Capturing cowboys and divas
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态 TAI, For Gods Only, 2005 / 2012 Digital Print / Acrylic on barite Hannes Schmid -
辽LIAO, For Gods Only, 2006 / 2012 Digital print / Acrylic on barite Hannes Schmid -
Cowboy # 61, 2010 Oil on canvas Hannes Schmid -
Mennonites, Belize 1995 / 2012 Digital print Hannes Schmid -
Cowboy # 53, 2008 Oil on canvas Hannes Schmid -
Mennonites, Belize 1995 / 2012 Digital print Hannes Schmid -
Kim Wilde, Singer, Divas+Heroes 1981 / 2009 Inkjet / Montage Hannes Schmid -
Miss Nevada, from the Las Vegas series, 1999 / 2012 Digital c-print Hannes Schmid -
South Africa, 1999 / 2012 Digital print Hannes Schmid -
Daytona, 1995 / 2012 Digital print Hannes Schmid -
Kiss fans, 1980 / 2012 Inkjet print Hannes Schmid -
The Flow of Life, Maha Kumbh Mela, 2001 / 2011 Digital c-print Hannes Schmid -
Nina Hagen 1985 / 2012 Digital print Hannes Schmid
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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