Flashcards on Otto Steinert and German Post-War Photography
Otto Steinert: Shaping German Post-War Photography
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Otto Steinert's Photography
27 cards
Card 1
Question: Who was Otto Steinert and what was his influence on post-war German photography?
Answer: A German photographer (b. 1915) who profoundly influenced post-war photography; he transitioned from New Vision to Subjective Photography, broke docum
Card 2
Question: Where and when was Otto Steinert born, and what profession did he originally study?
Answer: Born in Saarbrücken in 1915, he initially studied medicine and worked as a doctor during World War II.
Card 3
Question: When did Steinert dedicate himself to photography full-time?
Answer: He transitioned to full-time photography in 1947.
Card 4
Question: What teaching position did Steinert hold from 1948, and where?
Answer: From 1948, he taught photography at the Staatliche Schule für Kunst und Handwerk (Saarland State School of Arts and Crafts) in Saarbrücken.
Card 5
Question: What was the goal of the Fotoform group, which Steinert founded?
Answer: The aim of Fotoform (founded 1949) was to revive 1920s avant-garde photography and the formal experiments of New Vision and Bauhaus.
Card 6
Question: How was Fotoform's presentation at Photokina in 1950 critically received?
Answer: Their presentation was described as an 'atomic bomb in the dung heap of the rest of German photography' — meaning it was highly provocative and ground
Card 7
Question: What was the 'Subjektive Fotografie' movement, and what role did Steinert play in it?
Answer: This movement (exhibitions 1951–1958) advocated for photography that utilized the artistic possibilities of the medium; Steinert was a leading figure
Card 8
Question: What techniques and approaches did Steinert prefer in his practice?
Answer: Camera-less photography, strict black-and-white rendering, tight cropping, long exposures, tonal inversion, multiple exposures, and darkroom montages.
Card 9
Question: Why are Steinert's experimental photographs valuable to collectors?
Answer: Because they demonstrate that the negative is often just raw material — the final print is the objective; due to techniques like recopying, solarizati
Card 10
Question: During what period were most of Steinert's experimental photographs created?
Answer: Most were created between 1948 and 1954, particularly during his time in Saarbrücken.