MOCA Focus

Florian Maier-Aichen's photographs portray the natural, industrial and cultural landscape with stylized eccentricity. By using the tropes of documentary photography in unconventional ways, Maier-Aichen creates sublime images rich with reference and allusion. His photographs of the California coast, the Alps and other tourist destinations are openly beautiful and seductive in their rich hues and expansive viewpoints. However, these and other images of melting cathedrals, failed industry and tragic ghost ships are nuanced with a subtle disquiet and ensuing criticality. Born in Stuttgart, Germany, and educated at the University of California, Los Angeles, Maier-Aichen begins with a traditional large-format image that he captures on film. He then applies a myriad of creative adjustments to each component that become building blocks for intricate and layered compositions. This succinct paperback contains color reproductions of new and recent works, documentary images of Maier-Aichen's process, and an essay by MOCA curator Rebecca Morse.