BERLIN.- On June 18, 2016, at 6 pm the leading online auction house Auctionata will present a special livestream auction in cooperation with Teutloff Photo + Video Collection, which deals with the representation of the human body in contemporary photography. Entitled “The Circle of Life”, around 200 works from the collection capture 17 essential motifs such as Early Childhood, Adolescence, Couples, Voyeurism and Desire, Body and Religion, the Political Body, Gender, Beauty, Tattoo, Age, Death as well as Transformation. The human existence has always fascinated and inspired artists from all over the world; whether it’s the emotions that are reflected in the physiognomy, the body as a form of expression for a particular member of society or the process of aging.

Bidders can immerse themselves in the world of contemporary photography and bid live on www.auctionata.com and the Auctionata Live iPhone app. The auction will be accompanied and moderated by the publicist and photo expert Professor Klaus Honnef. He significantly contributed to the acceptance of photography as an art discipline and coined the term “Autorenfotografie (authors’ photography)”. With his extensive experience with the medium, he will make the auction a memorable event. “Through the virtual dimension of Auctionata, art enthusiasts from all over the world will gain an insight into an extraordinary collection. I am excited to see how ‘Circle of Life’ will be perceived by the bidders”, he notes.

Every successful bidder will also receive the 200-page book ‘Circle of Life’, which documents the collection for future generations and manifests every single work as part of this idea. The book was produced in close cooperation and with texts by Dr. Andreas Beitin (Ludwig Forum Aachen), who also selected the Circle of Life out of the entire body of Teutloff Photo + Video Collection.

The Teutloff Photo + Video Collection is a private photo and video collection that is accommodated by the Teutloff Museum in Bielefeld, Germany. It comprises more than 900 works of almost 300 artists from more than 30 countries. Many real and virtual exhibitions curated by renowned experts were realized through this collection, such as “Auf Leben und Tod, Der Mensch in Malerei und Fotografie“ (To Life and Death, the Human in Painting and Photography) at the Wallraf-Richartz-Museum and Foundation Corboud Cologne, 2010/2011.

A highlight of the auction is surely Jack Pierson’s Selfportrait # 25, from 2005, whose pose is reminiscent of that of St. Sebastian. When the work was exhibited at the Wallraf-Richartz-Museum, it was juxtaposed with a 15th century painting. The pigment print will come to auction at the starting price of 10,000 Euros.

Additionally, the auction will feature four works by the German-born photographer and Turner Prize winner Wolfgang Tillmans. One bears witness to his intimate observations of passengers in the London Underground, captured by his camera. He suggests our own observational fragmentary view on the composition of skin and hair, a strange arm pit, various postures and creases in clothes of unknown travelers. Bidding for the 4 C-Prints will start at 4,000 Euros.

Another highlight is the portrait series of Angela Merkel (1991/2005), photographed by Herlinde Koelbl. In Koelbl’s much observed portrait series of politicians, Angela Merkel has probably been the most special sitter. Over a duration of 15 years, the pictures impressively demonstrate how power can change a person. The portraits of then-member of the Bundestag and now-chancellor of Germany are timeless (Starting price 6.000 Euros).

Another impressive photo series is that of the American photographer Christopher Makos. The 80s had just begun when Christopher Makos documented Andy Warhol and his transformation to a female vamp in 18 portraits. The artists were very close friends and Makos professional skills were regarded highly by Warhol („the most modern photographer in America“). The starting price of the series entitled Altered Image (Andy 1-18) from 1981 is 9,000 Euros.

Bidders will be able to follow the online auction in real-time, bid live on www.auctionata.com or via the “Auctionata Live” iPhone app and gain an insight into a special photography collection surrounding the human body on June 18, 2016 at 6 pm CET / 12 am EST.