Daniel Hartmann
 
Daniel Hartmann is a Tennessee-based photographer. His work currently explores themes of masculine identity, the fluidity of memory, and systems of disparity. Hartmann is particularly fascinated by the way conditions of the past can feel embedded in the landscape. Having spent the majority of his life trying to escape the south he has recently embraced his identity as a southern artist. As the primary parent of four sons, I have spent years immersed in the daily chaos of parenting. Sleepless nights and quiet routines intertwine with bedlam and fleeting moments of grace. These experiences have attuned me to “perfect moments” where I felt freed from the cumbersome realities of caring for another. Where I was able to appreciate my children for their childness. Having grown up without a consistent male presence and an emotionally unstable mother, I learned to foreclose on my own needs to survive. Watching my children play and grow helped me to begin to unravel and occasionally glimpse my childhood. Did I play like that, did my heart break like theirs? I don’t know, I don’t remember.
 
Buzz Cut SZN,
Archival Inkjet Print on Baryta paper
2025
36 x 27 in