On Photography: Shooting Glarus

Photography is a great tool for building bridges. Much like jazz musicians who can have a jam session without speaking the same language, it’s exciting to discover a place together as fellow photographers and observe how everyone perceives it in their own individual way and ultimately captures it in images. 

So this week, Brian Griffin professional photographer from Chicago and I took a day trip to Glarus under the title Shooting Glarus and visited not only the town itself but also surrounding places such as the former Legler Areal an empty industrial site and the Urnerboden mountain valley together. As we set off, I thought of the painters Conrad Meyer and Jan Hackaert, who set off from Zurich together in 1655 to explore Switzerland and capture it in paintings and drawings. One of their stops was Glarus and the nearby Klöntal, which they captured in some fascinating paintings, one of which inspired me to create my monumental landscape photograph of the Klöntal.

The idea for this short trip arose spontaneously at our joint vernissage of the group exhibition I Love Chalets at the Zurich Architecture Center Bellerive. While Brian is represented there with works from his series New Glarus, in which he documents the facades of houses in the Wisconsin town, I showcase 14 works from the series Chalets of Switzerland.

GLARUS - Patrick Lambertz

“Glarus is a very special place for me, where different aspects of Swiss history - economic, political, cultural - can be experienced. Shooting Glarus was a good opportunity to look at the place with new eyes.” Patrick Lambertz

GLARUS - Brian Griffin

“I am deeply grateful to Patrick for proposing this spontaneous journey to Glarus, Switzerland—what one might call the “real” Glarus. For me, this trip was both a personal pilgrimage and an artistic exploration. Having only encountered Swiss-ness through its American imitation in places like New Glarus, Wisconsin, it was wonderful to experience its origins firsthand.” Brian Griffin

Out of economic necessity, New Glarus in Wisconsin created an idealized replica of Switzerland in the mid-1950s, which has blossomed into a successful tourist attraction - including a Swiss brewery, specialities such as cheese and sausage and various other attractions based on our traditions. Once again, Switzerland is demonstrating how the Alpine region has a life of its own in people’s minds - and what a lucrative crowd puller it can be. 

However, New Glarus has very little to do with the reality of Swiss Glarus. This was precisely the area of tension in our observations. So it was obvious that we should visit the place of origin, which Brian had previously only known from hearsay, together and capture it in photographs.

LEGLER AREAL - Brian GRIFFIN

“Our photographic collaboration highlighted a dichotomy between artifice and authenticity—whether in architecture or in the act of photography itself, which inherently frames and transforms reality. New Glarus is not so much a portrait of its namesake as it is a constructed ideal of Swiss-ness, reflecting America’s unique relationship with cultural emulation. Seeing Glarus through Patrick’s perspective and through my own lens brought these questions of representation, identity, and place into sharp focus.” Brian Griffin

LEGLER AREAL - Patrick LAMBERTZ

“To capture my images I am using a mix of vintage and modern glass. The vintage Leica and Zeiss lenses are perfect for capturing the dreamy and surreal atmosphere of the Legler Areal while the modern Canon glass stands out for rich detail and sharpness. In combination, they allow me to convey the emotion of a place.”  Patrick Lambertz