The Photography of Jon Rendell

After Karl Blossfeldt

Karl Blossfeldt (1865–1932) was a German photographer, sculptor and teacher best known for his close-up photographs of plants. Usually photographed against plain backgrounds, the plants appear isolated and carefully arranged, allowing their repeating patterns, symmetry and geometric shapes to become the focus. His work was closely connected to his teaching, as he believed that the forms found in nature could provide valuable lessons for artists and designers. His photographs therefore sit between scientific documentation and art: they record plants with extraordinary accuracy while also revealing a sense of rhythm, elegance and abstraction. His influential book "Urformen der Kunst" (Art Forms in Nature), published in 1928, continues to influence botanical and contemporary photographic art. These are some of my photographs inspired by Blossfeldt's work.