Artist's StatementInternational photojournalist Jurgen Schadeberg this year celebrates 59 years in photography. Coming to South Africa in 1950 from war torn Berlin he was one of the few white photographers who documented black life, capturing on film the Rise of the Freedom Movement, Apartheid Repression and the vibrancy of township life and culture. He was responsible during his association with Drum Magazine for creating a vibrant photographic department and for training a number of talented and successful black photographers. The Schadeberg Collection of Photographs brings to life key social, cultural and political events and personalities in South Africa's turbulent history. Historic events covered include the Defiance Campaign of 1953, the 1956 Treason Trial, the Sophiatown removals of 1958, the Sophiatown jazz and social scene, the Sharpeville Funeral of 1960 and images of Robben Island and former Robben Islanders in 1994. Personalities include Nelson Mandela in the fifties, Walter Sisulu, Oliver Tambo, Trevor Huddlestone, Govan Mbeki and former Robben Islanders, as well as fifties jazz legends such as Dolly Rathebe, Kippie Moeketsi, Thandi Klaasens, Miriam Makeba and Dorothy Masuka. The Schadeberg Collection also includes unique images of England in the seventies, from housing estates in Hackney to May Balls in Cambridge, as well as a diverse range of European images. A rare series of pictures of the San People of the Kalahari "Dance of Exorcism", taken in 1959, also features in The Schadeberg Collection. Jurgen Schadeberg was born in Berlin in 1931 and, while still in his teens, worked as an apprentice photographer for a German Press Agency in Hamburg. In 1950 he emigrated to South Africa and became Chief Photographer, Picture Editor and Art Director on Drum Magazine. It was during this time that Jurgen photographed pivotal moments in the lives of South Africans in the fifties. These photographs represent the life and struggle of South Africans during Apartheid and include important figures in South Africa's history such as Nelson Mandela, Moroka, Walter Sisulu, Yusuf Dadoo, Huddleston and many others who have been documented at key moments such as during The Defiance Campaign of 1952, The Treason Trial of 1958, The Sophiatown Removals and the Sharpeville Funeral in 1960. In 1964 Jurgen left South Africa for London and during the sixeties and seventies freelanced as a photojournalist in Europe and America for various prestigious magazines. He also taught at the New School in New York, the Central School of Art & Design in London and the Hoch Kunst School in Hamburg. During this period he curated several major exhibitions including "The Quality of Life" which opened the New National Theatre in 1976. Before returning to South Africa in 1985 Jurgen lived in London, Spain, New York and France. The photographs from this period represent a rich mix of social documentary work as well as some modernist, abstract images. Jurgen has had a series of major shows including a Retrospective at the South African National Gallery in Cape Town in 1996, a Retrospective in Dublin in 2000, a New York solo show 2001, a group show at La Maison Europeene de la Photographie, Paris, 2002, Solo shows Berlin in 2003 and Budapest 2004, a Retrospective in Nicephore Niepce in Chalon Sur Saone in 2004, a Retrospective -in Abbaye Neumunster in Luxembourg in 2005, a Bochum Museum Retrospective in 2005 and in 2006 a touring exhibition of new work "Voices from the Land" in South Africa. Numerous shows followed 2007 and 2008 including London, Esslingen, Bayreuth, Koln, Belgium, Oslo, Tuscany, Kunsthalle Wien, Johannesburg, Leica Galleries in Tokyo, Solms, Frankfurt, Nantes and London. 