Markus Hartel ha sido un artista gráfico toda su pida, desde ser un aprendiz de tipografía en su natal alemania hasta ir a las calles neoyorkinas para realizar fotografía urbana.

 

Su mayor cualidad fotográfica es el contraste, luces y sombras y la juxtaposici{on entre lo suave y lo dura. La ironía impregna su imagen.

 

Markus es uno de los fotógrafos urbanos más importantes del momento y dictó una Conferencia Magistral el 3 de noviembre a las 9:30am en el Auditorio de la Universidad Panamericana (entrada libre) con motivo de la fotoWIK2014.

 

English

 

 

Markus Hartel has been a graphic artist all his life, starting as a typesetting apprentice in Germany, growing into a prepress shop owner and later transferring his visual storytelling into photographs captured on the streets of NYC. Perhaps, the most distinctive quality in Hartel’s photographs is the contrast. There is much more to explore in his images than the play between light and shadow, or the juxtaposition between hard and soft. If you look hard enough, you will almost always find a sense of irony in his subject matter, as what compels him to ‘click’ is discovering the extraordinary among the ordinary.

 

Much like his work, Markus is a man of contrast. Tattooed knuckles, a mohawk and body piercings adorn a man who obviously bucks “the establishment”. His abandonment of a conventional corporate life and his reluctance to take on commercial work, stem from a personal refusal to compromise. Inspired by authenticity and story, Markus’ dedication doesn’t fit into a standard 9 to 5 cubicle and can’t be contrived by an art director for a campaign. Hartel says “I press the shutter button for myself, and not for the money. It’s not that I don’t occasionally shoot on spec… but any projects I take on must appeal to my aesthetic”.

 

However edgy you might presume him to be, at his core he is generous and unassuming – whether it’s with followers of his blog or young photographers looking for tips of the trade, Markus makes himself endlessly available to photography aficionados and students around the globe.

 

There is an apparent reverence and compassion that Hartel has for his subjects, and it clearly shines through in his work. And while he may hold disdain for corporate incompetence, he seems to celebrate the flaws of humanity that make everyday people beautiful.