Peter Lindbergh. Untold Stories

by Felix Kr�mer, Wim Wenders, Peter Lindbergh (Photographer)

The first-ever exhibition curated by Peter Lindbergh himself, shortly before his untimely death, Untold Stories at the Düsseldorf Kunstpalast served as a blank canvas for the photographer’s unrestrained vision and creativity. Given total artistic freedom, Lindbergh curated an uncompromising collection that sheds an unexpected light on his colossal oeuvre. This artist's book, the official companion to the landmark exhibition, offers an extensive, firsthand look at the highly personal collection. When it came to printing his photos, Lindbergh chose a special uncoated paper – a thin sheet with a soft, open surface – as a deliberate aesthetic statement. Renowned the world over, Lindbergh’s images have left an indelible mark on contemporary culture and photo history. Here, the photographer experiments with his own oeuvre and narrates new stories while staying true to his lexicon. In both emblematic and never-before-seen images, he challenges his own icons and presents intimate moments shared with personalities who had been close to him for years, including Nicole Kidman, Uma Thurman, Robin Wright, Jessica Chastain, Jeanne Moreau, Naomi Campbell, Charlotte Rampling and many more. This XL volume presents more than 150 photographs―many of them unpublished or short-lived, often having been commissioned by monthly fashion magazines such as Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Interview, Rolling Stone, W Magazine, or The Wall Street Journal. An extensive conversation between Lindbergh and Kunstpalast director Felix Krämer, as well as an homage by close friend Wim Wenders, offer fresh insights into the making of the collection. The result is an intimate personal statement by Lindbergh about his work.

Genres: Art, Photography

320 pages, Paperback

Published January 31, 2020

Reviews

[Spiderorchid · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a a very nice addition to the exhibition of the the same name that was curated by Peter Lindbergh himself shortly before his death in September 2019 and is currently (2020) on display at the Kunstpalast Düsseldorf and the Museum für Kunst & Gewerbe Hamburg.

The folio-sized volume in half-cloth binding features mostly full-sized pictures of every photograph from the exhibition. Unlike earlier exhibitions - and catalogues - the focus is not on Lindbergh's most famous works but on his personal favourites which he choose, in his own words, depending on his gut-feelings. The result is a very good overview over the photographer's oeuvre from the 1980s to 2018 that takes the photographs from their original context as fashion-photography and lets them shine as independent works of art.

Where the catalogue falls a bit short is the text. Possibly out of respect for the fact that Lindbergh died before he could finish the project, and his insistence of not commenting on the photographs to let them "speak for themselves", the catalogue includes only Wim Wenders' "In Memory of Peter Lindbergh" (a text originally written for the artist's funeral) and an interview with Lindbergh from June 2019, where he talked about the coming exhibition and his progress of choosing the right pictures. However, this interview - reproduced here in English, German, and French - is very interesting and offers some insight into his work.

[Noah · Rating 5 out of 5]

A picture is indeed worth a thousand words (and some pictures are worth a lot more). Peter Lindbergh is well known for his work in Vogue, Rolling Stone, W Magazine, WSJ and many other globally famous publications. In this particular book, the majority of the work shown are in black and white...bringing a different dimension and style of photography as the audience is drawn directly to his subjects, with emotions and stories deeper than words can describe. I was deeply immersed into his world through his lens and find myself spending time reading pictures without words.

[Stuart Wood · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is a grimey beautiful edge to this collection of images that you don't usually associate with fashion photography.
There is an honesty about the images that (to me) seems to be saying more about Lindbergh than the subjects.
Due to Lindberghs untimely death im not sure if he had the chance, or the distance, to review and critique this collection himself but this really is a work, a book, of raw beauty. Inspiring.

[Andrea Bredice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Favoloso, Taschen non delude mai.
La qualità del libro è di livelli altissimi, la carta è fine e forse un po’ troppo leggera ma opaca, il che dona alle stampe quel quid retrò in più.
Alcune stampe sono a doppia pagine, altre incorniciate. Il tutto è ogni tanto inframezzato da alcune dediche e storie. Un must have per ogni appassionato di fotografia.

[Jurgita Aleksandravičiūtė · Rating 5 out of 5]

- Life so often throws over us and makes us become actors of ourselves.
- Fashion photography’s purpose is not primarily to show fashion. Instead, fashion photography is its own cultural contribution, in the same way that fashion is.
- If you want to be taken seriously as an artist you have to do what feels right for you and not answer to others.

[Bahadir Urkmez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful photos. Learned a lot about this great photographer. However the book’s paper quality is not on par neither with the photographer’s greatness nor with the quality of photos. Still it is a great one to have.

[Johan Sanders · Rating 5 out of 5]

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