Daniel T. Braun, a conceptual artist, was born in Pforzheim in 1975. He studied medical informatics at the Heilbronn University of Applied Sciences and media art at the Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design thereafter. He has worked as a freelance artist since 2004 and lectures in photography, video and performance art in Stuttgart and Heidelberg. He uses the medium of photography in diverse ways when generating his works of art. Light is a feature – be it in his performances, sculptures, paintings or conceptual approaches. 

In 2012, Daniel T. Braun developed a unique way of taking pictures, using a combination of iPhone camera and small hobby telescope. Even though this method may seem quite amateurish and simple at times, it involves skillful assessment and dealing with shortcomings. It is crucial to choose the appropriate subject, select the display details and adapt the optics of the devices to ensure a perfect graphic and spatial perception of a ball or a planet within the particular section. In contrast to a fixed objective, this ad-lib system follows its own rules with manifold experimental and creative opportunities. Daniel T. Braun believes that it is thrilling to work without digital imaging to aim at the “analogue design of light” or – in other words –  explore the medial opportunities of images. Using the quality of a mobile phone camera in combination with a cheap telescope, as well as smart image sections, the picture is transformed in a magical way, allowing it to be re-discovered. 

His picture series, which he started in 2012, has since grown to more than 1000 planet images, their photographic challenges representing the variety of discoveries. Each paper image is unique and has a size of 30 x 24 cm. The particular aura is nourished by the enigma of its developement on earth. 

Daniel T. Braun’s latest project does not aim at the generation of abstract effects of individual planets. Instead, the artist combines distinct groups of planets to cover a certain theme and build a system.

This new project draws a comprehensive “picture” of Heidelberg city. The 48 photographs need not hang in a fixed pattern, but are more suited to flexible combinations, leading to new relationships. The perception of the city panorama is designed to appeal to the imagination. In contrast to well known pictures of mass reproductions of popular sites such as Heidelberg, the artist aims to create a “visual mystery” leading to an expedition of sight.