Arnold Odermatt

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Arnold Odermatt, Vernissage Fotomuseum Winterthur, 2004

Arnold Odermatt (born May 29, 1925 in Oberdorf , Canton Nidwalden , † June 19, 2021 in Stans ) was a Swiss police officer and photographer. His works were selected by Harald Szeemann for the 49th Venice Biennale in 2001 . In 2002 she showed the The Art Institute of Chicago and in 2004 the Fotomuseum Winterthur .

biography

Arnold Odermatt joined the Nidwalden police in 1948. He photographed the accident sites to which he was called with a Rolleiflex in order to add photos to the police report. He set up a makeshift darkroom in an old toilet at the guard post in Stans . When the guard moved to a new building years later, perhaps the first police photographer in Switzerland was given its own laboratory.

His role model was the Magnum photographer Werner Bischof . He met him by chance - without recognizing him - when he wanted to photograph the actor Charlie Chaplin on a security mission on the Bürgenstock . Odermatt's own style was characterized by strict objectivity and a consequent reduction to the essentials. The spartan linguistic expression that characterized his police reports can also be found in Odermatt's recordings. The craftsmanship is undeniable, nothing important escaped his photographic eye. In Karambolage , his most famous group of works, it is not the injured victims that can be seen, but car wrecks as surreal junk sculptures removed from reality.

For forty years, Odermatt captured everyday police work in Nidwalden in photos. The local press, the court or an insurance company were only occasionally interested in his recordings. In the early 1990s, his son, the director Urs Odermatt , discovered his photographs while researching his feature film Wachtmeister Zumbühl and made them a central theme of the story. Urs Odermatt put together the work for the groups of works Karambolage , Im Dienst , In zivil , Feierabend and Die Nidwalden and has been publishing the work since then.

Odermatt died on June 19, 2021 at his home in Stans at the age of 96 from complications from Alzheimer's disease .

Solo exhibitions

  • 1993 - Arnold Odermatt. Seeplatz 10, Buochs , CH.
  • 1996 - My world. Viewpoint Gallery, Salford , GB.
  • 1998 - collision. Police headquarters, Frankfurt am Main.
  • 2000 - Billiards and other photographs. Springer & Winckler Gallery, Berlin.
  • 2001 - Carambolages. Center de la photographie, Geneva.
  • 2002 - collision. Museum Morsbroich, Leverkusen. ISBN 3-925520-64-3 .
  • 2002 - The Biennale selection. 32 photographs for Venice 2001. Springer & Winckler Galerie, Berlin. ISBN 3-00-009666-3 .
  • 2002 - collision. Center rhénan de la photographie, Strasbourg.
  • 2002 - Arnold Odermatt. The Art Institute of Chicago , Chicago. Catalog.
  • 2003 - Arnold Odermatt. Washington University Gallery of Art, St. Louis. Catalog.
  • 2003 - Arnold Odermatt. Paul Morris Gallery, New York.
  • 2004 - Arnold Odermatt. James Kelly Contemporary, Santa Fe.
  • 2004 - Arnold Odermatt. Gallery Sabine Knust , Munich.
  • 2004 - collisions. Winterthur Photo Museum , Winterthur.
  • 2004 - collision. Town hall, Fellbach .
  • 2004 - Arnold Odermatt. Galería Arnés y Röpke, Madrid.
  • 2004 - Nidwalden canton police. Springer & Winckler Gallery, Berlin.
  • 2005 - Arnold Odermatt. Centro Cultural Okendo, San Sebastian. ISBN 84-96431-06-1 .
  • 2005 - Arnold Odermatt. Museum in Bellpark, Kriens , CH.
  • 2006 - In service. Springer & Winckler Gallery, Berlin.
  • 2008 - Focus Photography: Arnold Odermatt. Lelong Gallery, Zurich.
  • 2009 - Project room: Arnold Odermatt. Georges-Philippe & Nathalie Vallois Gallery, Paris.
  • 2009 - collision. Miesiąc Fotografii w Krakowie, Krakow. ISBN 978-83-928967-0-8 .
  • 2010 - Arnold Odermatt. Leo Koenig Inc. Projects, New York.
  • 2010 - In civil. Springer & Winckler Gallery, Berlin.
  • 2010 - On Duty. Amador Gallery, New York.
  • 2011 - On and Off Duty. Georges-Philippe & Nathalie Vallois Gallery, Paris.
  • 2011 - home. Buchmann Gallery, Berlin.
  • 2012 - Arnold Odermatt. L'Été photographique de Lectoure, Lectoure ( Gascony ). ISBN 978-2-919077-12-0 .
  • 2012 - Arnold Odermatt. Espace d'Art Contemporain Fernet Branca , Saint-Louis (Alsace).
  • 2012 - Arnold Odermatt. La Chambre, Strasbourg.
  • 2013 - The village as a world. Nidwalden Museum, Stans, CH.
  • 2014 - crash 1948–1995, Unknown Works. Gallery Springer, Berlin.
  • 2015 - collision. Atelier Jungwirth, Graz.
  • 2015 - Arnold Odermatt: 90th Birthday, Selected Works 1948–2015. Gallery Springer, Berlin.
  • 2017 - exhibition of works. Photobastei, Zurich.
  • 2017 - closing time. Gallery Springer, Berlin.
  • 2017 - Arnold Odermatt - Solo Show. Paris Photo, Paris.
  • 2020 - The incredible pictures of Arnold Odermatt. Gallery in the monastery, Bad Hersfeld.
  • 2020 - Arnold Odermatt - Police officer, photographer, Swiss. Kunsthalle Erfurt. With the installation Die Dunkelkammer des Arnold Odermatt by Jasmin Morgan.

