MY NAME IS CHRISTIAN PAUL KUSCH. I'M A STREET PHOTOGRAPHER BASED IN GÖRLITZ (GERMANY), FOCUSED ON BLACK AND WHITE IMAGERY THAT DELVES INTO THEMES OF URBAN EXPLORATION, SOLITUDE, ANONYMITY AND THE PASSAGE OF TIME. 

 

WITH MY CAMERA, I AIM TO CAPTURE THE SUBTLE TENSIONS OF EVERYDAY LIFE, OFTEN FINDING INSPIRATION IN BUSTLING AND TRANSIENT SPACES LIKE TRAIN STATIONS, PUBLIC SQUARES, AND CITY STREETS. THESE LOCATIONS, FILLED WITH CONSTANT MOVEMENT AND A DIVERSE RANGE OF ENCOUNTERS, OFFER A UNIQUE BACKDROP WHERE INDIVIDUAL ISOLATION AND URBAN ACTIVITY COEXIST IN A CONSTANT DANCE. BEYOND THESE SETTINGS, I AM EQUALLY DRAWN TO THE STILLNESS OF EMPTY STREETS IN THE EARLY MORNING HOURS, WHEN A DEEP SILENCE SETTLES OVER THE CITY LIKE A BLANKET, AND TO THE CALM WATERS OF RIVERS AND THE SEA. THESE QUIETER LANDSCAPES PROVIDE A STRIKING CONTRAST TO THE VIBRANT ENERGY OF CROWDED SPACES, ALLOWING ME TO EXPLORE A DIFFERENT KIND OF SOLITUDE AND MOMENTS OF CONTEMPLATION.

 

MY PHOTOGRAPHIC APPROACH OFTEN INVOLVES CAPTURING IMAGES FROM A DISTANCE OR PHOTOGRAPHING SUBJECTS FROM BEHIND. THIS INTENTIONAL CHOICE ENHANCES THE ANONYMITY OF INDIVIDUALS, INVITING VIEWERS TO INTERPRET THE SCENES IN THEIR OWN WAY AND PERHAPS SEE REFLECTIONS OF THEMSELVES WITHIN THE FRAME. I DRAW INFLUENCE FROM CLASSIC EUROPEAN STREET PHOTOGRAPHY, WHICH MASTERFULLY CAPTURES THE ESSENCE OF LIFE IN A WAY THAT RESONATES WITH MY OWN VISION. FOR ME, BLACK AND WHITE PHOTOGRAPHY IS AN ESSENTIAL ELEMENT OF MY ARTISTIC PRACTICE; IT SHARPENS THE PLAY OF LIGHT AND SHADOW, HEIGHTENING THE EMOTIONAL ATMOSPHERE OF EACH IMAGE I CREATE.

 

A SIGNIFICANT PRESENCE IN MY WORK IS NATASCHA, WHOSE PORTRAYAL ADDS A DISTINCTLY PERSONAL AND NARRATIVE DIMENSION TO MY PHOTOGRAPHY. THROUGH HER, I AM ABLE TO DIVE MORE DEEPLY INTO THEMES OF SOLITUDE AND INTROSPECTION, MERGING THE VASTNESS OF URBAN LANDSCAPES WITH A MORE INTIMATE EXAMINATION OF HUMAN EXPERIENCE. HER PRESENCE SERVES AS A BRIDGE BETWEEN THE FAMILIAR CITY- AND LANDSCAPES AND A RICHER, MORE REFLECTIVE EXPLORATION OF IDENTITY AND EXISTENCE IN OUR MODERN WORLD.

 

I CHOSE GÖRLITZ AS MY CREATIVE FOUNDATION FOR MANY REASONS, BUT ABOVE ALL, IT'S A CITY THAT CONTINUALLY INSPIRES ME ARTISTICALLY. GÖRLITZ (OFTEN REFERRED TO AS GÖRLIWOOD) HAS HOSTED OVER 100 FILM PRODUCTIONS, INCLUDING INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNIZED, OSCAR®-WINNING FILMS LIKE THE READER, INGLORIOUS BASTERDS, AND THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL. THE UNIQUE ARCHITECTURE AND AMBIENCE HERE CREATE A VIBRANT CANVAS OF RICH HISTORICAL AND VISUAL TEXTURES THAT LEND THEMSELVES WELL TO MY WORK. THIS SPIRIT OF CINEMATIC ARTISTRY RESONATES WITH ME DEEPLY AND INFUSES MY PHOTOGRAPHY WITH A HEIGHTENED SENSE OF PLACE AND CHARACTER, MAKING IT AN IDEAL ENVIRONMENT FOR MY CREATIVE PRACTICE. IN FACT, GÖRLITZ WAS VOTED EUROPE'S BEST FILM LOCATION OF THE DECADE BY THE EUROPEAN FILM COMMISSIONS NETWORK (EUFCN), A TESTAMENT TO ITS CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE.

