Exhibition information
Dirk Reinartz
Kein schöner Land / Innere Angelegenheiten
As part of its exhibition series in honor of photographer Dirk Reinartz, Galerie m Bochum is presenting the exhibition “Kein schöner Land I Innere Angelegenheiten” from April 20 to May 19.
The photographs in the series “Kein schöner Land” were taken from 1978 to 1987. In the book of the same name, published in 1989, Norbert Klugmann describes the “public devastation of the Federal Republic of Germany,” which bestows on us the “view of desolate houses and gardens” and that we can only bear because we have learned to simply ignore it. This “cold, brutal architectural anti-culture” is omnipresent in the black-and-white photographs of Dirk Reinartz. He documents here an evident “fear of the anarchy of green foliage” marked by urban development measures that seem to arise from a deep-seated need for control and order. This stocktaking, which Reinartz continued later in color in his series “Innere Angelegenheiten” (1989-2002), offers us new insights into the world around us while also taking a clear stand on the situation. Reinartz saw his photography as a tool and medium for reflecting on reality.
After studying photography with Otto Steinert at the Folkwang School in Essen, Reinartz worked as the youngest photojournalist at Stern magazine, reporting successfully from all over the world. Yet he always had the feeling that his cultural distance prevented him from really doing justice to the various themes he encountered, which prompted him to leave his job at Stern in 1977. At first he joined the photographers’ group Visum, and then moved from Hamburg to Buxtehude in 1971 in order to work independently. In addition to artist portraits, he turned his attention primarily to German themes, which he pursued year after year.
As part of its exhibition series in honor of photographer Dirk Reinartz, Galerie m Bochum is presenting the exhibition “Kein schöner Land I Innere Angelegenheiten” from April 20 to May 19.
The photographs in the series “Kein schöner Land” were taken from 1978 to 1987. In the book of the same name, published in 1989, Norbert Klugmann describes the “public devastation of the Federal Republic of Germany,” which bestows on us the “view of desolate houses and gardens” and that we can only bear because we have learned to simply ignore it. This “cold, brutal architectural anti-culture” is omnipresent in the black-and-white photographs of Dirk Reinartz. He documents here an evident “fear of the anarchy of green foliage” marked by urban development measures that seem to arise from a deep-seated need for control and order. This stocktaking, which Reinartz continued later in color in his series “Innere Angelegenheiten” (1989-2002), offers us new insights into the world around us while also taking a clear stand on the situation. Reinartz saw his photography as a tool and medium for reflecting on reality.
After studying photography with Otto Steinert at the Folkwang School in Essen, Reinartz worked as the youngest photojournalist at Stern magazine, reporting successfully from all over the world. Yet he always had the feeling that his cultural distance prevented him from really doing justice to the various themes he encountered, which prompted him to leave his job at Stern in 1977. At first he joined the photographers’ group Visum, and then moved from Hamburg to Buxtehude in 1971 in order to work independently. In addition to artist portraits, he turned his attention primarily to German themes, which he pursued year after year.
Elbufer Grünendeich, 1979
aus: Kein schöner Land
aus: Kein schöner Land
o.T., 1989-2002
aus: Innere Angelegenheiten
aus: Innere Angelegenheiten