Karl Maria Udo Remmes (* July 2,1954 in Tübingen, Germany) is a German photographer and physician. He has become well known for his stylistically new photography, especially for his work in backstage photography specializing in opera, ballet and musicals.
CAREER
Dr. Remmes has been enthusiastically involved with photography since his early days as a 16 year old student, when he began his first studio and black and white lab. His other talents lay in the fields of Natural Science, receiving his Doctorate in Medicine 1984-86 in the area of Neuroradiology and then trained as a specialist in diagnostic radiology. He went on to study professional Photography and graduated from the famous New York Institute of Photography. In 1995 Remmes was appointed Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine in London, and settled in Duesseldorf, Germany and was active as a Radiologist until he discontinued practicing in late 2009 in order to devote his time more intensively to photography.
PHOTOGRAPHY CAREER
In the year 2000, the Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek (University and State Library) in Duesseldorf, Germany, became aware of Remmes´s photographic work and awarded him a solo exhibition. The exhibition "Operaria" presented 40 black and white photographs, a portrait of backstage operations of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein. This was followed by numerous photo series at various European opera and ballet theaters such as the Teatro Regio of Turin, the Graz Opera, the English National Opera London, the Savonlinna Opera Festival in Finland. In 2005, he photographed at Chang'an Grand Theater in Beijing. In 2002, the Theatre Museum Duesseldorf bought 135 pieces of his work, thus establishing „The Remmes Collection ", which in the meantime has grown to over 200 of his images. Also during the year 2002, the Royal Photographic Society awarded him the title „Accredited Senior Imaging Scientist and Fellow (ASIS FRPS). In 2003 Udo Remmes was elected Fellow to the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA). Yet another highlight in his photographic career was, within the framework of the World Exhibition EXPO 2010 in Shanghai, Remmes represented artistic photography from Duesseldorf with an exhibition on the interface between theater work and theatrical stage art in Liu Haisu Art Museum Shanghai. Other works include environmental studies from the craft workshops of Venice and a photographic research tracing Christopher Columbus' route across the Atlantic in which Remmes repeatedly tracked the routes from Portugal to the Caribbean on large sailing ships including the famous Sea Cloud. A series of other publications is in the making encompassing other facets of his photo work. These include China, Miami/Florida Keys and a diverse series of Polaroids.
PHOTOGRAPHIC STYLE
Remmes ' photographic style is based on pictorialism . Its Intrinsic Photography is contrary to the New Objectivity of the Duesseldorf Kunstakademie Becher School. "Udo Remmes brings us these works of art (theater, author's note), which nearly disappear again at the moment of its inception, without violating the secrecy of the moment. Udo Remmes’ photographs take us from the workshops to the dressing rooms and backstage, up to the ramp and in front of the curtain. They show us the technical performance, and show us the efforts of all parties when the theater work of art presents itself " on the ramp" to the viewer. His interest is not the documentation. Udo Remmes captures moments in which theater work turns into theater art. He lets us in on moments of concentration and contemplation, but also allows us to participate in moments of exhaustion and happiness, and shows the art of theater as a result of a designed creation process. As a viewer, he preserves distance, and his sensitive look behind the scenes does not destroy the magic of the theater, but also enhances the enjoyment of it. The restrained view of the photographer captures the contradictions of a tension-filled scene, as well as the view of the theater lover who understands the delicate balance between theater work and theatrical art. The images tell us the story of familiar evenings in the theater in a new light, tempting us to look closer and find a new approach in discovering the mystery known as theater. A quote from Dr. Winrich Meiszies, President of the Société Internationale des Bibliothèques et des Musées des Arts du Spectacle (SIBMAS) and Director of the Theatre Museum Duesseldorf "There is a train of enigma, unsolved puzzles in Remmes' photographs that open up a completely new approach to the mystery of the theater" - Press release of Hartmannbund for the 2004 Charity Exhibition at the Berliner Rathaus Schöneberg. Remmes himself calls his work "light-written poetry."
PERSONAL NOTES
Udo Remmes lives mainly in Cologne, Germany.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2000 Operaria, Universitäts- u. Landesbibliothek Düsseldorf 2001 Gorgoneion, Pfalzbau Ludwigshafen 2001 Gorgoneion II, Kongresshaus Baden-Baden 2001 Serenissima Serenata, Radiologie Hansaallee Düsseldorf 2001 Kosmas u. Damian - In memoriam 9-11, Johannes-Kirche Düsseldorf 2002 Behind the Velvet Curtain, 105. Deutscher Ärztetag Rostock 2002 Operaria II, Leica-Galerie Solms 2003 Operaria II, Leica-Gallery Tokyo/Japan 2003 Theatermuseum Düsseldorf: Augenblicke der Kunst / Sammlung "Remmes" 2003 Behind the Velvet Curtain, Pontos de Vista, Portugal 2004 Operaria III, Schöneberger Rathaus Berlin 2005 Operaria III, Landesärztekammer Hannover 2005 Augenblicke der Kunst, Goethe-Institut Peking/China 2005 http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Operaria_-_Behind_the_Velvet_Curtain.jpg"Moments of Art"/"Operaria", He Xiangning Art Museum, Shenzhen/China 2006 Portraits der Schauspielerin Gudrun Landgrebe, Galerie Petra Lange Berlin 2010 Moments of Art III, Liu Haisu Art Museum Shanghai im Rahmen der EXPO für die Stadt Düsseldorf 2013 Gudrun Landgrebe - Rückblick, Theatermuseum Düsseldorf
GROUP SHOWS
2009 BlickWechsel oder Die Kunst des Zuschauens, Theatermuseum Düsseldorf, Royal Photographic Soc. 2009 Ink Play - Play Ink, Theatermuseum Düsseldorf, Liu Haisu Museum Shanghai 2009 Die Kunst des Zuschauens, Park-Theater Iserlohn, Royal Photographic Society 2010 Zuschauerkunst, Theatermuseum Düsseldorf, diverse Künstler
LITERATURE
Meiszies W (Hrsg), Augenblicke der Kunst - Udo Remmes fotografiert Theaterarbeit, Theatermuseum Düsseldorf 2003, ISBN 3-929945-19-3 Sadler R, The Art of Seeing. RPS Contemporary Photography No. 27 Matzigkeit R, On Stage / Backstage. SchwarzWeiss Nr. 37 Traditional Excellence by Digital Design, RPS Journal Vol. 146, ISSN 1468-8670 Remmes, Udo - Nô-Images, Theatermuseum Düsseldorf/ Kreismuseum Zons, 2004 Remmes, Udo - Tracing C.C., 1998-2006 Remmes, Udo - Visual Art is... What? A Venture to clarify a Position, RPS Visual Art Magazine Winter 2010/11 Remmes, Udo; Köhler, Andreas; Sikau, Holger - Venice, 2011 Remmes, Udo; Jancke, Stephanie - China, 2013
SOURCES
Biography in Marquis´Who´s Who in the World Biography in Marquis´Who´s Who in the Medicine and Healthcare Meiszies, Augenblicke der Kunst - Udo Remmes fotografiert Theaterarbeit. Theatermuseum 2003 / Droste 2005, ISBN 3-929945-19-3
WEBLINKS