Henry Wessel

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Henry Wessel (2016)

Henry Wessel Jr. (born July 28, 1942 in Teaneck , New Jersey , USA - † September 20, 2018 in Point Richmond , California ) was an American photographer .

He is considered one of the most important representatives of the " New Topographic Movement " in photography.

Life

Born and raised in Teaneck, New Jersey, Henry Wessel studied psychology at Pennsylvania State University (bachelor's degree) and received his master's of arts in photography from the State University of New York . In 1969 Wessel moved to Los Angeles . Here, as he himself described, influenced by the harsh Californian winter, he turned to subjects that until then had hardly been found worth photographing, especially the landscape that was changed by humans. In 1973 the New York Museum of Modern Art hosted his first exhibition. In 1975 he participated in the George Eastman House exhibition in Rochester , New York entitled "New Topographics: Photographs of the Man-Altered Landscape". This exhibition not only established the name for a new photographic movement, it was also a turning point in American landscape photography. No longer the z. This new generation of photographers was interested in the partially romanticized and natural look from photographers like Ansel Adams or Edward Weston , but a sober documentary look at the fraying city outskirts, commercial and industrial areas of the modern age . George Eastman House, curator William Jenkins presented six photographers with similar concerns and perspectives: Robert Adams , Lewis Baltz , Bernd and Hilla Becher , Stephen Shore and Henry Wessel.

Since then, a large number of exhibitions have been dedicated to Henry Wessel, and many of his projects have been documented in books. In addition to the “topographical” works (e.g. group of works “California and the West”), which are devoted to everyday urban landscapes, Wessel is among other things with groups of works of night shots (Night Walk / Night Walk), architectural documentations (e.g. Real Estate Photographs / Real Estate Photographs) or "Las Vegas" emerged.

Henry Wessel preferred to shoot with Leica 35 mm cameras and 28 mm focal length on Kodak Tri-X film in black and white. He lived in Richmond, California, where he died in September 2018 at the age of 76.

Exhibitions

Publications

Awards

Exhibition catalogs

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ David Walker: Obituary: “New Topographics” Photographer Henry Wessel, 76. In: Photo District News (PDN). September 21, 2018, accessed on September 22, 2018 .
  2. ^ Biographical data from Henry Wessel in Slices of time: California landscapes 1860–1880 and 1960–1980, Therese Thau Heyman, Ted Hedgpeth, Oakland Museum, Oakland Museum 1981, p. 37.
  3. ↑ Philip Gefter: Henry Wessel: Capturing the Image, Transcending the Subject. In: The New York Times . May 21, 2006, accessed on September 22, 2018 (English): “Mr. Wessel, who was born in Teaneck, NJ, 64 years ago, aims for that innocence in his work: he wants to narrow the distinction between the subjects he chooses and how they look photographed. "
personal data
SURNAME Wessel, Henry
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Henry Wessel Jr.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American photographer
DATE OF BIRTH July 28, 1942
PLACE OF BIRTH Teaneck , New Jersey , United States
DATE OF DEATH 20th September 2018
Place of death Point Richmond , California