2009 and 2010 is booked with solo shows in Hamburg, Hannover, Siegburg, Salzburg, Coutances, San Francisco, New Orleans, Rhode Island and Osnabruck. In 2007 Jurgen was awarded the Officer's Verdienst Kreuz First Class by the German President. During his 60 year career Jurgen has trained several generations of young black and white photographers in South Africa, London, Germany and New York. Jurgen has edited and published several photographic books including "The Finest Photos from the Old Drum", "The Fifties People of South Africa", "Mandela & The Rise of the ANC", "Voices from Robben Island", "Sof'town Blues", and three new books in 2002 "The Black & White Fifties", "The San of the Kalahari" & "Soweto Today". Together with his producer wife Claudia Jurgen established The Schadeberg Movie Company to produce a series of some 15 documentaries and dramas about South African social, cultural and political history. Jurgen Schadeberg, sometimes known as "The Father of South African Photography", is a principle figure in South African and World Photography. His major body of work, which spans 60 years and incorporates a collection of some 100,000 negatives, captures a wealth of timeless and iconic images. Jurgen Schadeberg continues to actively work on new major photographic projects, books and exhibitions, to tour international shows, to lecture and to make his own silver archival hand prints. He now divides his time between Africa and Europe. Detailed Biography Individual Exhibitions - Photography 1962 Places & Faces; Adler Fielding Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa 1963 South African Social Scenes; Gorzenich Exhibition Hall, Cologne, Germany (with Peter Magubane) 1970 Jurgen Schadeberg-A Retrospective; Hotel Melia, Torremolinos,Costa Del Sol, Spain 1976 Jurgen Schadeberg-A Retrospective; Central School, London, U.K. 1977 Village Faces; Hayward Gallery, London, U.K. 1977 Face to Face; Air Gallery, London, U.K. 1980 A Portfolio; The Photographic Gallery; Southampton University, U.K. 1981 London Scenes; Photographers' Gallery, London, U.K. 1988 A Retrospective; Market Gallery, Johannesburg 1995 Sof'town Blues; Photographers' Gallery, London, U.K. 1996 African Women; Nantes and other venues in France 1996 Jurgen Schadeberg-A Retrospective Exhibition; South African National Gallery, Cape Town; Oliewenhuis National Gallery, Bloemfontein; King George V National Gallery, Port Elizabeth; South Africa 1998 'Fifties South Africa; Vue D'Afrique Festival, Montreal, Canada 1998 The Berlin Wall; Goethe Institute, Johannesburg (toured to Goethe Institutes internationally) Selected Images; Institute for The Advancement of Journalism, Johannesburg, Freedom Forum, Johannesburg; South Africa 1998 Jurgen Schadeberg - A Retrospective; Gallery of Photography, Dublin, Ireland 1999 Jurgen Schadeberg - The 'Fifties; The Waterfront, Belfast, N.Ireland, U.K. 2000 The Naked Face; Sandton Civic Art Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa 2000 Faced; Carfax Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa 2001 Soweto 2001; Art On Paper Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa 2001 The White 'Fifties; Crake Gallery, Johannesburg, Bensusan Museum of Photography, Johannesburg; South Africa 2001 Jurgen Schadeberg-Drum Beat: South Africa 1950-1994; Axis Gallery, New York, NY 2001 Jurgen Schadeberg - Fine Images over 50 Years - Photoza - Johannesburg 2002 The Black & White Fifties" & "Soweto Today" touring SA in 2002 with The Alliance Francaise - Opened at The Pretoria Art Museum, 8 city tour 2002 "Voices from the Past - Moving Stills over 50 years" - Goethe Institut Johannesburg 2002 The San of the Kalahari 1959 - RAU Art Gallery, Johannesburg 2002 The San of the Kalahari 1959 - PhotoZa Gallery, Johannesburg 2003 The San of the Kalahari 1959 - Tour of South Africa to 8 venues by Alliance Francaise 2003 "All that Jazz" 52 years of jazz images, Standard Bank Art Gallery, Johannesburg 2003 Goethe Institut, Berlin. A Retrospective of South African Work over 52 Years 2003 Rencontres de la Photographie Africaine, Bamako, Mali 2003 Retrospective of South African work touring Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Bejing, Shanghai, Hong Kong 2004 Dorottya Gallery, Budapest. Fifties Images…also April 2004 in Gyor (Mediawave) 2004 The San of the Kalahari - Villa Museum, Pretoria University 2004 2004 On The Beach - New colour work. Gallery@157, Johannesburg, South Africa 2004 A Restrospective of 52 Years of South African