On July 10, 2024, the photographer Thomas Hoepker went out. Over the past ten years, the Image Hall has been closely associated with Thomas Hoepker and has presented his iconic images in several solo exhibitions in Zurich and Amsterdam. Tribute to Thomas Hoepker (1936-2024) is on display until January 25, 2025 at Bildhalle Zurich.
Born in Munich in 1936, Hoepker is one of the greatest German photojournalists of the late 20th century.
As such, he not only lived through, but also played a role in, the second golden age of photojournalism, following the 1920s and 1930s. He entered the history of photography not only for his contributions to magazines such as Stern, Geo, Kristall and Münchner Illustrierte, but also as an art director, writer and filmmaker.
As a reporter for Stern, he had the opportunity to profile boxer Muhammad Ali in 1964, and continued to do so on a regular basis for 10 years. In 1966, Hoepker and his then-wife, Stern journalist Eva Windmöller, accompanied the boxing legend to London and Chicago. In 1970, Hoepker was present with his camera when Ali, who had been out of the ring for some time, was preparing for the “fight of the century” against Joe Frazier. He found him years later, when he was already suffering from Parkinson’s disease. Many of these images are known around the world and have become icons of photography. They have been widely exhibited in museums and are present in numerous collections.
In 1976, Hoepker moved to New York as a correspondent for Stern, and until 1981 he was the creator and director of the American edition of GEO. From 1987 to 1989 he was artistic director of the Stern in Hamburg. In 1989, he became the first German national to be accepted by Magnum as a full member, before becoming president of the agency from 2003 to 2006. Thomas Hoepker was married to the filmmaker Christine Kruchen.
In 2017, Thomas Hoepker learned that he had Alzheimer’s disease. He dreamed of traveling the United States one last time, as he had done in the early 1960s for his “Heartland” project. A film crew accompanied him and his wife Christine, resulting in “Dear Memories”, a documentary film about a photographer who spent his life creating cultural and historical memories, and for whom these images now function as a sort of “externalized” memory.
“Thomas Hoepker’s photos are characterized by an exuberant liveliness. However, he does not turn a blind eye to the misery of the world and has never succumbed to fear of the world, nor to the temptation to exploit the horrors of the afflicted places where he was sent. He contradicts the cynical observation that the journalist often has the chance to record the misfortune of others, by instead demonstrating in his images that the misfortune of others necessarily applies to everyone. He never failed to consider his camera as a weapon in the fight for justice.
In the end, it is always people, with their worries, their foibles and their idiosyncrasies, who play the most important role. Hoepker’s unusual flair for composition invariably goes hand in hand with a deeply humanist sensibility. Freddy Langer
Tribute to Thomas Hoepker (1936-2024)
November 21, 2024 – January 25, 2025
Gallery Image Hall
Stauffacherquai 56
8004 Zürich, Switzerland
https://www.bildhalle.ch/
