Mike Litt in conversation
with artist Thomas Ruff

How's it going, Düsseldorf?

OurAll Rhinepodcast for culture in times of Corona. What Mike Litt wants to know: How did the talk guests perceive the surreal times? What has changed for you? What projects are they working on now?
In Episode 14, Mike talks with photo artist Thomas Ruff.

Thomas Ruff is one of the most important contemporary artists. Along with Andreas Gursky and Thomas Struth, he is one of the most important artists of the "Düsseldorf School of Photography," which goes back to the photographers Bernd and Hilla Becher. The "Becher class" from Düsseldorf is known worldwide as a style.

"Struffsky," the nickname for Becher's most successful students Andreas Gursky, Thomas Struth, and Thomas Ruff, was well known in Manhattan galleries and London auction houses at the time. Struff's works were collected internationally early on. How he works? Meanwhile, without a camera! He takes existing images and alienates them, undertakes media experiments.

Until February 2021, the K20 am Grabbeplatz in Düsseldorf is showing the major exhibition "Thomas Ruff". The exhibition spans an arc from the 1990s to a new series that is now on view for the first time at the Kunstsammlung NRW.

In a conversation with Mike Litt, Thomas Ruff tells in "Alle Rhein" how he became an artist in Düsseldorf, why the city became a stroke of luck and a home for him - the native of the Black Forest. Shortly before the opening of his work exhibition, still in the midst of preparations, he met with Mike Litt for a conversation. Ruff explained how he questions the reality of photographs and represents it in his works.

More about: Museums & Exhibitions in Düsseldorf

Our host

Mike Litt was born in the US state of Virginia and lived in Bochum for many years. The globetrotter usually works in Cologne but lives with his family in the beautiful Düsseltal district of Düsseldorf. He is a radio presenter (1Live, WDR 2, DLF Nova), a DJ with Mayday festival experience and an author (‘The loneliest DJ in the world’). For our podcast, he holds fascinating conversations with other people from Düsseldorf’s cultural scene.

Photos
Cover: © Andreas Endermann
Mike Litt: © [email protected]
Music / Sound: Christian Moster / Mike Litt