Peter Kaune studied Cultural Studies and Sociology in Bremen and Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He received his Master’s Degree in 1995. He started working as a researcher in ITB in 1997 in the department of International VET Research. After a short break as coordinator for International Exchange in the Department of Social Sciences, he returned to ITB in 2001 as administrative director. Since he has been involved in the administration of almost 100 EU-funded projects at the institute. In 2006 he was also the director of the largest VET-Conference worldwide with more than 2.000 participants (Hochschultage Berufliche Bildung).
In his spare time, he enjoys photography, opera, and especially jazz.
Dienstreise (Business Trip)
Presentation
Our conversation starts with a single word: DIENSTREISE
That’s German and means Business Trip.
I am working at the University of Bremen, and I am involved in a lot of international projects which require a lot of travelling. One of my interests is photography, and when starting the trips I often took my camera. Due to cabin luggage regulations and the improvement in the quality of smartphones, at some point, I started taking pictures with them.
Pretty soon, I developed a preference for a square format – probably due to one of my other interests: music, especially Jazz from Vinyl records and their cover art.
When taking pictures, my interest is rather in structures and patterns than in objects or people. The photos show rotting paper, broken wooden boards, dissolving materials, abandoned structures, etc.
What really strikes me is that you find these images anywhere: in Glasgow (Scotland) as well as in Iasi (Romania), in Lisbon (Portugal), Lviv (Ukraine), San Remo (Italy) or in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia). You just have to keep your eyes open.
The presentation is supposed to give a brief introduction of myself and my interest in photography – using the images from artists and photographers who influenced me. I also will talk a little bit about the music I like and show some cover art.
After that, I will present some of my photos, further explaining how I take them and what happens around me when I do so. After looking at two or three images (accompanied by music which ideally supports them), I will converse with the audience about each block of photos focusing on different levels or topics.
