Marin Klimas - "Flower Vases"

The German photographer, Martin Klimas, likes to experiment with simultaneous presence of two distinct states, capturing chaos within a motionless, still life. He does a great job in illustrating this in his work, Flower Vases.  The project Flower Vases is about capturing the split second of the vase shattering into pieces, as the flowers in the vase are shown untouched. Klimas’ main object of this project was the flower arrangements in the vases. The flower arrangements are placed in the center of the photo against more neutral colors, which we have learned is to keep from taking the attention of the viewer away from the photo and object itself. The photo was then taken at the exact moment the vase was hit. Klimas would aim a spring-powered firing device at the vase. Once the steel ball would hit the vase, the vase would burst into thousands of pieces. Klimas would capture the moment with one photo. The camera would be set off by the noise of the projectile hitting the vase at the point of destruction. Within this seven-thousandth of a second Klimas was able to capture the chaos of the water and vase spewing everywhere in the bottom of the photo, while above it was poised and unharmed. Klimas was interested in the transformation of the objet in that fraction of a second, because in the next second the flowers would be thrown down without the support of the vase keeping them upright. Without a camera with a high-speed exposure, we would not be able to see this motion or capture it because it happens so quickly. It is also unique that he experimented with different types of vases. How a glass vase shattered into many smaller pieces, while ceramic and stone vases burst into larger pieces.

            Klimas tells us that one of his most important inspirations was Eadweard Muybridge. He uses Muybridge’s idea of test set-ups. Klimas set up his scenes of the flower arrangements and justified the moment of destruction, just as Muybridge proved that horses lift all four hooves off the ground when they gallop, a question that had been debated by artists back in that time. Martin Klimas’ work also resembles the work of the Japanese photographer Naoya Hatakeyama. He would go to quarry explosions and document the stone flying everywhere with his remote- controlled camera. The photo would show the stone at a standstill just as Klimas captures the vases at standstills in his photographs. Klimas likes the idea of objects transforming into something new.

            When reading about Marin Klimas’ interpretation of his art it was similar to what I thought about the work. His whole project is about experimenting with shattering vases. Klimas only has one chance to get a great photo, once the vases shatter there is no getting them back. Because he can only get one chance to produce a great photo from one vase, Klimas calls his work “Temporary Sculptures,” he can never get the way the vase shatters back again. Martin Klimas likes the idea of experimenting with shattering objects. Not only does he shatter vases, but he shatters figurines, as well. He enjoys seeing the change of peace and calmness turn into chaos and shards flying everywhere as the view looks from top to bottom at the photograph.

            In my opinion, I believe Martin Klimas’ work is successful. He wanted to portray how different materials break and show how you can capture two different emotions in one photograph, if taken at the right moment in time, and he did just that. He was able to capture the different qualities of the vases and flowers. He was able to experiment and find out the exact second to photograph, to capture the vase shattering into pieces, while the pieces are still in the air. He was able to capture everything that he had set out to do, and in my opinion, that is being successful.