Li Weingerl's photos urge us to embrace peace and one's innermost
self, since, according to the artist, when one closely examines the
structure ofa plant - the exhibition's most recurrent motif- one can
reach the stars and discover infìnitude. This happens when one
concerns oneself with inward reflections (the atoms)..., the
macrocosms ofhis shots, the monumentalised details, which attain,
especially by reason of their being exposed and excluded from the
entire form, a communicative and artistic value completely different to
the one the)I would have had ifthe photographer had chosen to show
us the whole composition. Strictly speaking, the latter is clear and
there is no need for it to be visually presented in its integrality, since
the idea, and perhaps also the philosophical conception, ofshifting
one's attention to details is both suggestive and effective enough to be
worth considering also in relation with one's life. Thereby, it would not
only become spiritually aestheticized but also inspirationally
enhanced and consequently - a result much wished-for - made
profounder and less hurried.
Soothing as a balm, the artistic and content-related motifs in Li
Weingerl's exhibited photos revolve around those hardly noticeable
and inconspicuous miniature segments, whose astounding
communicative potency and artistic complexity - their intrinsic
features highlighted through blowups - greatly prevail over their
ostensible imperceptibility. The artist locates them with frames, as
well as by way ofsublime colour and light compositions. By utilizing
overlapping 'watercolour' fìnesses, the sharp and the blunt, the
sfumato, the blurred contours immersed into translucent mists and
contrasted with the sharpness of the clear and quiveringly-fragile
lines. More than chiaroscuro and its dramatic contrasts between light
and shade, it is the specific atmospheric effects that predominate in
Weinger|'s photos... as an inspiration, a suggestion, as well as a reply
to any questions the beholders might have. It seems that these very
universes, slight in terms ofmotifyet crucial and immeasurably great,
reflect that 'lost world' pined for by many a person tired ofthe enforced
and degenerated turbo-capitalist values. This world, whose more
associative versions are perceived and offered for consideration to the
spectator by the artist through appellations and titles (Quark,
Etincelle, Genese...), encompasses a broad spectrum of notions and
meanings and speaks volumes also about the artist himselfwho, of
both Slovenian and Swiss nationality, passes across diverse cultural
and linguistic spaces and spheres. And this is the reason for all those
neologisms, this is where they stem from - those new words and
expressions conveying different meanings through the artist's poems
as well as conversation. For instance, though the dictionary of
Slovenian language does not yet contain the word “to extract", Li
Weingerl believes that his photos extract the essence of life that is
latently present in the structure of all flora and fauna. He is also
convinced that the picture-image radiates the same emotion
throughout its entire existence, and that constancy is a veryI rare
quality that vanishes when being confronted with time. Itis only when
the picture-photograph comes to life that the seriousness of reality
vanishes! Contrarily, the image always remains honest and finds it
natural that its viewers do not exist only for its own sake. It does not
feel lost when being neglected or criticized. Fortunately, the artist who
has devised it can take upon himself all the trenchant criticism and
comments directed at the picture, says the photographer whose
definition announces beforehand that he is prepared to shoulder any
criticism addressed to him or his shots.
Nusa Podgornik
self, since, according to the artist, when one closely examines the
structure ofa plant - the exhibition's most recurrent motif- one can
reach the stars and discover infìnitude. This happens when one
concerns oneself with inward reflections (the atoms)..., the
macrocosms ofhis shots, the monumentalised details, which attain,
especially by reason of their being exposed and excluded from the
entire form, a communicative and artistic value completely different to
the one the)I would have had ifthe photographer had chosen to show
us the whole composition. Strictly speaking, the latter is clear and
there is no need for it to be visually presented in its integrality, since
the idea, and perhaps also the philosophical conception, ofshifting
one's attention to details is both suggestive and effective enough to be
worth considering also in relation with one's life. Thereby, it would not
only become spiritually aestheticized but also inspirationally
enhanced and consequently - a result much wished-for - made
profounder and less hurried.
Soothing as a balm, the artistic and content-related motifs in Li
Weingerl's exhibited photos revolve around those hardly noticeable
and inconspicuous miniature segments, whose astounding
communicative potency and artistic complexity - their intrinsic
features highlighted through blowups - greatly prevail over their
ostensible imperceptibility. The artist locates them with frames, as
well as by way ofsublime colour and light compositions. By utilizing
overlapping 'watercolour' fìnesses, the sharp and the blunt, the
sfumato, the blurred contours immersed into translucent mists and
contrasted with the sharpness of the clear and quiveringly-fragile
lines. More than chiaroscuro and its dramatic contrasts between light
and shade, it is the specific atmospheric effects that predominate in
Weinger|'s photos... as an inspiration, a suggestion, as well as a reply
to any questions the beholders might have. It seems that these very
universes, slight in terms ofmotifyet crucial and immeasurably great,
reflect that 'lost world' pined for by many a person tired ofthe enforced
and degenerated turbo-capitalist values. This world, whose more
associative versions are perceived and offered for consideration to the
spectator by the artist through appellations and titles (Quark,
Etincelle, Genese...), encompasses a broad spectrum of notions and
meanings and speaks volumes also about the artist himselfwho, of
both Slovenian and Swiss nationality, passes across diverse cultural
and linguistic spaces and spheres. And this is the reason for all those
neologisms, this is where they stem from - those new words and
expressions conveying different meanings through the artist's poems
as well as conversation. For instance, though the dictionary of
Slovenian language does not yet contain the word “to extract", Li
Weingerl believes that his photos extract the essence of life that is
latently present in the structure of all flora and fauna. He is also
convinced that the picture-image radiates the same emotion
throughout its entire existence, and that constancy is a veryI rare
quality that vanishes when being confronted with time. Itis only when
the picture-photograph comes to life that the seriousness of reality
vanishes! Contrarily, the image always remains honest and finds it
natural that its viewers do not exist only for its own sake. It does not
feel lost when being neglected or criticized. Fortunately, the artist who
has devised it can take upon himself all the trenchant criticism and
comments directed at the picture, says the photographer whose
definition announces beforehand that he is prepared to shoulder any
criticism addressed to him or his shots.
Nusa Podgornik