Karl Heinz May
Karl Heinz Mai (born February 28, 1920 in Leipzig ; † May 9, 1964 in Reinharz ) was a German photographer . His photographs are cultural treasures of the city of Leipzig and everyday German history in the middle of the 20th century.
Life
Karl Heinz Mai completed an apprenticeship as a business assistant. As a Wehrmacht soldier , he suffered such a serious injury in 1941 that both legs had to be amputated. After returning to his parents' house in December 1943, bombed out and returned from Niederwiesa to Leipzig in 1945, he began to document the post-war period in his hometown on behalf of newspapers, public and church institutions, but above all on his own, from a wheelchair . His photos show hardship, destruction, the art of survival, reconstruction and the actors of everyday life. In 1949 he married his wife Hella.
From the mid-1950s he carried out commissioned work for the Leipzig City History Museum , the Saxon State Office for Monument Preservation and the Leipzig Trade Fair Office .
Thanks to the efforts of his son Karl Detlef Mai (* 1949), the extensive estate was preserved as documentation of the city's history and German post-war history and was incorporated into over 250 exhibitions and around 150 publications at home and abroad.
Exhibitions (selection)
- 1980 All beginnings are difficult , Leipzig Gallery of Artistic Folk Creation, Barfußgäßchen, Cabinet for Cultural Work of the City of Leipzig, April - May 1980, 63 photographs
- 1983 Karl Heinz Mai , Dum Panu z Kunstatu, Kabinet Fotografie J. Funka, Brno , April - May 1983, 63 photographs
- 1983 Bombs on Leipzig , Leipzig Natural History Museum , Leipzig, December 1983 - February 1984, 100 photographs
- 1985 Karl Heinz Mai - The early years , gallery of the Leipzig University of Graphics and Book Art , April - May 1985, 124 photographs
- 1989 Pictures from the beginning , Staatliche Galerie Moritzburg , Halle (Saale), 80 photographs
- 1989 Pictures of Children , Gallery Moment, Leipzig, March 1989, 80 photographs
- 1989 Memories , Galerie des Staatlichen Kunsthandels, Prerow, August 1989, 55 photographs
- 1991 early years, Leipzig 1945–1950 , Galerie Voller Ernst, Berlin, July - September 1991, 60 photographs
- 1998 Perfect Provisions , Art Department Store, Leipzig, July - August 1998, 88 photographs
- 1999 Women alone , Haus des Buches , Leipzig, May - June 1999, 104 photographs
- 2015 Christmas pictures , foyer of the Saxon Economic Archives in Leipzig, December 2015 - January 2016, 24 photographs
- 2018 Pictures from the countryside from the 1950s , August - November 2018, Volkskundemuseum Wyhra, Kleine Galerie im Kuhstall, 23 photographs
- 2019 Reporter on three wheels , November 2019 - February 2020, gallery in the skylight hall of the Leipzig City Library , 46 photographs
Publications (selection)
- with Diethart Kerbs and Karl Detlef Mai: early years: Leipzig 1945 to 1950. Nishen-Verlag in Kreuzberg, Berlin 1986.
- with Fritz Rudolf Fries: Portrait of a time: 1945–1950 in Leipzig. Mitteldeutscher Verlag, Halle (Saale) 1990.
- with Andreas Mai and Bernd-L. Lange: Everyday Reporter: Leipzig in the Photographs of Karl Heinz Mai - 1945 to 1964. Pro Leipzig, Leipzig 2007.
- Leipziger Freiheit: 2010 - Leipzig in the 50s - Photographs by Karl Heinz Mai. Historical annual calendar with 13 photographs.
- with Herbert Günther and Franziska Neubert: We children from before. Klett children's book, Leipzig 2011.
- with Mark Lehmstedt: reporter on three wheels; Photographs 1945–1964. Lehmstedt-Verlag, Leipzig 2019, ISBN 978-3-95797-095-4 .
documentary
- Arndt Ginzel: Change of perspective: The legacy of Karl Heinz Mai. On behalf of MDR, first broadcast in 2009, duration: 29:40 min.
Works in public and private collections (selection)
- Photo library May Leipzig
- Saxon State Archives
- Photo library of the City History Museum Leipzig
- Leipzig City Archives
- Berlinische Galerie
- Moritzburg Art Museum Halle / Saale
- Art gallery of the Sparkasse Leipzig
- German Photo Library Dresden
- German Historical Museum Berlin
- Marburg Index
- Agency Voller Ernst Berlin
- Natural History Museum Leipzig
Web links
- Photo library Karl Heinz Mai (with personal exhibitions, group exhibitions, books and book participations, press articles, calendars and postcards), accessed on March 3, 2020.
- Karl Heinz Mai estate in the Leipzig State Archives , accessed on March 3, 2020
- Sven Felix Kellerhoff: Photographer Karl Heinz Mai - This is what Leipzig looked like in the "zero hour". Die Welt , online portal, February 28, 2020. Accessed March 3, 2020 .
- Mathias Orbeck: City history: The "reporter on three wheels" - photographer Karl Heinz Mai born 100 years ago. Leipziger Volkszeitung , online portal, February 27, 2020. Accessed March 3, 2020 .
- Mathias Orbeck: Children and war invalids - the images of the destroyed Leipzig: children, war invalids, rubble women - a new Leipzig book looks at people's everyday lives after the Second World War. It was recorded by Karl Heinz Mai, who was out and about in a “self-propelled” wheelchair. Leipziger Volkszeitung , online portal, November 21, 2019. Accessed March 3, 2020 .
- Impressions from post-war Leipzig by Karl Heinz Mai (picture gallery) , accessed on March 3, 2020
- Elisabeth Lehmann: In a wheelchair through post-war Leipzig. The photographer Karl Heinz Mai. MDR , online portal, May 29, 2020. Accessed June 4, 2020 .
Individual evidence
- ^ Mathias Orbeck: City History: The "Reporter on Three Wheels" - Photographer Karl Heinz Mai born 100 years ago. Leipziger Volkszeitung , online portal, February 27, 2020. Accessed March 3, 2020 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | May, Karl Heinz |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German photographer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 28, 1920 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Leipzig |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 9, 1964 |
| Place of death | Pure resin |