Gerhard Clausing


Selfscapes
Shakespeare’s admonition “This above all: To thine own self be true” means all the more to me as I get older. I have been observing and photographing my changing body for the past several years. The “Bodyscapes” shown here are part of several series of “Selfscapes” and constitute a very direct and visceral approach to externalizing my inner states by capturing my external self. I also want to distinguish these self-studies from “selfies” by using monochrome abstraction, and at times, pictorialist touches. I am inviting the viewer to reflect on his or her own internal and external processes and changes, and on the connections between them. My ongoing self-depictions present interpretations of an ever-adapting being in an ever-changing world.

Artist Bio:
Fine art photographer Gerhard “Gerry” Clausing was already fascinated by photography as a youngster, initially using a simple “Bilora Boy” camera, and gradually acquiring a keener vision and better equipment as time went by. ​​

​Gerry earned a Ph.D. in literature and linguistics at UC Berkeley, and launched his academic career at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. Continuing on his journey toward tenured full professor with administrative appointments at the University of Southern California, his interest in photography grew alongside his numerous academic achievements. Newspapers including the Swiss Tages-Anzeiger and book publishers, from Houghton Mifflin to Heinle/Thompson, showcased a variety of his images in Sunday supplements and university textbooks, including three of his own innovative educational programs (Deutsch natürlich!, Interaktion, Übergänge).

The vibrant Southern California community inspired Gerry to further his visual studies at Otis Art Institute, Brooks Institute, and the Los Angeles Center of Photography.  He used his images in his administrative activities as well as in his teaching, especially in his drama performance courses, providing motivation and feedback for his students. Gerry has received encouragement and mentoring from several outstanding photographers, especially from Gerd Ludwig, David Alan Harvey, Douglas Kirkland, Mary Ellen Mark, Peter Bialobrzeski, Julia Dean, Ken Merfeld, and Aline Smithson.​

Recently leaving academia, Gerry is focusing full time on his photography. His images have appeared online at The Los Angeles Times (latimes.com), The LA Weekly (laweekly.com), Review Plays (reviewplays.com), Curve Wire (curvewire.com), Diffraction Phenomenon, and Lenscratch (lenscratch.com). He has won awards in competitions and his work has been exhibited on the B&W Magazine website, Black and White Spider Awards, in the PhotoPlace Gallery (Vermont), Los Angeles Center of Photography, Perfect Exposure Gallery (Los Angeles), Art Basel Miami, Le Journal de la Photographie (Paris), Lenscratch, and the Griffin Museum of Photography, among others.

To contact Gerhard Clausing directly:
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