The selection of 120 works presented in TheMagical in Passing sheds some light on the elusive oeuvre of the German photographer Herbert List, and explores why it is so difficult to categorize his work. He would work in almost every genre that photography has to offer: architecture, still life, street photography, portraiture, documentation and cataloging. Yet he also blurred the demarcation between those fields; architectural shots seem like composed still lifes or surreal compositions. Documentation of Greek sculptures or African artifacts borders on portraiture, and when capturing the classical beauty of the male physique, one does not quite know if we look at painstakingly composed arrangements or a private photo-diary, shot spontaneously from the hip.
Herbert List
The Magical in Passing
4 November 2018 – 10 March 2019
Ludwig Galerie Saarlouis
Alte-Brauerei-Straße, Kaserne VI
66740 Saarlouis
https://ludwig-galerie.saarlouis.de
ITALY, Naples Set of The Last Judgement 1961, GREEK actress Melina Mercouri- in a Film by Italian Director Vittorio de Sica: The Last Judgemen © Herbert List / Magnum Photos
Ringende Jungen 1, Ostsee 1933 © Herbert List / Magnum Photos
Spiel im Wasser, Nordsee 1934 © Herbert List / Magnum Photos
GREECE. Athens. Circa 1936.
Young man with laurel over the eyes.
J-GR-LOR-0001A © Herbert List / Magnum Photos
S-GR-LYK-0013 001 © Herbert List / Magnum Photos
P-FR-PIC-001 001 © Herbert List / Magnum Photos
