Freiberg photo friends
The Freiberger Fotofreunde was founded as an amateur photography club in 1950. Above all, they are closely connected to their hometown Freiberg . A large number of exhibitions, the publication of and collaboration on books, brochures and postcards, as well as award ceremonies and awards for her photographic work, contributed to her national fame. The history of Freiberg's photo friends up to 1989 is closely linked to the work of the Kulturbund and the ideologically shaped cultural work in the GDR .
History and Development
In 1950 photo amateurs from Freiberg founded a photo group of nature and homeland friends in the Kulturbund for the democratic renewal of Germany. The association was at times referred to as a photo circle and also as a photography working group; “Freiberger Fotofreunde” prevailed as a colloquial short form. With this name, the club members also saw themselves in the tradition of a group that existed in the 1920s and of whose existence they had learned from older specialist literature. The club has been using this designation as its official name since the political change in 1989. After the Central Photography Commission (ZKF) was established as an organizational unit of the Kulturbund in 1959, a district commission was established in the Freiberg district in 1961, which in turn was subordinate to the commission of the Karl-Marx-Stadt district and the central commission. In addition to press and professional photographers, the Freiberg district commission also included amateur photographers, including club members of the “Photo Friends”. This commission took over the financial and organizational support (provided by the Free German Trade Union Federation ) for the photo circles and guided them in political and ideological questions. The practical support was provided by the photography working group in the Kulturbund, which carried out training courses and courses (e.g. at the adult education center). Members of the “Freiberg Photo Friends” were also represented in central positions in the Photography Working Group. So acted Gunther Galinsky , since 1963 a member of the club, from 1965 as head of the AG and chairman of the district commission Photography with the Cultural Union. From 1978 to 1989 he was also an appointed member of the "Standing Commission for Culture" of the Freiberg City Council, where he represented photography. In 1965 the Freiberg Photo Friends had 14 members. In 1991 the “Freiberger Fotofreunde” joined the Association of German Amateur Photographers Associations (VDAV), which has been operating under the name of the German Association for Photography (DVF) since the same year . The Freiberg photo friends have been running their own homepage since 2009, on which they provide information about their work, their history and current projects. In 2010 the Freiberg photo friends had 31 members, in 2015 only 21 members.
Photographic work
"Freiberger photo friends" find their motifs primarily in the city of Freiberg and its surrounding area. They focus on the people in the region, on the landscape and on the world of work, especially mining. The club members see themselves as Freiberg's documentaries and record the development of town and country in their pictures. You are intensely committed to the history of Freiberg and the preservation of monuments. This close connection resulted in numerous and successful publications about Freiberg and the city's history of photography. The club also produced photo folders and postcards for sale. Photographs of the club members were also published in the renowned photography magazine , in the photo cinema magazine and in the newsletter of the Central Photography Commission. In 1988 the German magazine Arbeiterfotografie reported on the photo club. From 2002 to 2011 photos by the Freiberg Photo Friends illustrated Freiberger reading books . Private photos were also taken and are still being made in the context of the photo club work. The members conduct photo hikes and photo trips together. An important aspect of the photographic work is also the cooperation with other photo clubs. In 1965 the first international contact was made with the photo club in Koblov in the Czechoslovak Republic . Teplice followed in 1972 and Vejprty in 1980 . Traditional connections also exist with photo clubs in Freiberg's twin cities: with Gentilly since 1968 and with Darmstadt since 1990 . Particularly close ties have existed since 1991 with the “Fotofreunden Hagen eV”. Freiberger Fotofreunde have been intensively involved in exhibitions and competitions since they were founded. From 1962 z. B. the district commission photography through so-called district photo shows, in which the members of the Freiberg photo friends also took part. At these first exhibitions, the ideological influence of the SED on amateur photography by functionaries who were still in the tradition of Stalinism was particularly evident. Regulation and censorship were the result. For example, no church or historical motifs are shown: At the 3rd district photo show of the Freiberg district in 1964, the jury selected the tulip pulpit with a picture of the late Gothic pulpit in Freiberg Cathedral by club member Konrad Braune for first place. However, the decision was objected to by the district secretary of the Kulturbund, because the picture was very good, but did not correspond to the theme of the competition. The decision was then reversed. The Kulturbund also tried to influence amateur photography work through the commissions and the working group: in the GDR, leisure time and thus also photographic work should not be designed for its own sake, but for the purpose of intellectual and moral education. These demands should also be felt in the photographs as the result of leisure activities. In addition to participating in national and international exhibitions and competitions, Freiberg's photo friends were given the opportunity to present their photographs at all times in the foyer of the Freiberg Stadtpark-Lichtspiele from 1965 onwards. After this cinema was closed, the photo friends have been exhibiting a selection of their work in the shop window of André Dietrich's Freiberg photo shop since 2000. Until 1990, personal exhibitions were held mainly in urban and rural clubhouses, in industrial centers, as well as in public institutions and business premises.
