Mark Preier Artography
Artist's Statement
'Beauty of the Ordinary' – What Inspires My Imagery
Information, information, information... The massive flood of data that vies for our attention day in, day out has caused the plagued 21st-century brain to filter out everyday, fleeting impressions as a strategy of self defense. In this respect, my photographs are meant to serve as anti-filters that highlight the small, mostly overlooked details of our everyday life, focusing on their specific colors, lines, textures and various stages of decomposition.
My images sometimes also play with the divide between tradition and modernity or the tension between urban space and nature. However, the driving force behind my work is always the desire to find unique points of view and to portray the mundane facades and objects surrounding us in their unadulterated, gritty and transient beauty.
Method
It says ‘Visual Archeologist’ on my calling card. What do I mean by that?
This label is meant to convey both my photographic aim and method.
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Just as an archeologist goes through layers of sediment at a digging site, I sift through layers of urbanity to unearth the essence of the everyday.
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In order to do so, I walk down the same side streets and alleyways again and again, dozens of times. With each pass, there is the chance that my eyes will penetrate yet another layer of visual grit and dirt, incrementally homing in on the core of the place, which will then become the photographic subject.
I also see my photography as a means to preserve fading objects and scenes – things that won’t be there anymore in a few years – sometimes even days or hours.
So I suppose archeologist-archivist-explorer would best describe my role and viewpoint as I wander the streets of Berlin, Kyoto and other places, ever in search of hidden beauty.
About Myself
The Guy Behind the Lens
When I'm not taking pictures with my trusty EOS 7D Mark II, I work as a technical translator to earn the money that allows me to pursue my artistic passion.
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When I need a break from work/photography, I go jogging or juggling, although the latter has become a rare event in recent years. It helped me make a lot of friends abroad, though, so I highly recommend taking up this pastime. I heard it's also good for your brain - not to mention hand-eye coordination.
When I was younger, I used to spend a lot of time with pen & paper RPGs. I never found the "perfect" rule set, though, so eventually I decided to create my own RPG system. This has been an ongoing project for over ten years now. I'm hoping to publish soon.
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Ever since 2010, I have been commuting between Berlin and Kyoto, spending about 5 months in Japan each year. This is my lame excuse for not having a pet cat.
Favorites
CONSTRUCTION 05
Kyoto city, construction site. Fall 2018.
URBAN REINVENTION 04
Toyko, pedestrian overpass and skyscraper. Spring 2016.