Galerie Hilaneh von Kories

Bill Perlmutter:Bill Perlmutter Vita→ Vita
Europe in the Fifties. Through a Soldier‘s Lens

May 23rd until July 17th 2013
The exhibition will be extended until August 15, 2013

From May 5 to July 17, 2013, Hilaneh von Kories Gallery in Hamburg will present works by New York-based photographer Bill Perlmutter. Beginning in 1954, on assignment for the US Army, Perlmutter traveled through Europe. “Europe in the Fifties. Through a Soldier’s Lens” shows a selection of his images taken in Germany, France, Italy, Portugal and Spain. The 80-year old’s work is a historical treasure that will be presented for the first time in a German gallery. The photographer’s view of war-torn Europe is direct and intuitive. Without much background knowledge and with a somewhat biased opinion primarily shaped by films he had watched, the young GI set out to start his coverage. In a discrete way, humans shape his images. With an open mind and obvious interest for his contemporaries, he witnesses a Europe, which is marked by visual reminders of a war that had been fought ten years before. Although, people have settled into their daily routines again. Life goes on, despite of the wartime experience and the austerity that followed. It is all there in front of Perlmutter’s camera, who captures street scenes as a curious and impartial spectator. He does not prey on them but approaches human beings with a sense of empathy. “The streets became a stage and the people the actors, in a constantly changing and fascinating theatre of reality”, Perlmutter comments on his photographic inspiration.

Bill Perlmutter Policeman, Madrid, 1956 Fine Art Print auf Harman Gloss Baryta 40 × 40 cm

It all started in December 1954, when the then 27-year old soldier boarded a troop carrier to Germany, to start his new assignment as a photographer for the U.S. Army magazine. The first images from Perlmutter’s Rolleiflex originated during the rough Transatlantic passage. Even though he had never left his home country and was a bit apprehensive about his future, Perlmutter was “looking forward to photographing Europe and visiting all those wonderful places that I had read about and seen in the movies.” His first short vacation from his deployment in Germany brought him to Paris, where he allowed himself to drift up and down boulevards and to find his own perspective of life in the big city.

But only during a trip to Italy he confronts the prejudices he brought with him. “I grew up believing that all Italians ate spaghetti with red sauce, and the women all dressed in black. Until I was sent to Europe, the only Italians I had ever met lived in the Bronx and came from Sicily: and were not my friends.” His view was also shaped by Italian films in the realism style of the post-war period. The reality in 1956 made him reconsider. “All my preconceptions were shattered when I found most Italians to be congenial, outgoing, and optimistic about the future. Rome was a living history lesson and Venice the most enchanting city I had ever visited.”

Perlmutter’s photographs taken in other countries display an honest interest in the conditions and the cultural distinctions. His images are a testament to the different living standards in different parts of the region.

Almost 60 years after the images were conceived, they clearly document the photographer’s sense of the special moment. Every single image becomes a lively piece in the puzzle of remembrance, reporting accurately on the historical period, but also capturing very personal encounters. His insightful work has a long lasting effect, way and allows those pictures to come alive. Again and again. Even after all those many years

BILL PERLMUTTER was born in New York on September 5, 1932. He began his career with a Bachelor of Arts in Motion Picture Techniques from the City College Film Institute in New York.

In 1954 after graduating from the United States Army Photography School, he spend two years in Europe as a staff photographer for the U.S. Army newspapers based in West Germany. Since then he traveled extensively all around the world as a free-lance photographer. From 1978-1997 he worked as the Vice President of Rainbow Chromes, a company specializing in photographic and digital retouching.

His images have been collected and exhibited by fine art galleries world-wide and are in the permanent collections of MoMA, The Whitney Museum of American Art, the Smithsonian and the Museum of the City of New York. Bill Perlmutter lives in New York.

In connection with the exhibit seltmann+söhne will be publishing its book
“Through a Soldier’s Lense - Europe in the Fifties”. (150 images, € 39.-) www.seltmannundsoehne.de

Bill Perlmutter „Through a Soldier‘s Lens – Europe in the Fifties“ seltmann+söhne, 2013 This publication is available in the gallery.

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