It Takes One: Andr茅 Wagner
Fine-art photographer Andr茅 Wagner was born in Burgst盲dt, Germany, in 1980. In a career that began in 2001, he has developed a unique way to capture the beauty of nature and other subjects in images often noted for their intensity and dramatic use of light. His photography has been featured in solo exhibitions at the Galerie WOS in Zurich, Switzerland; Kunstmuseum Moritzburg Halle (Saale) in Germany; and the Fotografie Whiteconcepts Gallery in Berlin, among other venues. He has taken part in group exhibitions throughout the United States, China, France, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy. Among his awards are a Gold Medal at the Trierenberg Austrian Super Circuit (2008) and another at the Hasselblad Austrian Super Circuit (2004). His work is included in several art collections, including the , and in many corporate and private collections. He now lives and works in Berlin.
For a time in the 1990s, you were a graffiti artist. What brought you to that art form, and how does it relate to your photography?
When I was about thirteen years old, I started graffiti spraying together with friends. That was my salvation; it gave me a new frame and space for my energies. Everything literally flowed into the drawings, and there wasn鈥檛 a day when I didn't paint or spray. I also discovered that I perceived things differently鈥攁n empty wall inspired me to do something creative, and I really enjoyed it. During these four years or so, I developed my own ideas about color and form, which I still use in my photography. I also recorded the graffiti with my camera. I absolutely wanted to keep the memory of everything. You could even say that it was the fear of losing everything that made me take pictures. Graffiti is something very temporary, but a photo of a graffiti painting gives the work a chance for eternity.
Why did you move to photography as your primary art form?
In the long run, graffiti became too political for me and simply didn鈥檛 offer the possibilities that I enjoy now. Photography for me is magic鈥攁 kind of alchemy through which I can reveal all of my fascinations. It鈥檚 a medium that allows me to make my und