PROJECT LIGHTCATCHER - KURT MOSER – Artist in Residence

Kurt Moser – Artist in Residence 2019 – Faltenwurf

In the
middle of a mountain landscape forged millions of years ago, we find what may
be the last generation of “real” mountain farmers, who earn their livelihood on
remote, barren farms.

Their
distinctive faces and work-worn hands are a reflection of life experience,
which has left indelible traces on their wrinkled faces and gnarled hands.

Faces
that tell stories, honest images of authentic people.

Each
wrinkle and furrow is hard-earned, celebrated, suffered, and worn with pride,
just like the craggy cliffs of “their” Dolomites.

A
close-knit community living and working with and for each other, a way of life
that leaves its mark, valleys of hope, gulches of desperation, rifts of
loneliness, pinnacles of happiness, and plateaus of satisfaction.

Photography
is a language that uses no words.

After training to become a DOP (Director of
Photography) in Milan, Kurt Moser began working for the Austrian Broadcasting
Corporation (ORF)’s studio in Italy. In Rome he worked as a correspondent for
ZDF, Pro7, and Swiss Television (SF). From 1996 on, he shot documentaries for
numerous well-known stations, such as ARD, ARTE, BBC, and CNN, and produced
films for TERRA X and UNIVERSUM, among others. He went on to work as a war
correspondent in conflict zones all over the world for several years and was
nominated for a Grimme Award for a ZDF documentary in Afghanistan.

Since 2015, he has dedicated himself exclusively to
large-format photography and special historical photographic techniques.
Together with Barbara Holzknecht, he founded Lightcatcher KG to implement
UNESCO photography projects. After 30 years of examining image composition from
the perspective of a DOP, the idea behind this project is the artist’s desire
to create something lasting and to give photography back some of its original
value in today’s media-overloaded world.