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The Truth of the Moment
The Truth of the Moment
Thomas Hoepker
February 24, 2023
Uniformed couple flirting during a military air show in Magdeburg, 1974
© Thomas Hoepker/Magnum Photos
Few photographers have influenced German photojournalism as profoundly as Thomas Hoepker (b.1936). His reportages took the Leica photographer around the globe, making him an eye witness to some of the most significant political and social events of the 20th century. Whether he covered the world’s crisis zones, created extraordinary city portraits of New York and Rome, or documented everyday life in the GDR during the 1970s: the people he encountered were always at the centre of Hoepker’s work.
The exhibition ‘Intimate History’ (on show at f³ – freiraum für fotografie in Berlin from February 24 to May 7, 2023) vividly conveys Hoepker’s interest in social issues, and his empathy for those he portrayed. Authenticity and sincere documentation are defining constants in the photographer’s oeuvre. Marked by precise compositions, condensed narratives and the absence of any sensationalism, his understated, subtle images have become timeless icons of Concerned Photography. In 2014, Thomas Hoepker was honoured with the Leica Hall of Fame Award in recognition of his exceptional life’s work.
The exhibition ‘Intimate History’ (on show at f³ – freiraum für fotografie in Berlin from February 24 to May 7, 2023) vividly conveys Hoepker’s interest in social issues, and his empathy for those he portrayed. Authenticity and sincere documentation are defining constants in the photographer’s oeuvre. Marked by precise compositions, condensed narratives and the absence of any sensationalism, his understated, subtle images have become timeless icons of Concerned Photography. In 2014, Thomas Hoepker was honoured with the Leica Hall of Fame Award in recognition of his exceptional life’s work.
ALL IMAGES ON THIS PAGE: © Thomas Hoepker
Thomas Hoepker+-
born in Munich in 1936. Early successes and awards. Photo reporter for the Münchner Illustrierten in 1960; as of 1962 member of the Kristall editorial team, then working for Stern as of 1964. In addition to black and white pictures, Hoepker is able to produce early colour pictures for the magazine. Here too, his Leica is his indispensable work tool. Starting in the 1970s, he also works as a cameraman producing numerous documentary and TV movies. Hoepker moves to New York in 1976, and from 1978 to 1981 is the Executive Editor of the American edition of GEO. He returns to Hamburg and works as Art Director for Stern's chief editorial team. In 1989 he becomes the first German member of the renowned Magnum Photos Agency, acting as its President from 2003 to 2007. He produces further documentaries with his second wife, the film maker Christine Kruchen. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Culture Prize of the German Photographic Society (DGPh) in 1968. In 2005, thousands of photographs are donated to the Photography Museum in the city of Munich. In 2014 Hoepker is honoured with the Leica Hall of Fame Award. After a long illness, he passed away on July 10, 2024 in Santiago de Chile. More
Uniformed couple flirting during a military air show in Magdeburg, 1974
© Thomas Hoepker/Magnum Photos
Holidaymakers on the island of Rügen, GDR, 1974
© Thomas Hoepker/Magnum Photos
Visitors in the Sistine Chapel, Vatican, 1956
© Thomas Hoepker/Magnum Photos
Famine and smallpox epidemic. Villagers come out of their huts to beg for food, Bihar, India 1967 © Thomas Hoepker/Magnum Photos
Lovebirds, Rome, 1956
© Thomas Hoepker/Magnum Photos