Karambolage - The Photography and Art of Arnold Odermatt September 2, 2011 7:09 AMSubscribe
Arnold Odermatt is a Swiss policeman who worked in Niwalden between 1948 and 1990 and who took curiously fascinating photographs of police work and carcrashes. His prints are now sold in art galleries. He could take quite a time to set up some of his shots, to the sometime annoyance of his colleagues, apparently. Some online galleries of his work: 12345
your links are reversed :) the wiki link is at body of work and the body of work is at the name (unless this was intentional for some reason?) posted by infini at 7:22 AM on September 2, 2011
Arriving at the scene of an accident, Odermatt would take one set of photographs for the insurance or police reports, and then take another for himself. His reasons for doing so are mysterious...
Is there an explanation of what happened to these auto taillights?
Given the lack of damage to the paint around them, it had to be internal heat. But, geez, you'd think the fuse would have blown long before that point. posted by tommasz at 8:07 AM on September 2, 2011
Kirth, perhaps too close to another car which became a carbeque? posted by maxwelton at 8:07 AM on September 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
tommasz, I think you could heat auto paint and rubber to over 300 degrees or more without damage, but the plastic is going to melt in there somewhere.
These photos are wonderful. posted by maxwelton at 8:08 AM on September 2, 2011
I concerned about the frequency of which Swiss drivers seem to end up in bodies of water.
These photos are indeed wonderful. posted by PhillC at 8:12 AM on September 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
PhillC: I've lived here 3 years, and not seen any cars in the lakes. But the scenery is extremely distracting, and the water isn't salty, so your car won't corrode. LOL! That's Vierwaldstättersee there (Lake Lucerne), and the combination of mountains and water is breath taking. posted by Goofyy at 8:31 AM on September 2, 2011
Bravo! Evocative work. posted by growabrain at 8:44 AM on September 2, 2011
Since the photos are work product, should not his employer (the Swedish government) get the profits?
Also, where to do we draw the line at using photographs of tragic events as art for profit? I'd feel a little cheated if I got in an accident and someone else profits by taking and selling photos of it. I think it leads to a slippery slope that will soon cater to gorehounds.
How would you feel if someone snapped a pic of a dead kid in a mangled car, made it black and white and became wealthy from it? posted by Renoroc at 8:44 AM on September 2, 2011
But he isn't making money off of photos of dead kids. They are photographs of inanimate objects (in terms of car crashes) on public roads. posted by gofargogo at 9:27 AM on September 2, 2011
Isn't this just a still shot from From Russia With Love?
I'm very interested that someone brought this up. Older James Bond movies are exactly what these photos remind me of (I was born in the 80s). I'm guessing it's the style of clothing, and even more so how the film in previous decades "caught" the colours (I'm making up terms here). posted by beau jackson at 11:49 AM on September 2, 2011
These put me immediately in mind of the early novels of Friedrich Dürrenmatt - Der Richter und sein Henker, Der Verdacht, Die Panne, Das Versprechen. Great stuff, if you can find them. (NB: Sean Penn filmed Das Versprechen as The Pledge.) posted by Prince Lazy I at 2:44 PM on September 2, 2011
How would you feel if someone snapped a pic of a dead kid in a mangled car, made it black and white and became wealthy from it?
You've just described the entirely of the newspaper and TV news programming. One police photographer-cum-artist is a long way down any shit list on that score. posted by rodgerd at 2:55 AM on September 3, 2011
« Older Spiderman... | "Reinsurance" is what you do w... Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
Ha.
posted by stinkycheese at 7:18 AM on September 2, 2011 [1 favorite]