Thomas Giörtz

Thomas Giörtz is a photographer living in Bremen – Germany.

“I’m a dilettante”.

1. a person who takes up an art, activity, or subject merely for amusement, especially in a desultory or superficial way; dabbler.

2. a lover of an art or science, especially of a fine art.

1733, borrowing of Italian dilettante “lover of music or painting,” from dilettare “to delight,” from Latin delectare. Originally without negative connotation, “devoted amateur,” the pejorative sense emerged late 18c. by contrast with professional.

Cameras that he uses are Fuji X100, Sigma DP1S, Leica M3, Lomo LC-A+, Olympus Mju-1

Giangiacomo Cirla: how did you approach to photography?

Thomas Giörtz: difficult questions especially because I have no specific intellectual approach to what I am doing

G: why you call yourself Dilettante?

T: I call myself a dilletante because naturally I am a self taught photographer and not a professional. In the original Latin and Italian meaning being a dilletante has no negative connotation. A dilletante as for the old meaning is a devoted amateur and that’s what I can relate to very much when it comes to my photography and that of others. I hold a BA in literature but I have no use for that either to pay my rent so basically it might be that I would not want to do the things I enjoy and save me from drowning in misery in order to make money with them – or maybe I am just the fox pretending that the grapes are sour, who knows, who cares?

G:which do you think is the purpose of your work?

T: If my photography has any purpose at all then it would be the attempt to create an image that reveals my personal nondescribable – or subconscious – concept of beauty which reveals itself here and there when wandering around with a camera. It’s a personal thing and naturally each of us has his or her own preferences and taste

G:in your works rarely appear human figures, and when they’re present are never protagonists, why this approach?

T: I prefer shooting traces or empty places of human life rather than human beings themselves. I don’t feel comfortable making photos of strangers. It feels to me like an intrusion and if you are not really a master then photos of people are mostly dull and boring. I don’t even like to have people wander around in my pictures accidentally, just like aesthetically unattractive cars these days by the way which I also detest

G: what ispires you to photograph?

T: I take photos because it makes me feel alive and in particular attentive to my surroundings. The state of flow I get into is absolutely worth doing it and I am grateful that I found this ‘amateurish’ devotion.

website: Thomas Giörtz

Instagram: unterwasserpfeife

flickr: Thomas Giörtz

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