2014 ICP Infinity Awards: Lifetime Achievement - Jürgen Schadeberg
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Jürgen Schadeberg, whose career spans more than 65 years, has been called the father of South African photography. Schadeberg grew up in Nazi Germany and volunteered as a photographer for the German Press Agency after WWII. In 1950, hoping to escape the fascist atmosphere he was exposed to during the war, he emigrated to South Africa from Berlin at age 19. He quickly discovered he had arrived at beginning of yet another era of harsh discrimination, this time in the form of Apartheid.
He became chief photographer, picture editor, and art director at Drum Magazine, one of the only publications that catered specifically to the African population. It was there that he helped teach an entire generation of South African photographers including 2010’s Cornell Capa Lifetime Achievement award recipient, Peter Magubane.
During the 1950s, he documented pivotal moments in the struggle against Apartheid. He photographed key political figures including Nelson Mandela, Dr. Moroka, Walter Sisulu, and Yusuf Dadoo as well as jazz and literary stars Dolly Rathebe, Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masekela, Kippie Moeketsi, and many others. In addition to documenting the divide created by Apartheid, he spent much of his time documenting daily life in South African communities.
Schadeberg left South Africa for London in 1964. From then until his return in 1985, he served as a freelance photojournalist for leading publications in Europe and America; taught at the New School in New York, the Central School of Art & Design in London, and the Hoch Kunst School in Hamburg; and curated several exhibitions, including “The Quality of Life” at New National Theatre Complex in London. His work has been exhibited widely, including in a major retrospective at the South African National Gallery in Cape Town in 1996. In 2007, Schadeberg was awarded the Officer’s Verdienstkreuz First Class by the German President. He now divides his time between Berlin, Paris, South Africa, and Spain and continues to actively work on new photographic projects, books, and exhibitions.
Publish Date: April 29, 2014
Credits
Photography: Jurgen Schadeberg
Editor and Producer: Julia Wall
Interview: Tim McLaughlin
Interview Camera: Andrew Ellis
Director of Photography: Andrew Ellis
Graphics: Joe Fuller
Director and Executive Producer: Brian Storm
Special Thanks
This film was made possible with the generous support of the Harbers Family Foundation.
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