The artistic career of Beat Aere
Beat Aere's artistic career began in the 1950s when the teenager was an enthusiastic photographer. He developed and enlarged films in his darkroom, initially in black and white and later, with the advent of amateur color photography, also in color. What began as a hobby quickly developed into a great passion, which also accompanied him during his chemistry studies.
After completing his studies, his involvement with photography came to an abrupt end. He worked in the chemical industry and successfully searched for new molecules. Creativity and inventiveness were just as important in the development of new active ingredients as they were in photography.
Recently, his old passion returned. At the ripe old age of over 80, he left photography to others and went in search of unusual motifs. He was particularly attracted to inconspicuous, small motifs in the neighbourhood, which looked like abstract works of art on canvas. Rusted metal surfaces, for example (construction machinery had been parked outside his front door for months) or moss and lichen on a wall by the lake. Shadows and reflections also caught his attention and made him reach for his camera. However, such images were only the beginning. With today's digital technologies and image editing tools, he discovered a new dimension to his creative work. He began to edit his photos with various software tools. He experimented with colours, textures and compositions to express his artistic vision.
Since the beginning of 2023, he has also included artificial intelligence in his experiments. He was fascinated by the challenge of turning words into images. Visual art does not exist in a vacuum, it needs inspiration from other arts. From poets, for example.