Seeing the moment
EXHIBITION „36 PHOTO ICONS“ at Leitz Park Wetzlar (opening May 2014)
100 years of Leica, 100 years of history: The Hindenburg conquers the skies, the Russians conquer Berlin, and James Dean conquers the hearts of women. Always on the spot at such decisive moments were photographers who had an eye for the visual impact of the scene – and a Leica in their hands. We present their photos to you in the exhibition ’36 Iconic Photos’ at the Leitz Park in Wetzlar. 36 iconic images that are today renowned around the world.
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New York – Ernst Leitz II, 1914
Just a few months before the outbreak of the First World War, Ernst Leitz II travelled to the USA. While there, he was able to capture photos, using a second model of the “Liliput” camera developed by Oskar Barnack, which most certainly would be found in a history of street photography.
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Flood in Wetzlar – Oskar Barnack, 1920
From around the time of 1914, Oskar Barnack must have carried a prototype camera with him, particularly during his travels – the camera first received the name Leica in 1925. Perhaps his most famous sequence of images, because it has been shown continually since, is the striking series of the floods in Wetzlar, Germany, in 1920.
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Oskar Barnack at his workplace – Julius Huisgen, 1934
Oskar Barnack was – long before Leica – an enthusiastic photographer. His photographic activities are documented from various reportage angles, whereby the heavy plate camera was most likely the personal reason behind his work on a faster, more convenient process.
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Girl with Leica – Alexander Rodchenko, 1934
Jewgenija Lemberg, shown here, was a lover of the photographer Alexander Rodchenko for quite some time. In 1992, a print of this photo brought in a tremendous 115,000 British pounds at a Christie’s auction in London. Alexander Rodchenko was continually capturing Jewgenija Lemberg in new, surprising and bold poses – until her death in a train accident.
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LZ 129 “Hindenburg” at its mooring mast at Rhine-Main airport – Dr. Paul Wolff and Alfred Tritschler, 1936
The zeppelin photos by Dr Paul Wolff and Alfred Tritschler continue to fascinate on-lookers even today. They unite a utopian aeronautic dream, technical innovation and a novel camera system that provide a new perspective and look at the world in a similar way.
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At the Marne – Henri Cartier-Bresson, 1938
This photo was taken two years after the large-scale strikes that ultimately led to a fundamental improvement in social conditions. Against this backdrop, the picnic in nature is also, above all, a political message – convincing in a formal, aesthetic way, and inherently consistent and suggestive at the same time.
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Guardia Civil – W. Eugene Smith, 1950
W. Eugene Smith’s image of Guardia Civil is also a symbol of an imperious, backward Spain under the rule of Franco. For two months, W. Eugene Smith went scouting for a village and photographed it with the residents’ consent. What he shows us is a strange world: rural, archaic, as if on another planet.
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Regular guest at the Café Hawelka, Vienna – Franz Hubmann, 1956–57
We shall never discover who the man is in this photo. Franz Hubmann, more or less while walking by the table, captured the guest gently balancing a cup with the tips of his fingers – viewed from above without the use of flash, without any hectic movement, and not at all staged.
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The dwarf – Bruce Davidson, 1958
Bruce Davidson accompanied a travelling circus for several weeks. The photo story he took revolves around “Little Man” Jimmy Armstrong and his tragic-comic role. Bruce Davidson’s raw and atmospheric style, using the available light, perfectly captures in a formal, aesthetic way the huge cloud of melancholy hanging over Jimmy’s story.
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The stolen sword – Robert Lebeck, 1960
When a young Congolese man grabs the king’s sword from the backseat of an open-top car on 29 June 1960, Robert Lebeck manages to capture the image of his life. The photo became a metaphor for the end of the descending dominance by Europeans on the African continent.
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Che Guevara – Alberto Korda, 1960
Whether as a postcard, poster, sticker or T-shirt – Alberto Korda’s photo has captivated the world and become a symbol for an entire identity and its creation. The simplicity, with an impression of Christian iconography, ensures this image remains in the memory of every viewer.
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Wild horses in Kenya – Professor Ulrich Mack, 1964
Actually, Ulrich Mack travelled to Africa to discover the continent as a reporter – a continent that had been battered by warmongers and massacres. But all this changed: as if in a state of ecstasy, Ulrich Mack photographed a herd of wild horses, virtually throwing himself down under the animals.
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Man with bandage – Fred Herzog, 1968
Fred Herzog is one of the pioneers of freestyle, artistic colour photography. Perhaps pictures need the astonishment and curiosity of an immigrant, Fred Herzog, to document in colour that which is self-evident to the residents of Vancouver and not necessarily worthy of a photo.
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Napalm attack in Vietnam – Nick Út, 1972
This photo of the small Kim Phúc Phan Ti raised doubt about the war, particularly in the USA – a war which was increasingly affecting the civilian population. The image visualises fright and suffering, without becoming ugly. And it transports a dramatic scene, without it being constructed in a complex way.
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Swimming pool designed by Alain Capeilières – Martine Franck, 1976
Martine Franck’s photo of a swimming pool unites coincidence, a keen eye and the fast shutter speed of the Leica M. She never sought out images like these, she found them. They are one-off photos which would hardly ever have been possible without her curiosity and watchful eye.
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England – Gianni Berengo Gardin, 1977
Gianni Berengo Gardin’s images are considered classics of Leica photography. Taken in black and white, they are quickly captured windows on everyday life, visual chamber plays of grand formal, aesthetic finesse, at times complex and at other times delicately harmonious.
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No title (from the “Go” cycle) – Bruce Gilden, 2000
Bruce Gilden is an avid portrait photographer, without his photos ever appearing posed or staged. His image of humanity arises from the flow of life, the hectic everyday goings-on or – like in “Go” – the deep pit of violence, the Mafia and corruption.