Karlheinz Weinberger. Intimate Stranger

Swiss Institute proudly presents the first institutional exhibition of vintage prints by the late Karlheinz Weinberger (1921-2006). An unsung pioneer of vernacular photography, Weinberger captured a young generation of outlaws, who were greatly influenced by American culture. Although created decades ago, Weinberger’s photographs have remained accessible to a relatively small group of people. His first major exhibition occurred only in 2000.

For most of his adult life, Karlheinz Weinberger worked by day in the warehouse department of the Siemens-Albis factory in Zurich. In his free time, however, he escaped monotony by immersing himself in photography. Self-taught and working under the pseudonym of Jim, Weinberger began his artistic career by taking pictures for a gay underground club, Der Kreis which published the eponymous magazine. This clandestine phase of Weinberger’s work is the impetus behind the exhibition at Swiss Institute. During this moment, Weinberger inhabited the role of an intimate stranger, capturing the unfiltered attitude of a rebel youth while processing and developing the objects of his gaze in his home photo laboratory.

In 1958, Weinberger met members of a small band of teenagers and began photographing them both at his home studio, as well as at the public parks and fairgrounds where the group gathered. In post war Switzerland, these self-named “rebels” (referred to by the Swiss as “Halbstark” or “half strong”) were comprised of working class boys and girls dissatisfied by the conservative climate of the day. They adopted a powerful gang identity expressed in their self styled and homemade clothing— embellished jeans, motorcycle jackets, enlarged belt buckles—which referenced and emulated American icons such as Marlon Brando (in the Wild One), James Dean (in Rebel Without a Cause), Elvis Presley (in the film and album Jailhouse Rock). Beyond the documentary value of Weinberger’s work, his photos, in their triumph over objectivity, are a genuine contribution to the history portraiture, and are a seminal moment in the second half of the 20th century.

Rebel Youth, a new book on Karlheinz Weinberger's work will be published in February 2011 by Rizzoli. Lavishly illustrated, the title features texts by Guy Trebay and John Waters; it is 174 pages.

Curated by Gianni Jetzer in collaboration with The Estate of Karlheinz Weinberger, Zurich and Artist Resources Management, New York.

Karlheinz Weinberger
Intimate Stranger
Kurator: Gianni Jetzer in Zusammenarbeit mit The Estate of Karlheinz Weinberger, Zürich und Artist Resources Management, New York