ENTRY DESCRIPTION
Shot on a very cold winter’s day, this portrait is part of a project reimagining the commedia character of Pierrot, torn away from the 17th century stage, and transported into the modern world. It is a very theatrical exploration, lit with a single speedlight for dramatic effect.

Mute here as there, Pierrot tries to make sense of where he is, and what is happening around him. As we progressed through our shoot, we changed locations a few times; here we see Pierrot trying to come to grips with the cold, concrete walls of an old quarry. Perhaps he is trying to break through? Whatever he seeks, he does not find it.

To me, this image is all about loneliness—our ever-present solitude that gaslights us with a digital glow from the screens of our devices. We’ve marooned ourselves in vast, empty spaces that lack all warmth and empathy: Neither we nor Pierrot have any real sense of where we are, beyond the purely transactional. We’re always somewhere, needing to be somewhere else, and rarely is a meaningful human interaction part of that plan.

AUTHOR
An emerging photographer with a background in translation and music, Robert Claus has been exploring drawing, composition, and theater since an early age. Born in Germany, he relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area after graduating from the University of London.

Attending a major retrospective of David Hockney in 2014 inspired him to return to his childhood love of photography. A self-taught artist, he has since studied under Gina Militia, and taken workshops and classes from Ed Kashi, Neal Menschel, and Oleg Savunov (at Stanford), as well as Joel Grimes (remote), among others.

Now looking to gain wider exposure through open calls and other opportunities, he has produced several book-length curated projects that range from abstract still-life compositions to urban exploration. He recently designed Sunset Shrine, a photography-based installation intended to drive awareness for environmental concerns.

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