Michael Schmidt (6 October 1945 – 24 May 2014) was a German photographer. [1] His subjects of interest were Berlin and "the weight of German identity in modern history." [2]
In 1965 Schmidt began photographing the streets, buildings and people of West Berlin in a semi-documentary approach. [1] He went on to make a series of "ambitious projects" there, all in black and white and becoming more impressionistic, until his death in 2014. [1] Each project was exhibited, then published as a book. Schmidt was a member of the Düsseldorf School of Photography. [1]
In 1976, he founded the Werkstatt für Photographie (Workshop for Photography) in Berlin. [1] [2] [3]
U-nit-y was exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City in 1996, Frauen was shown at the Berlin Biennale in 2010 and Lebensmittel, a series about the global food industry, at the Venice Biennale in 2013. [1] A retrospective of his work was held at Haus der Kunst in Munich in 2010. His book Waffenruhe (1987) was included in Parr and Badger's The Photobook: A History, Volume II. [1] He died in 2014, a couple of days after winning the Prix Pictet for Lebensmittel. [4]
Schmidt was born on 6 October 1945 in East Berlin, [1] five months after the German surrender ended World War II in Europe. His family crossed to West Berlin before the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961. [1] [2] He began photographing in 1965 when he was 20 years old. [1]
In 1976, Schmidt founded the Werkstatt für Photographie (Workshop for Photography) at the Volkhoschschule (Adult Education Center) in Berlin. [1] [2] The school "played a critical role in Berlin becoming a transatlantic forum of exchange between European and American photographers." [2]
His early series about Berlin, Stadtlandschaft (Urban Landscapes) (1974–1975) and Berlin, Stadtbilder (Berlin, Urban Images) (1976–1980), "mapped out the city in which he lived in a semi-documentary way". [1] Other series about Berlin include Berlin-Wedding (1976–1978); Berlin nach 45 (Berlin after 45) (1980); Waffenruhe (Ceasefire) (1985–1987), about the Berlin Wall and those affected by it; [5] and Ein-heit (U-ni-ty) (1991–1994), contemporary urban landscapes and portraits from Germany mixed with historical images from the National Socialist / Nazism period, his response to the fall of the Wall in 1989 and the subsequent reunification of East and West Germany. [2]
Natur (Nature) (1987–1997) contains black and white images of the German landscape. [6] Lebensmittel (foodstuff) took seven years to make, with Schmidt travelling worldwide. He photographed "across the spectrum of mass food production, from factory farms" [7] (including salmon farms and dairy farms), and bread factories, [8] "to industrial slaughterhouses and on to plastic-wrapped, sanitised portions of food in supermarkets." [7] [9]
He died on 24 May 2014. [8] [10] [11]
Schmidt's work is held in the following public collection:
Michael Schmidt (6 October 1945 – 24 May 2014) was a German photographer. [1] His subjects of interest were Berlin and "the weight of German identity in modern history." [2]
In 1965 Schmidt began photographing the streets, buildings and people of West Berlin in a semi-documentary approach. [1] He went on to make a series of "ambitious projects" there, all in black and white and becoming more impressionistic, until his death in 2014. [1] Each project was exhibited, then published as a book. Schmidt was a member of the Düsseldorf School of Photography. [1]
In 1976, he founded the Werkstatt für Photographie (Workshop for Photography) in Berlin. [1] [2] [3]
U-nit-y was exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City in 1996, Frauen was shown at the Berlin Biennale in 2010 and Lebensmittel, a series about the global food industry, at the Venice Biennale in 2013. [1] A retrospective of his work was held at Haus der Kunst in Munich in 2010. His book Waffenruhe (1987) was included in Parr and Badger's The Photobook: A History, Volume II. [1] He died in 2014, a couple of days after winning the Prix Pictet for Lebensmittel. [4]
Schmidt was born on 6 October 1945 in East Berlin, [1] five months after the German surrender ended World War II in Europe. His family crossed to West Berlin before the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961. [1] [2] He began photographing in 1965 when he was 20 years old. [1]
In 1976, Schmidt founded the Werkstatt für Photographie (Workshop for Photography) at the Volkhoschschule (Adult Education Center) in Berlin. [1] [2] The school "played a critical role in Berlin becoming a transatlantic forum of exchange between European and American photographers." [2]
His early series about Berlin, Stadtlandschaft (Urban Landscapes) (1974–1975) and Berlin, Stadtbilder (Berlin, Urban Images) (1976–1980), "mapped out the city in which he lived in a semi-documentary way". [1] Other series about Berlin include Berlin-Wedding (1976–1978); Berlin nach 45 (Berlin after 45) (1980); Waffenruhe (Ceasefire) (1985–1987), about the Berlin Wall and those affected by it; [5] and Ein-heit (U-ni-ty) (1991–1994), contemporary urban landscapes and portraits from Germany mixed with historical images from the National Socialist / Nazism period, his response to the fall of the Wall in 1989 and the subsequent reunification of East and West Germany. [2]
Natur (Nature) (1987–1997) contains black and white images of the German landscape. [6] Lebensmittel (foodstuff) took seven years to make, with Schmidt travelling worldwide. He photographed "across the spectrum of mass food production, from factory farms" [7] (including salmon farms and dairy farms), and bread factories, [8] "to industrial slaughterhouses and on to plastic-wrapped, sanitised portions of food in supermarkets." [7] [9]
He died on 24 May 2014. [8] [10] [11]
Schmidt's work is held in the following public collection: