Songs without words. Pictures without captions. It was a concert where the visual images were as moving as the music. Behind the stage where the three musicians sat, a slide show was projected onto a large screen. Both the music and the intriguing images drew me in.
After the first set, Ottmar Liebert explained that the pictures were just photos he had taken over the last twenty years or so. There was, he said, no coordination between the slide show and the music: “Any connections you perceive are made in your own mind.”
Although we sat in a crowded theater, although we joined in the applause after each song, the combined effect of music and images was meditative, almost contemplative.
When I take photos, I tend to shoot broad, conventional landscapes. In contrast, many of Liebert’s photos highlight small details. Others, such as the one shown above (on the screen before the concert began) are shot from unusual angles. The details, the odd angles drew me in.
Consider the picture above. The camera lens is right down on the pavement. Where are we? The lines directly in front draw our eyes to some blurred distance. Where are we being led? It is an engrossing image.
In his blog, Liebert tells us where the picture was taken: Berlin. The lines on the pavement mark the location of the Berlin Wall. While those details add another layer to my response to the image, I can testify to the power of the image alone.
In short, I would say the main thing I take away from the Ottmar Liebert concert is the value of attentiveness. Attentiveness to the detailed rhythms of his music, and attentiveness to the visual details of the world around us. Both can lead us into wonder.
by Bill
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The photo above is taken from Liebert's blog. Click here and scroll to the entry for 1/24/2024.
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More of Liebert's photos can be found here.