Participation in exhibitions

Books

  • Urs Odermatt : Sergeant Zumbühl . Screenplay for a feature film with 79 still photos by Arnold Odermatt. Benteli Verlag, Bern 1994, ISBN 3-7165-0960-4 .
  • Arnold Odermatt: collision. Museum Morsbroich, Leverkusen 2002, ISBN 3-925520-64-3 .
  • Arnold Odermatt: The Biennale Selection. 32 photographs for Venice 2001. With a text by Harald Szeemann . Galerie Springer & Winckler, Berlin 2002, ISBN 3-00-009666-3 .
  • Arnold Odermatt: My world. Photographs 1939–1993. Edited by Urs Odermatt. Benteli Verlag, Bern 1993, 2001 and 2006, ISBN 3-7165-0910-8 . Kodak Photo Book Prize 1993.
  • Arnold Odermatt: collision. Edited by Urs Odermatt. German, French, English. Steidl Verlag, Göttingen 2003, ISBN 3-88243-866-5 .
  • Arnold Odermatt: On duty. En service. On duty. Edited by Urs Odermatt. Steidl Verlag, Göttingen 2006, ISBN 3-86521-271-9 . German Photo Book Prize 2008.
  • Arnold Odermatt: In civilian clothes. Hors service. Off duty. Edited by Urs Odermatt. Steidl Verlag , Göttingen 2010, ISBN 978-3-86521-796-7 .
  • Arnold Odermatt. With a text by Caroline Recher. Diaphane éditions, Montreuil sur Brèche 2012, ISBN 978-2-919077-12-0 .
  • Caroline Recher: Arnold Odermatt, par-delà les sept montagnes. L'œil candide de l'artiste non-homologué. In: Études photographiques 28, Paris 2011.
  • Arnold Odertmatt: collision. Edited by Urs Odermatt. Steidl Verlag, Göttingen 2013. ISBN 978-3-88243-866-6
  • Arnold Odermatt: After work. Après le boulot. After work. Edited by Urs Odermatt. Steidl Verlag , Göttingen 2016. ISBN 978-3-86930-973-6 .
  • Arnold Odermatt: A good picture has to be sharp! Edited by Markus Hartmann. Hartmann Projects, Stuttgart 2017. ISBN 978-3-96070-009-8 .

Movie

In the 1960s, Odermatt documented the early motorway construction near Acheregg and the Loppertunnel with extensive photo and 16 mm black and white film material. In 1991, Urs Odermatt put together the documentary Lopper from this historical film material .

As a still photographer in the 1990s, Arnold Odermatt had red light for the cinema films ! , Bought luck and Sergeant Zumbühl from Urs Odermatt accompanied the filming.

In Wachtmeister Zumbühl , Urs Odermatt tells the story of a police officer who is passionate about photography. Arnold Odermatt photographs his alter ego Michael Gwisdek , who plays the title character, as a still photographer .

Michael Gwisdek as Arnold Zumbühl; Sergeant Zumbühl from Urs Odermatt , 1993

Web links

Commons : Arnold Odermatt  - Collection of Images

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Mark Herren: Biography of Arnold Odermatt in the online work on historical photography in Switzerland, fotoCH, accessed on January 12, 2021.
  2. ↑ Swiss photographer died - Arnold Odermatt's police photography fascinated the art world . In: Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen SRF Kultur, June 20, 2021, accessed on June 20, 2021.
  3. ↑ Monica Boirar : Arnold Odermatt - Opus Magnum of a village police officer . In: Fotointern, January 22, 2017, accessed on September 26, 2020.
personal data
SURNAME Odermatt, Arnold
SHORT DESCRIPTION Swiss police photographer
DATE OF BIRTH May 29, 1925
PLACE OF BIRTH Oberdorf NW , Canton of Nidwalden
DATE OF DEATH June 19, 2021
PLACE OF DEATH Stans