cover #12 thomas ruff

Thomas Ruff, Porträt (p. stadtbaumer), 1988, Chromogenic print with Diasec Thomas Ruff, Porträt (r. müller), 1988, Inkjet print with Diasec Thomas Ruff, Porträt (a. kachold), 1987, Chromogenic print with Diasec

interview

by ALEPH MOLINARI

German artist Thomas Ruff, a key figure of the Düsseldorf School, helped redefine photography as a form of contemporary art. He challenges the notion of photographic truth, revealing the constructed nature of images through large-scale formats in a culture saturated by retinal flashes.

ALEPH MOLINARI — You studied at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf. How would you describe your experience there?

THOMAS RUFF — I came to Düsseldorf in 1977 and studied there until 1985. At that time, Düsseldorf was a city of artists because of the Kunstakademie — important artists like Gerhard Richter, Bernd and Hilla Becher, Klaus Rinke, and Günther Uecker were teaching there…