Matthias Leupold
Encyclopedia
Matthias Leupold is a German photographer who lives and works in Berlin.
. in the early eighties, he started staging photographs in order to express his interest in both photography and film. At first small exhibitions in East Berlin
were tolerated by the GDR government. More extensive exhibitions for example at Bauhaus
in Dessau and University of Fine Arts in Dresden
were forbidden. In 1986, threats of arrest and condemnation influenced his decision to move from East Berlin to West Berlin
. He started studying Visual Communications in 1987 at the Berlin University of the Arts
(UdK), completing his degree as a master student. He has traveled to many places, including America
, in order to exhibit his work and to photograph in very diverse places.
In his series of works, Leupold explores manifestations of picture groups and their social references. In 1988/89, he initiated the 3rd German Art Exhibition - Dresden
, to analyze the year 1953 artistically. Thereby, the pictures of this strict beginning of the formalism
debate are taken up and restaged photographically.
In 1994, Leupold succeeded to exhibit his visual criticism in the Military Historical Museum in Dresden, where he first began his career. His work hung in the same house in which this far-reaching demonstration of power took place in 1953.
Another black and white picture series is inspired by the ideological content of the German magazine Die Gartenlaube
(Editor: Ernst Keil) and restaged with effortful characteristics, backgrounds and current clothes.
Aside from his series, Leupold photographs numerous frames. Actors, models and laymen made chances for his camera productions. Personal and socially relevant topics like solitude, homecoming, protection, neediness, abundance and waste, as well as current events are reflected.
Some of his photographs make specific content references to a novel by Robert Musil
Der Mann ohne Eigenschaften (The Man without Qualities).
Matthias Leupold stayed in the German Academy, Villa Massimo
in Rome, from 1997-1998. The mostly color photographs, which were taken there, are characterized by observations of southern light on chapels, sculptures and Madonna Portraits.
Matthias Leupold represents a unique figure in the artistic landscape. This is expressed in his contributions to the exhibitions: Art in the GDR, Berlin National Gallery 2003 and Berlin-Moscow/Moscow-Berli 2004, in Moscow 2004. When i t comes to defining Leupold's work and elaborations, one summarizes in three polar tensions: between statics and dynamics, between contemplation and narration, between comic and symbol. In the pictures, these dimensions and categories do not fall apart but merge partly or completely together.
Life and work
Matthias Leupold completed his photographic education at the D.E.F.A. studio for feature films in Potsdam-BabelsbergPotsdam-Babelsberg
Babelsberg is the largest district of the Brandenburg capital Potsdam in Germany. The affluent neighbourhood named after a small hill on the Havel river is famous for Babelsberg Palace and Park, part of the Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin UNESCO World Heritage Site, as well as for Studio...
. in the early eighties, he started staging photographs in order to express his interest in both photography and film. At first small exhibitions in East Berlin
East Berlin
East Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. It consisted of the Soviet sector of Berlin that was established in 1945. The American, British and French sectors became West Berlin, a part strongly associated with West Germany but a free city...
were tolerated by the GDR government. More extensive exhibitions for example at Bauhaus
Bauhaus
', commonly known simply as Bauhaus, was a school in Germany that combined crafts and the fine arts, and was famous for the approach to design that it publicized and taught. It operated from 1919 to 1933. At that time the German term stood for "School of Building".The Bauhaus school was founded by...
in Dessau and University of Fine Arts in Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
were forbidden. In 1986, threats of arrest and condemnation influenced his decision to move from East Berlin to West Berlin
West Berlin
West Berlin was a political exclave that existed between 1949 and 1990. It comprised the western regions of Berlin, which were bordered by East Berlin and parts of East Germany. West Berlin consisted of the American, British, and French occupation sectors, which had been established in 1945...
. He started studying Visual Communications in 1987 at the Berlin University of the Arts
Berlin University of the Arts
The Universität der Künste Berlin, UdK is a public art school in Berlin, Germany, one of the four universities in the city...
(UdK), completing his degree as a master student. He has traveled to many places, including America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, in order to exhibit his work and to photograph in very diverse places.
In his series of works, Leupold explores manifestations of picture groups and their social references. In 1988/89, he initiated the 3rd German Art Exhibition - Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
, to analyze the year 1953 artistically. Thereby, the pictures of this strict beginning of the formalism
Formalism
The term formalism describes an emphasis on form over content or meaning in the arts, literature, or philosophy. A practitioner of formalism is called a formalist. A formalist, with respect to some discipline, holds that there is no transcendent meaning to that discipline other than the literal...
debate are taken up and restaged photographically.
