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Capturing cowboys and divas

Photographer, painter and filmmaker Hannes Schmid is one of the best-known visual storytellers of our time. Since the early 1990s, he has become known for his iconic depictions of the Marlboro cowboys and his innovative fashion photography.

Following exhibitions in Essen, Germany and Winterthur, the Kunstmuseum Bern is displaying about 150 of Schmid’s works in the first such major retrospective since the mid-1970s. At the exhibit’s core are portraits and visual stories of cowboy myths as well as existential questions about borders between foreign cultures.

The exhibit is divided into four themes: Rituals, Visions, Dialogues, and Movements. These are not in chronological order; rather, they are organised by the use of various photographic principles.

(All photographs © Hannes Schmid)

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