Gerhard Kerff

Gerhard Kerff (born January 8, 1908 in Elberfeld ; † February 23, 2001 in Hamburg ) was a German architect , urban planner and photographer .

Life

Gerhard Kerff gained his first practical experience as a construction worker in Duisburg . From 1926 he studied architecture at the Technical University of Stuttgart . He interrupted his studies from 1930 to 1931 for an interim internship at the building construction department in Duisburg. Kerff finished his studies in 1933 with a diploma and from 1934 worked in Heinrich Blecken's studio in Duisburg. After working for the architect Hermann Reick from 1935 to 1937, he worked for the Air Force between 1937 and 1945. During this time he planned structures that can be found on the islands of Rantum and Usedom . During the Second World War , the Wehrmacht drafted him into military service in 1943. Kerff returned from captivity in 1947 and went to Hamburg in 1948. He initially worked as an architect for the regional planning office there and planned the reconstruction of the Hanseatic city in the Eimsbüttel district office. In 1954 he was appointed building officer and in 1957 senior building officer. He retired in 1973 in the position of construction director, which he had held since 1967.

As an architect, Kerff belonged to the Hamburg regional group of the German Academy for Urban Development and Regional Planning .

In addition to working as an architect, Gerhard Kerff took photos. Although photography was a hobby for him, he was very professional. Albert Renger-Patzsch , who had offered a one-time course for amateur photographers that Kerff had attended, developed into his mentor . Extensive correspondence between Kerff and Renger-Patzsch, which they conducted between 1934 and 1966, shows that Kerff developed into an expert at eye level who gave Renger-Patzsch advice on technical and design issues. Like his mentor, Kerff took no pleasure in portrait photography. Instead, he concentrated on taking pictures of architecture and landscapes. These appeared in several independent illustrated books. Recordings that he made from 1941 onwards during many trips through Germany and Europe were often printed in Merian magazine. The Museum of Arts and Crafts in Hamburg received more than 4,600 black and white pictures from Kerff in 1990/91, as well as all of his correspondence with Renger-Patzsch.

In addition to his own recordings, Kerff wrote textbooks and specialist articles. The magazine Foto-Prisma published more than 100 articles by Kerff between 1950 and 1979. As an author, he wrote precise and clearly structured articles that were interesting for both laypeople and experts.

The Gesellschaft Deutscher Lichtbildner recognized Kerff's importance for photography by taking him in 1953 as the first non-professional photographer.

estate

After his death in February 2001, his life partner took over Gerhard Kerff's estate. Due to the close association with the photographer Albert Renger-Patzsch, the estate was incorporated into the Albert Renger-Patzsch archive, Ann and Jürgen Wilde Foundation - Pinakothek der Moderne Munich.

literature

• Gabriele Betancourt Nuñez: Kerff, Gerhard . In: Franklin Kopitzsch, Dirk Brietzke (Hrsg.): Hamburgische Biographie . tape 4 . Wallstein, Göttingen 2008, ISBN 978-3-8353-0229-7 , pp. 189-190 .