Artist Phillip Kaminiak

 

Miami, USA I 2009

 

"We see Ida Haendel, one of the greatest Violinists of all time, trying to convince her dog to get off the car. After several very obvious refusals of the dog, Ida looks up to me to share her amusement about the situation. Again a „click“ in a moment which couldn’t describe the situation, the characters here better. Pure love, and pure madness speaks out of their eyes and they look at me like that for a reason I guess. Ida Haendel died in 2020. I met her 3 times and could witness such a „lust for life“ like I could find only very rarely in other humans." - Phillip Kaminiak

 

The Curator - Mike Klar

 

Mike Klar studied communication design at the Bauhaus University in Weimar and art therapy in Berlin Weißensee.

He works as a freelance illustrator and shares his love for colorful interiors on Instagram as HerrKlar.

 

"After renovating the salon, we wanted something bold on the wall and immediately fell in love with the photograph "Ida and her dog" by Phillip Kaminiak.
This somewhat "quirky" old lady is Ida Haendel, one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century, with her dwarf dog who doesn't feel like getting out of the car.

We love the joie de vivre and lightness that the picture with the story radiates. We chose the acrylic glass version in 120x90cm - a bold statement above the sofa."

 

More about Mike Klar and his colorful apartment:

https://www.herzundblut.com/blog-1/zu-besuch-bei-mike-klar

 

Phillip Kaminiak’s photograph’s look is a mix of classical flash street photography of the 80ies to 90ies, with a slight sense of fashion or portrait photography. The use of flash, small rangefinder cameras, rather wide lenses, a physical closeness to his subjects and 35mm film gives the pictures something raw and glossy at the same time. This has a significant effect on the question you might have standing in front of many of his pictures: „Is it staged or is it documentary“?