work - Espace Cosmopolis, Nantes, France 2005 Restrospective - The Imaging Hub Gallery - Pretoria 2005 A Retrospective of South African work - Nicephore Niepce Museum, Chalon Sur Saone 2005 "Drum Days" in fifties South Africa - Riverside Studios, London 2005 Retrospective - Seippel Galerie, Koln, Germany 2005 Jazz images - Marciac, France 2005 Retrospective, Lectoure Centre de la Photographie, France 2005 Voices from the Land - a major photo essay of conditions on SA Farms today to tour South Africa for 2005/6/7 MuseumAfrica, Johannebsurg, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum, Port Elizabeth, Polokwane Art Museum, National Library of South Africa, Cape Town, Durban Art Gallery, Oliwienhuis Gallery, Bloemfontein, William Humphreys National Gallery, Kimberley, Sassol Art Gallery, Stellenbosch 2005 Solo Exhibition - Bochum Museum, Germany 2006 Major Retrospective Luxembourg, Neumunster Museum 2006 Solo Show, Zeitungsmuseum, Saarbrucken, Germany 2006 The Defiance Campaign 1952, The Nelson Mandela Foundation, Johannebsurg 2006 Solo Exhibition, Potsdammer Platz, Berlin, Germany. 2006 "Voices from the Land" images, Human Rights Forum , Nantes, France 2007 "Happy Hour" solo show at Seippel Gallery, Koln, Germany 2007 Solo Show Iwalewa-Haus, Bayreuth, Germany 2007 Solo Exhibition and book launch MuseumAfrica new colour work "Tales from Jozi" 2007 Solo Show Belgravia Gallery, London 2007 Solo Show "Tales from Jozi" Oslo University, Norway 2007 Solo Show "Jazz & Jozi"- Seippel Gallery, Johannesburg 2007 Solo Retrospective, Kulturverein Zehntscheur, Rottenburg, Germany 2007 Fifties Show & Film Screenings, Medienhaus, Hannover 2007 Solo Show - De Queeste Gallery, Watou, Belgium 2007 Jazz Show & Book Launch, Photographers Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa 2008 Solo Show - Leica images, Leica Gallery, Tokyo 2008 The Age of Jazz - Belgravia Gallery, London 2008 Photographies Dans Le Bocage - Vire & Brecey, Normandy, France 2008 Retrospective - Ypres Cultural Centre, Belgium 2008 The Fifties - Nomad Gallery Brussels, Belgium 2008 Retrospective, Alencon Conseil General, France 2008 Retrospective SA - Kultur Speicher Museum, Wurzburg, Germany 2008 "Tales from Jozi" new colour work 2007, Cosmopolis Centre, Nantes, France 2008 Selected Leica images - Leica Gallery, Solms, Germany 2008 Selected Leica images - Leica Gallery Frankfurt 2008 "Mandela" - Belgravia Gallery, London 2008 Solo Show - Raum Sylt - Quelle, Sylt, Germany 2008 Solo Show - George Meistermann Museum, Wittliech, Trier, Germany 2008 Solo Show - Seippel Gallery, Koln, Germany 2008 Art Basel Miami 2009 The San of the Kalahari 1959 - Hotel des Arts, Remelard, France 2009 Solo Show - Leica Gallery, Salzburg, Austria 2009 Blitz Gallery, Tokyo 2009 Voices from the Land show - Hannover University, Germany 2009 Retrospective, Flo Peters Gallery, Hamburg 2009 Retrospective Show, Museum Siegburg, Germany 2009 Solo Show, Palazzo Libera, Villa Lagarina, Italy 2009 Le Jazz, La Liberte, Afrique du Sud 1951 -2007, Coutances, France 2009 Timeless Moments - Leica Gallery, Salzburg Individual Exhibitions - Painting 1969 Raymond Duncan Gallery, Paris, France 1970 La Palette Bleue, Paris, France 1970 Don Pedro Gallery, Carihuela, Spain Selected Group Exhibitions 1987 The Finest Photos from the Old Drum; Shell Gallery, Cape Town; Durban Museum, Durban; Market Gallery, Johannesburg; South Africa 1988 Drum; Impressions Gallery, York, U.K. 1993 Fifties South Africa; Herten, Germany 1995 South Africa Images; Foto Forum, Frankfurt, Germany 1997 Condition Humaine; La Musée du Port, La Reunion, Reunion 1998 Under the Tropic: 25 years of South African Photojournalism; Cardiff University, U.K. 1999 Africa by Africa-A Photographic View; Barbican Art Gallery, London, U.K. 1999 Maverick; Crake Gallery, Johannesburg 2000 Lengthening Shadows; Stephen Daiter Gallery, Chicago, U.S. 2001 Soweto: A South African Legend; Munich, Mannheim, Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Berlin, Hannover; Germany 2002 Environmental Images - PhotoZa, Johannesburg 2002 Fine Fifties Images of South Africa - La