Six German photographers were invited to Los Angeles with Stephen Shore's landmark photograph of New Color Photography as the matrix for a cross cultural exchange. THE LA BREA MATRIX: Six German Photographers and a New Color Icon by Stephen Shore, is the result of their exploration of Los Angeles inspired by Shore's iconic image. The La Brea Matrix project ultimately represents the merging of artists on both sides of the Atlantic and the aesthetic that unifies them. At its core, it is a dialogue on the impact of the photograph Stephen Shore took on the corner of La Brea Avenue and Beverly Boulevard in Los Angeles forty years ago. The La Brea Matrix portfolios are a culmination of the influence that Shore's Beverly Boulevard and La Brea Avenue, Los Angeles, California, June 21, 1975 and New Color Photography had on this generation of artists.
This is the second portfolio in the La Brea Matrix trilogy and consists of photographs taken in Los Angeles (2009 – 2010) by the six photographers during their respective residencies:
Jens Liebchen
Jens Liebchen (b. 1970) looked at Los Angeles with an anthropologist's eye, wanting to see the city from the typical Angelino's perspective. He chose to take improvised portraits and landscapes from the vantage point of inside a moving or stationary car.
Max Regenberg
Max Regenberg (b. 1951) found Los Angeles the ideal location to continue working on his continuously evolving project of documenting signage and billboards in public spaces.
Oliver Sieber
Oliver Sieber (b. 1966) chose to work on his ongoing project, "The Imaginary Club," continuing his portraits of young music fans and immersed himself in LA's death metal and rockabilly scenes. The project also includes "establishing shots" of the locations where he met his subjects.
Olaf Unverzart
Olaf Unverzart's (b. 1972) photographs seem like surreal fragments of a larger puzzle. The images are a bit out-of-time, yet intimate and witty. His Los Angeles work seamlessly fits into the oeuvre of the project.
Robert Voit
Robert Voit (b. 1969) is known for his photographs of fake tree cell phone towers but wanted to explore a new subject in Los Angeles. Continuing his fascination with concealment, he turned his interest to oil production in Los Angeles County. Using publicly accessible Oil, Gas and Geothermal maps, he tirelessly drove all over the county for his photographs.
Janko Woltersmann
Janko Woltersmann (b. 1967) is obsessed with Los Angeles. He zealously walked all over the city to take numerous precisely composed Polaroids. The effect is charming with a mischievous wit, as each image seems to have a hidden treasure waiting to be discovered.