Ilsabe von Dallwitz was born in Germany in 1945. Over the years, she has been an art, dance, and language teacher, while also developing her passion as a photographer and a digital media artist. The primary subjects that Dallwitz focuses on in her art work ranges from landscapes, architecture, to macro photography. Her travels around Europe and Asian are often reflected in her landscapes and their cultural influences are evident in the designs. Her works typically begin as digital photographs and then are transformed on the computer, laminated with acrylic and mounted a shadow frame. Dallwitz aims to search for new ways to design and to perceive reality. Her work centers on personal memories of moods, lights and colors of a setting or subject that has personally inspired herself. Her main objective is to keep the atmosphere of the original intact through an abstract interpretation combining photography and digital media.
The colors and the sensations of her images strive to draw the viewer into the image and to entice them to mediate. Dallwitz wants to foster positive feelings and calming emotions while also building up her viewer’s appreciation for the aesthetic qualities and the expressive nature of visual representations of nature and human interactions. Digital media enables her to combine the natural and the artificial which she feels best inspire thought and mediation.
In Dallwitz’s image, Asia I, I can really get a sense that this was originally a photograph that has undergone digital manipulation. Within the image, the patterns represented could easily be some piece of architecture or design native to the area which inspired this piece. Dallwitz wanted to inspire thought that is freed from the constraints of mathematical rules in order to enable the viewer to think and dream freely. In terms of being freed from mathematical rules, this piece is mostly successful although it displays mathematic principles such as balance and asymmetric symmetry. The architecture which inspired this piece still has left traces of its actual appearance, but it has been distorted and changed into this beautiful flowing design. The fluidity of the swirls and the patterns has a mesmerizing, hypnotic effect which does produce a feeling of calm. This emotion is juxtaposed with the color choices and the sharp contrasts of dark and light colors. The sharp color transitions add interest to the image in addition to creating a sense of captivation such as what is achieved when viewing a kaleidoscope.
In Germany I, this image uses the contrasts of light and darkness to highlight the subject. What I find interesting in this image is that Dallwitz has distorted the photograph to create a bean-like or fetus shaped curve amidst a dark backdrop. She could be trying to symbolize rebirth using light and dark imagery and shape. From nothingness and darkness a new creation, such as the ones she creates on the computer screen, forms. I like this image, but I think that she lost some of the atmospheric qualities that she wants to preserve in her work. She could have possibly done a better job with creating the center of interest and making use of the entire canvas. Dallwitz wants the square perimeter to be the only barrier in her work, but I feel a sense of restriction in this image. However, I do like the fluidity of the curve and how it draws the viewer’s eye in a circle.
Overall, Dallwitz has used the world of digital media to positively affect her viewers. Her work is original and creative and her attempt of uniting the digital and natural worlds is imaginative and intriguing.
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