Industry 1.0

…imagi(nI)ng europe’s industrial heritage

The industrial heritage photography project website of Martin Drazsky.

→ About Martin

Martin adopted the term “Industry 1.0” for his project, to paraphrase and contrast with the popular concept of “Industry 4.0”.

Note: Martin’s work covers most prominently monuments of the “Second Industrial Revolution”.

Inspiration

Giorgio de Chirico, The Anguish of Departure, 1913-1914

Martin takes inspiration from the pioneering works of 20th century German photographers who worked in the style of “New Objectivity”, such as Albert Renger-Patzsch and, later, Bernd and Hilla Becher. He admires the works of the Italian photographer Gabriele Basilico, especially his early project documenting the industrial suburban landscapes of 1980s Milan. In terms of composition, light and perspective, Martin takes cues from the surrealist master Giorgio de Chirico, whose paintings often featured urban vistas with prominent factory chimneys, steam trains and other visual symbols of Europe’s “Golden Industrial Age”.

Style & technique

Martin strives to alternate a formal, rigorously composed style, reminiscent of the 20th century black and white architecture photography, with a more modern, colourful and chaotic visual language, typical for the urban exploration genre popular in the 21st century’s social media.

No matter which style, he ensures that accepted rules of architecture photography, such as “verticals staying parallel”, are respected. To this end, Martin usually works with film and digital cameras that allow movements of the lens standard to achieve correct rendering of perspective. He particularly enjoys working with very wide lenses, to achieve the exaggerated perspective reminiscent of de Chirico’s paintings.

Objectives

Martin’s objective is not documentary; instead, he strives to capture the beauty and the “spirit” of the locations that he visits and to provoke an emotional response in the viewer. He aims to create artful images that present an idealised view of the last surviving monuments of the “Golden Ages” of European industry, without necessarily commenting on any of the technical, commercial, historical or societal aspects involved.

Martin is open for collaboration with private or municipal owners of interesting industrial properties and would be pleased to offer photographs in return for granting access. Please review the “Services” section of this website and use the contact form if this is of interest to you.