JOHANSSON, Gerry - Hattfabriken / Luckenwalde - AS SIGNED COPY!

Background information, content

"In the photo book 'Hattfabriken', Gerry JOHANSSON carefully approaches German history with his architectural photographs of the hat factory built by the Jewish architect Erich Mendelsohn in Luckenwalde, about 60 kilometers south of Berlin. The building, erected before the 1930s, survived the National Socialist regime, continued to be used by the GDR in the post-war era and still exists today. The Swedish photographer not only roams the industrial site, but also the surrounding area, thus embedding the factory in German history." (© Richard G. SPORLEDER)
"The photo book 'Hattfabriken / Luckenwalde' was published in conjunction with the exhibition Moment at the Museum of Modern Art in Stockholm 2012-13. The photo book project 'Hattfabriken/Luckenwalde' began in 1986 with a conversation between him and Dick Bengtsson (1936-1989), when he was commissioned to make a portrait of the artist. In the late 1960s, Dick Bengtsson produced a series of paintings in which he paraphrased works by Edward Hopper and Piet Mondrian. The swastikas included in these paintings led to long and emotional discussions and also to physical attacks on his works. One of the most important paintings from this period is the diptych 'Hut- und Mützenfabrik' (1969). The painting is based on a black and white photograph of the modernist factory building designed by architect Erich Mendelsohn in Luckenwalde, an industrial town south of Berlin. The design of the building is unique in the history of architecture; it appears to be above all a fantasy construction in the Cubist tradition. The 'Friedrich Steinberg, Herrman & Co. hat factory' building in Luckenwalde is the first industrial building made of reinforced concrete and has a long and dramatic history. It was built in 1921/23 by the Jewish families Herrman and Steinberg. They were forced to sell it to the Nazi regime in 1934, which started the production of anti-aircraft guns. In 1945-56 it was converted into a repair hall for the Soviet army. The factory has been rebuilt and restored since the early 2000s.
The photographs document the architectural details of the building and during his wanderings through the city, where he also found places and buildings that reflect the history of the factory and the turbulent political periods from the 1920s to the present. A text by Cecilia Widenheim, director of the Malmö Art Museum, in Swedish, English and German provides a background to the art of Dick Bengtsson." (freely translated text, © Neva Books)

About Swedish photographer, Gerry JOHANSSON (b.1945)

Photo books by as well as with works by Gerry JOHANSSON