Exhibition concept: Rickie Lynne Giesel (Joachim Giesel Archive) and Prof. Martin Schieder (University of Leipzig) in collaboration with students from the Institute of Institute for Art History at the University of Leipzig

For over fifty years, the Hanoverian photojournalist, freelance author and commercial advertising photographer Joachim Giesel (b. 1940 in Breslau) has been capturing the political, social, economic and cultural development of the Federal Republic of Germany in his documentaries, series, portraits and advertising photographs. In its historical caesuras and social transformations. In its prosperity and its stuffiness. In its beauty and diversity. And people are always at the center of it all. Giesel accompanied Queen Elizabeth II on her visit to Hanover in 1965, mingled with the mourners at the funeral of Benno Ohnesorg in 1967, attended the legendary football match between the GDR and Brazil in 1974, created a gallery of chancellors from Konrad Adenauer to Helmut Kohl, photographed a series of mentally ill people, staged captivating portraits of Franz Beckenbauer to Udo Jürgens, from Max Frisch to Doris Dörrie, from Louis Armstrong to Rudolf Augstein. In the tradition of August Sander, his photographs give us fascinating insights into West German society across the generations, between prefabricated housing estates and detached houses, between assembly line workers and drag queens, between Swan Lake and nudism. They are thus contemporary documents of German history. By searching for the “picture behind the picture”, Giesel’s images of people fascinate viewers with their aesthetic diversity, technical brilliance and unmistakable presence, making the photographer an important figure in the history of German photography after 1945.

Exhibition venue: MÄDLER ART FORUM Leipzig
Vernissage: Thursday, 4 July 2024 at 18:00
Duration: 5 July 2024 until 1 February 2025
Opening hours: Wednesday to Saturday Wednesday to Saturday, 14:00-18:00
Guided tours: Every Saturday at 15:00
Entry free!

Further information at: https://maedlerartforum.com/2024/06/11/demnaechst-menschenbilder-zeitgeschichte/