Maison Europeene de la Photographie, Paris 2003 The History of Soweto - A Permanent Exhibition at the Regina Mundi Church, Soweto 2004 ARCO, Madrid 2004 ABSA Gallery, Johannesburg. Kliptown 2003 images 2004 Kliptown 2003 - in Kliptown Centre. A photo project with the work of 4 students 2004 Kliptown - The Goethe Institut, Johannesburg 2004 San Images for Fototage Wiesbaden, Galerie Lichtbild,Wiesbaden, Germany 2004 Selected Works, Pascal Polar Gallery, Brussels, Belgium 2005 Kliptown - Horniman Museum, UK 2005 Selected Works - Toomey-Tourell Gallery, San Francisco, USA 2005 A Selection of Fities South African Images - Wedge Gallery, Toronto, Canada 2006 New Work - Mixed Media - Painting & Photography - SA University Gallery, Joburg 2006 Fifties Work - Kunsthalle, Vienna, Austria 2007 Esslingen Triennale, Germany 2007 Contact Photo Festival, Toronto 2007 Seippel Gallery Johannesburg, South Africa 2007 Fine Art Show - Rocca di Castagnoli, Tuscany, Italy 2009 Virginia Museum of Fine Art Touring Show - Virginia, Sydney, 2009 Bologna Art Fair 2009 "Century of Jazz" - Museum of Modern Art, Rovereto, Italy Exhibitions Directed And Produced 1970 Inside Whitechapel; Whitechapel Gallery, London, U.K. 1976 The Quality of Life; Southbank Centre, London, U.K. (3-year project for the opening of the New National Theatre) Selected Works - Photographic books Jurgen Schadeberg, 1981 (Photographers' Gallery, London) Kalahari Bushman Dance, 1982 (Jurgen Schadeberg) The Finest Photos from the Old Drum, 1987 (Bailey's Photo Archives, Johannesburg) The Fifties People of South Africa, 1987 (Bailey's Photo Archives, Johannesburg) Nelson Mandela & the Rise of the ANC, 1990 (Jonathan Ball/Donker) Drum, 1991 (Rogner & Bernhard, Hamburg) Voices from Robben Island, 1994 (Macmillan) Sof'town Blues, 1995 (Jurgen Schadeberg) South African Classics, 1995 (Macmillan) The Black & White Fifties, 2002 (Protea Bookhouse) Soweto Today, 2002 (Protea Bookhouse) The San of the Kalahari 1959. (Protea Bookhouse 2002) Witness - A Retrospective of 52 years or work in Africa, Europe & USA (Protea Bookhouse 2004) The Book of Life - A look at the UNDP Aids Programme in SA (United Nations 2004) Voices from the Land - Farm life and farm conditions in South Africa, Protea Bookhouse 2005 Jurgen Schadeberg - Photographies - IAC France 2005 Jazz, Swing & Blues - SA Jazz over six decades - New Africa Books, South Africa 2007 Tales from Jozi - Protea Book House, South Africa - 2007 Jurgen Schadeberg - A Retrospective - published by Hatje Cantz 2008 Selected Works - Films Have You Seen Drum Recently? The Black 'Fifties in South Africa, 1987 (35mm, 77min.) War & Peace: A History of the ANC, 1989/1992 (Video, 56min.) The Seven Ages of Music, 1992 (Video, 46min.) Drumbeats, 1993 (16mm, 56min.) Ballroom Fever, 1994 (Video, 26min.) Voices from Robben Island, 1994 (16mm, 90min.) Dolly & The Inkspots, 1994 (Video, 26min.) Looking Back: (Video, 26 mins) Jo'burg Cocktail, 1995 (Video, 56min.) Halala Bomane! [Hail the Women!], 1996 (Video, 56min.) Ernest Cole: 1940-1990 Photo Journalist, 1999 (Video, 52min.) Drumbeats - 52 min pilot for drama series Deadline, 2000 (6 x 52 min. drama series) Collections La Maison Europeene de la Photographie, Paris Victoria & Albert Museum, London Paul Sack Collection, San Francisco Neumunster Collection, Luxembourg Hopkinson School of Journalism, Cardiff University, UK President Bill Clinton Library, USA South African National Gallery, Cape Town Pretoria Art Museum Johannesburg Art Gallery, South Africa Oliwienhuis Gallery, Bloemfontein, South Africa MTN Art Collection, South Africa Sanlam Art Collection, South Africa Johannesburg Stock Exchange Collection Sasol Art Collection, South Africa Telkom Art Collection, South Africa Origins Centre, Wits University, Johannesburg Nelson Mandela Foundation, Johannesburg Brenthurst Collection, Johannesburg Fonds Nationale d'Art Contemporain, Paris Daimler Chrysler Collection, Berlin Rocca di Castagnoli, Tuscany. Italy La Bibliotheque Nationale de France Arts Council Collection, London © 2009 All rights reserved. Origination by Di Conradie. |