Draft:Ralf Tooten

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Declined by Chaotic Enby 21 days ago. Last edited by Chaotic Enby 21 days ago. Reviewer: Inform author.

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Ralf Tooten (born June 23, 1958) is a German photographer based in Bangkok. Renowned film director Volker Schlöndorff once remarked about his movie "The Tin Drum": "Ralf has not only captured typical scenes, he has taken some of the most exquisite scene photographs for my movie."

Early Life [Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]

Ralf Tooten was born in Homberg, Lower Rhine, to Anneliese (née Flettner) and Karl Tooten. He attended the Adolf Kolping Berufskollegin Kerpem-Horrem near Cologne from 1973 to 1975. Expressing an early interest in photography, Tooten embarked on formal training under the tutelage of Master photographer Clemens Hartzenbusch and his wife Hildegard Lotz who specialized in portraiture, in Junkersdorf from 1975 to 1978.

First Achievements:

Tooten's career took off when he was invited to the set of the film "The Tin Drum" in 1979, based on the award-winning novel by Günter Grass. Director Volker Schlöndorff enlisted him as a scene photographer, and his images were soon featured in publications such as the city magazine Tip and the book adaptation of "Die Blechtrommel." The film went on to win the Palme d’Or at the 1979 Cannes Film Festival and the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1980.

Tooten continued his collaboration with notable filmmakers, including Sisters or the Balance of Happiness and Marianne and Juliane both by Margarethe von Trotta which received the Golden Lion at the 1981 Venice Film Festival.

Work [Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]

In 2002, Tooten gained international acclaim with the publication of his first coffee table book, "Eyes of Wisdom," a collection of intimate portraits featuring religious leaders. This work earned him the prestigious Hasselblad Master Award 2003 in Gothenborg in Sweden.

Choosing Bangkok as his permanent home and workplace in 2003, Tooten immersed himself in Asian culture. His book "The Eyes of Wisdom" was later turned into an exhibition at the National Gallery in Bangkok in collaboration with the Goethe Institut.

Together with the German author, journalist and talk show host Roger Willemsen Tooten worked on the book "Bangkok Noir". Enthralled by the exotic aesthetics of the Asian megalopolis, he spent two years documenting the city’s after-dark activities. The book was published in 2009 and became a bestseller. Under the curation of former Gallery Ver director Josef Ng, it was adapted into a multimedia exhibition at the National Gallery in 2011.

Tooten's artistic endeavors expanded to include social awareness campaigns, such as his 2011 project The Naked Truth, highlighting emotional struggles faced by individuals with psoriasis, initiated by Pfizer Inc. and photographed on the Canary Islands, in Spain and Costa Rica. It was exhibited throughout Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and Latin America.

In 2013, Tooten’s installation “R.C.A.“ (Ratchburi Construction Workers Open Air), a series of gigantic portraits of Thai construction workers was displayed in numerous public spaces around Ratchaburi, transforming the small town in central Thailand into an open-air gallery. It was curated by Thai contemporary artist Wasinburee Supanichvoraparch.

His series "Ocean Noir", showcasing ultra-low light oceanic landscapes, debuted in Bangkok in 2016.

Ralf Tooten was chosen as one of the featured artists for the inaugural Bangkok Art Biennale 2018/2019. Under the direction of Artistic Director Prof. Dr. Apinan Poshyananda and his curator team, Tooten exhibited and screened his Worker Portrait photographs across various venues throughout Bangkok for a duration of four months.

In 2019 and 2020, Tooten's artworks were featured in a group exhibition at the Palazzo Merati in Venice, Italy, as well as at the BAB Box, the gallery of the Bangkok Art Biennale. Additionally, in 2021, Tooten participated in "Healing Waters," a curated exhibition by Luckana Kunavichayanont, alongside artists Tul Hirunyalawaan (President of the Royal Photographic Society of Thailand) and Chaiyapruek Chalermpornpanit, held at the Amanpuri Gallery in Phuket, Thailand.

Since 2007, Ralf Tooten and his team dedicated their professional endeavors to architecture and hospitality photography, focusing on esteemed hotel and resort brands throughout Asia and the Oceania region.