately 50 large format works, the artist – one of the last graduates of the famous class of Bernd and Hilla Becher at the Düsseldorf Academy of the arts – gives an overview and a considerable insight into his work.

According to Einstein, Proper Time initially describes the phenomena of the relativity of time. As a title for Esser, the term reflects his open approach, which does not function in terms of conceptual motifs, as well as his work's core aspect: landscapes that are independent of chronological categorisation and exist in their own sphere of time.

The photo artist's inspirations range from Breton collections of postcards, to architectural buildings by Gustave Eiffel to fictional places in books, such as Combray, taken from a novel series by Marcel Proust.

Alongside the exhibition at the Stuttgart Museum of Art, a book has been published at Schirmer & Mosel, featuring writing by Peter Herzog, Friedrich Wolfram Heubach, Cees Nooteboom, Alexander Pühringer and Simone Schimpf. These essays explain and locate the multiple literary references in Esser's images.

Elger Esser – Eigenzeit
until 11 April 2010
Kunstmuseum Stuttgart
Kleiner Schlossplatz 1
70173 Stuttgart

Elger Esser – Eigenzeit
180 Pages, 73 partly colour images
ISBN 978-3-8296-0418-5 (German/English)
Price: EUR 49,80; sFr. 81,–

The following questionnaire was already circulated in Parisian salons at the turn of the nineteenth century. Even the famous novelist Marcel Proust was happy to oblige when he was asked to answer the questions. Elger Esser followed the example of his favourite author.

Where do you want to live?
In the South
What would complete happiness on earth be for you?
Not to notice, for you only feel the loss of happiness
What mistake are you most likely to forgive?
Those that are owing to personal weakness.
What do you see as the worst disaster?
Ignorance
Your favourite fictional heroes?
Odysseus in my childhood, Ripley from Highsmith in my youth, Duroy in Belami by De Maupassant when I was in my late twenties. Today, it is Odysseus once more.
Your favourite historical figure?
Giotto
Your favourite heroes in real life?
Children
Your favourite painter?
Piero della Francesca and Bellini, van Eyck, Dürer and Van der Weyden as well, and many more
Your favourite actor?
W.G. Sebald, Walter Benjamin too
Your favourite composer ?
Jazz for recreation, Bach when I work and Opera for leisure
Which attributes do you most cherish in a woman?
The not too feminine side
Which attributes do you most cherish in a man?
The not too masculine side
Your favourite virtue?
Dignity
Your favourite pastime?
Finding new pictures
Who or what would you have liked to be?
Musician
Your primary character trait?
Big-hearted, with the occasional personal benefit
What do you like the most about your friends?
The fact that they are
Your biggest mistake?
I managed to block that out successfully
Your dream of happiness?
Sleeping under the skies
What would be your ultimate downfall?
Blindness
Who do you want to be?
The other me
Your favourite colour?
The green of the landscapes
Your favourite flower?
Yellow tulips
Your favourite bird?
Owl
Your favourite author?
Marcel Proust, Fernando Pessoa
Your favourite poet?
Rainer Maria Rielke
Your heroes of everyday life?
Those that fight for bare survival from day to day
Your heroes of history?
The Goddesses and figures from the ancient world.
Your favourite names?
The simple ones and those with a family reference
What do you despise the most?
Cold cynicism
Which historical figures to you detest the most?
Dull politicians that are proud of it
Which reform impresses you the most?
Revolutions
Which natural talent would you like to possess?
Absolute hearing
How do you wish to die one day?
Sleeping