Walter Pfeiffer (graphic designer)

Walter Pfeiffer (born March 29, 1946 in Beggingen ) is a Swiss graphic artist and photographer who lives and works in Zurich . For many years he was one of the underground photographers in the field of gay zines . His work did not become known to a wider audience until the early 2000s through contributions to the magazines iD or Vogue .

Life

After an apprenticeship as a decorator in the Zurich discount department store EPA from 1962 to 1966, Pfeiffer attended the Zurich School of Applied Arts from 1966 to 1968 . In 1969/70 he trained as a graphic designer at the Globus department store in Zurich. Pfeiffer worked as a freelance graphic designer until 1980. From around 1972 he became increasingly self-taught with photography. In 1974 he had a solo exhibition at the Li Tobler Gallery in Zurich. Pfeiffer only achieved his breakthrough as a photographer at the beginning of this century, especially after the publication of his book «Welcome Aboard. Photographs 1980–2000 » in 2001. He has been teaching at the F + F School for Art and Design in Zurich since the 1970s , in the preliminary design course, in the art course and in the photography course.

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Pfeiffer's works are today u. a. in the Kunsthaus Zürich , in the Fotomuseum Winterthur , in the Bernese Federal Art Collection, in the Windsor Collection or in the Sir Elton John Photography Collection .

Books (excerpt)

• Walter Pfeiffer. 1970-1980. Betzel, Frankfurt / Main 1980 (reprint: Ringier, Zurich 2004, ISBN 978-2-94027-138-2 )
• The eye, the thoughts, constantly wandering. Neighbor of the World, Zurich 1986, ISBN 3-907500-04-0
• Welcome Aboard, Photographs 1980-2000. Frey, Zurich 2001, ISBN 978-3-90550-932-8
• Night and Day. Hatje Cantz, Ostfildern 2007, ISBN 978-3-77571-957-5
• Cherchez la femme! Frey, Zurich 2007, ISBN 978-3-90550-966-3
• Walter Pfeiffer: In Love with Beauty. Steidl, Göttingen 2009, ISBN 978-3-86521-870-4

Awards and grants

• Federal art grants 1972, 1973
• Scholarship from the Canton of Zurich in 1977
• Awards for "Best Posters" 1973, 1979
• New York scholarship from the city of Zurich in 1980
• Steo Foundation Küsnach 1981
• Genoa studio of the city of Zurich in 1989
• Work semester at the Zug cultural foundation Landis & Gyr 1995
• Lifetime Award of the Swiss Photo Academy 2017

Web links

• Publications by and about Walter Pfeiffer (graphic designer) in the Helveticat catalog of the Swiss National Library
• Pfeiffer, Walter. In: Sikart
• Walter Pfeiffer in the Photography Lexicon of the Swiss Photo Foundation
• Data sheet Walter Pfeiffer in the vgf pool of the association of photographic designers
• Interview in Vice , Volume 4, Number 7 ( The Photo Issue 2008 )