Current situation
In 2015 some of the “Freiberg Photo Friends” decided, in cooperation with the Institute for Saxon History and Folklore , to hand over the photographs they took between 1950 and 2008 to the Deutsche Fotothek . The club "Freiberger Fotofreunde" is also part of a dissertation project at the chair for media history at the University of Siegen .
logo
The logo of the “Freiberg Photo Friends” was designed in 1976 by the Freiberg artist Paul Bojack . It shows a photographer who is standing behind a historical plate camera, is covered with a cloth and is holding the shutter release button in his hand.
Awards, exhibitions and competitions
The members of the Freiberg Photo Friends took part in numerous exhibitions - not only in the region, but also in the Karl-Marx-Stadt district and throughout the GDR. After the Central Photography Commission of the Fédération Internationale de l'Art Photographique (FIAP) had joined, the GDR photo amateurs were also able to take part in international exhibitions and competitions. Because of the international attention it received, Gunther Galinsky, a member of the circle since 1963, was awarded the prestigious title of Artiste FIAP in 1979 for outstanding photographic achievements.
Awards
- 1971–1988 badge of honor for photography in gold, silver or bronze for various members
- 1979 Title Artiste FIAP (AFIAP) for Gunther Galinsky
- 1980, 1985 Johannes R. Becher Medal in silver and bronze for several members
- 1981 Medal of the Kulturbund for meritorious work for the club
- 1981 Medal of the Solidarity Committee of the GDR for the club
- 1986 Medal Awarded folk art collective of the GDR for the club
- 1989 Gunther Galinsky received a medal for services to the arts
- 1995 AGFA scholarship for Anja Schmidt
- 1999 Citizen Prize of the City of Freiberg for Gunther Galinsky
- 2000 Loyalty medal from the German Association for Photography for the club
- 2002, 2015 plaque of honor "Friendship in Peace and Freedom" from the city of Darmstadt for two members
- 2003 Sparkassenstiftung art prize for Elisabeth Peukert
- 2003 Gold badge of honor from the German Photography Association for Gunther Galinsky
Larger exhibitions and competitions in Freiberg and in the partner cities
- 1962 District Photo Exhibition Freiberg (competition)
- 1963 District Photo Exhibition Freiberg (competition)
- 1964 District Photo Exhibition Freiberg (competition)
- 1965 Special photo show on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the Bergakademie Freiberg
- 1967 district photo exhibition Freiberg (competition)
- 1968 Photo exhibition about Freiberg in Gentilly
- 1969 district photo exhibition Freiberg (competition)
- 1972 District Photo Exhibition Freiberg (competition)
- 1973 Circle color slide competition Freiberg
- 1974 Exhibition about 25 years of monument preservation in Freiberg
- 1975 District Color Slide Competition Freiberg
- 1977 District Photo Exhibition Freiberg (competition)
- 1978 GDR exhibition ZOOFOTO International (as a touring exhibition of the ZKF)
- 1981 District Photo Exhibition Freiberg (competition)
- 1982 Circle Color Slide Competition Freiberg
- 1983 District Color Slide Competition Freiberg
- 1985 Exhibition by Gerhard Weber (Colditz) in the small gallery of the Cotta Club Freiberg
- 1985 GDR exhibition ZOOFOTO International (as a touring exhibition of the ZKF)
- 1986 Exhibition of 800 years of the church in Freiberg on the occasion of the 800th anniversary of the city of Freiberg
- 1986 Exhibition of historical photography in Freiberg
- 1986 Exhibition about the 800th anniversary of Freiberg in Gentilly and Delft
- 1987 Exhibition on the occasion of the 22nd Workers' Festival in Gera
- 1988 Gunther Galinsky personal exhibition in Freiberg
- 1989 Exhibition 150 Years of Photography - Photography in Freiberg
- 1989 Exhibition of Monument Preservation in Freiberg in the GDR embassy in Prague and in Ústí nad Labem
- 1990 Exhibition about Freiberg in the Sparkasse in Mülheim an der Ruhr
- 1993 Freiberg exhibition after the fall of the Wall - technology before the fall of the Wall in Freiberg
- 1996 Exhibition Photo Harvest 1993–1996 in Freiberg
- 1997 Exhibition Photo Harvest 1993–1996 in Darmstadt
- 1998 Exhibition Photo Harvest 1993–1996 in Siebenlehn
- 1998 Personal exhibition of Gunther Galinsky photography from four decades in Freiberg
- 1999 Exhibition We are the people - 10 years of turning point in Freiberg
- 2000 exhibition We are the people - 10 years of turning point in Darmstadt
- 2000 Exhibition of 50 Years of Freiberger Photo Friends in Freiberg
- 2000 Freiberg exhibition after the fall of the Wall - technology before the fall of the Wall in Darmstadt
- 2002 Exhibition Landscape in the Vorerzgebirge in Reinsberg
- 2002 Exhibition Landscape in the Vorerzgebirge in Vaihingen / Enz
- 2003 Exhibition Landscape in the Vorerzgebirge in Darmstadt
- 2004 Exhibition A view from the outside over the twin cities Freiberg and Gentilly in Freiberg
- 2004 Exhibition Crossed Views - Regards croisés, Freiberg - Gentilly in Gentilly
- 2007 Exhibition impressions from the Freiberg region in the Freiberg district office
- 2007 Clothesline exhibition Aus-Zeit in Freiberg on the occasion of the Open Monument Day
- 2008 Personal exhibition Gunther Galinsky Already forgotten?