 

MY INSPIRATION COMES FROM A DIVERSE RANGE OF SOURCES THAT ENRICH MY ARTISTIC VISION AND STIMULATE MY CREATIVE PROCESS. IN LITERATURE, PRIMARILY NOVELS, I FIND DEEP RESONANCE WITH THE WORKS OF ALBERT CAMUS, PAUL AUSTER, TOMAS ESPEDAL, PATRICK MODIANO, PAUL NIZON, AND SÁNDOR MÁRAI, WHOSE EXPLORATIONS OF EXISTENCE AND THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE REFLECT THE THEMES I PURSUE IN MY PHOTOGRAPHY.

 

IN CINEMA, DIRECTORS LIKE WIM WENDERS AND PAWEL PAWLIKOWSKI INFLUENCE MY VISUAL LANGUAGE WITH THEIR UNIQUE STORYTELLING AND ATMOSPHERIC CINEMATOGRAPHY, WHICH OFTEN INSPIRE ME TO LOOK AT THE WORLD THROUGH A DIFFERENT LENS.

 

MUSIC SERVES AS ANOTHER VITAL ELEMENT IN MY CREATIVE PROCESS, INFUSING MY JOURNEY AND WORK WITH DEPTH AND INSPIRATION. I AM PARTICULARLY DRAWN TO ALTERNATIVE ARTISTS SUCH AS RADIOHEAD, THOM YORKE, JAMES BLAKE, PLACEBO, RY X, SYML, DILLON, AND GHOSTLY KISSES. THEIR EVOCATIVE MELODIES AND THOUGHT-PROVOKING LYRICS RESONATE WITH MY ARTISTIC SENSIBILITIES AND AESTHETIC, CREATING AN ATMOSPHERE THAT ENCOURAGES INTROSPECTION AND CREATIVITY.

 

ALONGSIDE THESE CONTEMPORARY SOUNDS, I ALSO FIND GREAT SOLACE IN THE COMPOSITIONS OF NEO-CLASSICAL MUSICIANS LIKE MAX RICHTER AND NILS FRAHM. THEIR ENCHANTING AND EMOTIVE PIECES WEAVE A RICH TAPESTRY OF SOUND THAT ENHANCES MY ARTISTIC DRIVE, HELPING ME TO EXPLORE COMPLEX EMOTIONS AND THEMES IN MY PHOTOGRAPHY.

 

TOGETHER, THESE DIVERSE MUSICAL INFLUENCES FORM A DYNAMIC SOUNDTRACK FOR MY IMAGINATION, GUIDING MY CREATIVE JOURNEY AND ENRICHING THE NARRATIVES I SEEK TO CAPTURE THROUGH MY LENS.

 

IN PHOTOGRAPHY, I DRAW MY INSPIRATION FROM THE MASTERFUL WORKS OF BERNARD PLOSSU, RENÉ BURRI, HENRI CARTIER-BRESSON, LUCIEN HERVÉ, AND MARC STRIZIC. EACH OF THESE PHOTOGRAPHERS POSSESSES A DISTINCTIVE STYLE AND AN UNPARALLELED ABILITY TO CAPTURE THE ESSENCE OF MOMENTS, WHETHER IT'S THE INTRICACIES OF HUMAN INTERACTION OR THE SILENT BEAUTY OF A SINGLE LANDSCAPE. THEIR WORK DEMONSTRATES HOW LIGHT, COMPOSITION, AND TIMING CAN BE ESSENTIAL IN TELLING A STORY, AND THIS CONTINUES TO INFLUENCE MY OWN APPROACH AND PERSPECTIVE AS I STRIVE TO EMBODY THESE ELEMENTS IN MY PHOTOGRAPHY.

 

FINALLY, THE ART OF CASPAR DAVID FRIEDRICH AND LÁSZLÓ MOHOLY-NAGY PROVIDES A RICH VISUAL LANGUAGE THAT RESONATES DEEPLY WITH MY SENSIBILITY, INFLUENCING MY UNDERSTANDING OF LIGHT, SPACE, AND EMOTION IN THE WORLD AROUND ME. FRIEDRICH'S CAPTIVATING LANDSCAPES, WITH THEIR SENSE OF TRANSCENDENCE AND SOLITUDE, ENCOURAGE ME TO EXPLORE THE SUBTLE INTERPLAY OF NATURE AND HUMAN EXPERIENCE, WHILE MOHOLY-NAGY'S INNOVATIVE APPROACH TO FORM AND FUNCTION CHALLENGES ME TO CONSIDER NEW PERSPECTIVES IN MY OWN WORK. TOGETHER, THEIR INFLUENCES GUIDE MY PHOTOGRAPHIC JOURNEY, HELPING ME TO CAPTURE THE ESSENCE OF THE MOMENTS THAT INVITE REFLECTION AND CONNECTION.