Through the Lens Of: Vera Lutter

Literally meaning “dark room”, the camera obscura is an age-old photographic technique that transforms an entire chamber into a photographic apparatus. In the case of Vera Lutter, inspiration to use the medium came from an epiphany in her 27th-floor apartment. “Through the windows, the outside world flooded the space inside and penetrated my body ... and I decided to turn it into an art piece,” she described. “The space, the room inside which I had this experience, would become the container to transform that very experience.”

By attaching photosensitive paper to her body and moving throughout the room, Lutter invented a way to physically insert herself into her images; since then, she has known no line between photographer and subject, process and product. Lutter represents one of the most performative among the camera obscura practitioners—see more examples alongside her own.