- 2009 Exhibition impressions from the Freiberg region in Darmstadt
- 2010 Exhibition 60 years of Freiberg photo friends in the Sparkasse Freiberg
- 2010 Exhibition of Lebendiges Freiberg in Darmstadt on the occasion of twentieth town twinning
- 2010 Exhibition 60 years of photo friends in the House of Encounters of the social association VdK in Freiberg
- 2015 Exhibition of 25 years of city partnership with Freiberg in Darmstadt
Media presence
In 1977 the Freiberg photo friends became protagonists of a 25-minute film on GDR television about the Freiberg Photo Circle and the preservation of monuments . The film's authors were Angelika Urbanek and Herbert Meinike. Angelika Urbanek made another film about the club on behalf of MDR in 2000 on the occasion of its 50th anniversary. The regional television channels eff3 and Kanal 9 have been reporting on the activities of Freiberg's photo friends since 1990.
Publications
- 1966 to 1987 Publication of seven postcard portfolios from Freiberg's motifs as well as three portfolios for the 800th anniversary of Freiberg in 1986, one color portfolio for the mountain parade, and one portfolio each for the Club Bobritzschtal and the mining and smelting combine "Albert Funk"
- Gunther Galinsky, Rolf Stenzel: Freiberg . Freiberg 1978 (2nd edition 1981).
- Brochure Freiberger Photographien , 1985
- Hanns-Heinz Kasper u. a .: History of the mountain town of Freiberg . Weimar 1986.
- Brochure The 800th Anniversary of the Bergstadt Freiberg , 1988
- Sabine Ebert: Freiberg and the surrounding area . Freiberg 1990.
- Experience Freiberg illustrated book , 2005 as a representative gift for Freiberg's mayor Uta Rensch
- Sabine Ebert, Gunther Galinsky: Freiberg - When the chimneys were still smoking. Photo documents between 1945 and 1989 . Leipzig 2001.
- Sabine Ebert, Gunther Galinsky: Silbermann's heirs - views, stories, anecdotes . Leipzig 2003.
- Sabine Ebert, Gunther Galinsky: Discoveries in the Freiberg district - from Augustusburg to Zethau . Freiberg 2004.
- Annett Schrenk, Freiberg Photo Friends: Freiberg - Experience a Region . Freiberg 2007.
- Gunther Galinsky, Eberhard Saage: Freiberg - already forgotten? Photo documents between 1967 and 2009 . Leipzig 2009.
- Gunther Galinsky, Sabine Ebert, Matthias Zwarg: Freiberg - in the middle of Saxony . Chemnitz 2010.
- Gunther Galinsky, Freiberg photo friends: Freiberg - the festival year . Chemnitz 2012.
- Gunther Galinsky: 850 years Freiberg . Chemnitz 2012.
literature
- Freiberger Fotofreunde (ed.): 1950 - 2000. 50 years of Freiberger Fotofreunde . Photo exhibition from May 27 to July 9, 2000, Freiberg City and Mining Museum. Freiberg 2000. ( pdf )
- Freiberger Fotofreunde (ed.): Small chronicle of 50 years of Freiberg photo friends with a selection of fun and informative stories from club life . Freiberg 2000. ( pdf )
- Freiberger Fotofreunde (ed.): Small chronicle of 60 years of Freiberger Fotofreunde . Freiberg 2010.
- Freiberger Fotofreunde (ed.): Freiberger Fotofreunde 1950–2010 . Freiberg 2010.
Web links
- Website of the Freiberg photo friends
Individual evidence
- ↑ See http://www.freiberger-fotofreunde.de/chronik/
- ↑ Cf. Regine Schiermeyer: Greif to the camera buddy! The history of the company photo groups in the GDR . Berlin 2015, p. 68.
- ↑ See http://www.freiberger-fotofreunde.de
- ↑ See http://fotofreunde-hagen.de/
- ↑ See Freiberger Fotofreunde (ed.): Freiberger Fotofreunde 1950–2010 . Freiberg 2010.
- ↑ Cf. Regine Schiermeyer, Greif to the camera buddy! The history of the company photo groups in the GDR . Berlin 2015.
- ↑ Cf. Daniela Schnupp, "We take contemporary history" - amateur photography in the GDR. A workshop report , in: Volkskunde in Sachsen 27 (2015), in preparation; http://www.mediengeschichte.uni-siegen.de/?p=1145 ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. .