In 1994, Leupold succeeded to exhibit his visual criticism in the Military Historical Museum in Dresden, where he first began his career. His work hung in the same house in which this far-reaching demonstration of power took place in 1953.
Another black and white picture series is inspired by the ideological content of the German magazine Die Gartenlaube
Die Gartenlaube
Die Gartenlaube Illustrirtes Familienblatt , was a forerunner of modern magazines, and the first major success of the German weekly. The name means "The Garden Arbor Family Journal" but the magazine is known worldwide as "Die Gartenlaube"...
(Editor: Ernst Keil) and restaged with effortful characteristics, backgrounds and current clothes.
Aside from his series, Leupold photographs numerous frames. Actors, models and laymen made chances for his camera productions. Personal and socially relevant topics like solitude, homecoming, protection, neediness, abundance and waste, as well as current events are reflected.
Some of his photographs make specific content references to a novel by Robert Musil
Robert Musil
Robert Musil was an Austrian writer. His unfinished long novel The Man Without Qualities is generally considered to be one of the most important modernist novels...
Der Mann ohne Eigenschaften (The Man without Qualities).
Matthias Leupold stayed in the German Academy, Villa Massimo
Villa Massimo
Villa Massimo, short for Deutsche Akademie Rom Villa Massimo , is a German art institute in Rome, established in 1910 and located in the Villa Massimo....
in Rome, from 1997-1998. The mostly color photographs, which were taken there, are characterized by observations of southern light on chapels, sculptures and Madonna Portraits.
Matthias Leupold represents a unique figure in the artistic landscape. This is expressed in his contributions to the exhibitions: Art in the GDR, Berlin National Gallery 2003 and Berlin-Moscow/Moscow-Berli 2004, in Moscow 2004. When i t comes to defining Leupold's work and elaborations, one summarizes in three polar tensions: between statics and dynamics, between contemplation and narration, between comic and symbol. In the pictures, these dimensions and categories do not fall apart but merge partly or completely together.
Works (Selection)
- 1988-90 Fahnenappell (Flag Appeal) - scenic photography to the third German Art Exhibition in Dresden 1953
- 1994 Leupolds Gartenlaube (Summer House) - Photographs of admiration in memory of a German family album (Deutsches Familienblatt).
- 1995 Die Schönheit der Frauen (The Beauty of Women) - photographic open air studies
Publications (Selection)
- 1992 Matthias Leupold, Fahnenappell (Flag Appeal), scenic photography to the third German Art Exhibition in Dresden 1953, Jonasverlag (publishinghouse) Marburg, 1992 ISBN 3-89445-128-9
- 1995 Matthias Leupold, Die Schönheit der Frauen (The Beauty of Women) - photographic open air studies, Connewitzer Verlagsbuchhandlung (publishing house) 1996 ISBN 3-928833-43 X
- 2004 Matthias Leupold, ISBN 3-932187-288 Die Vergangenheit hat erst begonnen (The Past has just begun), Schaden Verlag (publishing house) Cologne, 2004
Individual exhibitions
- 1992 Fahnenappell (Flag Appeal) - scenic photography to the 3rd Germans Art Exhibition in Dresden 1953, Bauhaus Dessau
- 1994 Fahnenappell (Flag Appeal) - scenic photography to the 3rd German Art Exhibition in Dresden 1953, Armed Forces Historical Museum Dresden
- 1996 Die Welt der Frau (The World of Woman) - The woman as such has already proved herself in photography, Festspielgalerie, Berlin
- 2003 Die Vergangenheit hat erst begonnen (The Past has just begun) - Foundation Moritzburg Landeskunstmuseum Sachsen-Anhalt, Halle/Saale
- 2004 Die Vergangenheit hat erst begonnen (The Past has just begun) Kunsthalle, Erfurt
Group exhibitions (Selection)
- 2003 Art in the GDR, National Gallery, Berlin
- 2004 Berlin-Moscow Moscow-Berlin, State Historical Museum Moscow
- 2009 Übergangsgesellschaft, Akademie der Künste, Berlin
Collections (Selection)
- Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, Museum for Photography, Berlin
- Berlinische Galerie
- Bibliothèque Nationale (National Library), Paris
- San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
- Museum Folkwang Essen
- Rheinisches Landesmuseum Bonn
- Foundation Moritzburg Landeskunstmuseum Sachsen-Anhalt, Halle/Saale
- Heinz Nixdorf Museum Forum, Paderborn
- Zeitgeschichtliches Forum, Leipzig
- Artothek Berlin
External links
- a list of exhibitions
- Publishing house Schaden.com photographs from: Die Vergangenheit hat erst begonnen (The past has just begun) - scenic photographs