August Sander Exhibition Review and Your Opinion

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In my own opinion, August Sander (1876-1964) employed the skill of photography to document individuals from all backgrounds and classes in an equal manner, even those opposed by the Nazis. As a determined non-Jew and apolitical, Sander who was not a Nazi made portraits of the Jews at the moment when the National Socialists made heated racial restrictions against the Jews. His portraits of the political prisoners and those who were persecuted during the Nazi reign made the Nazis to seize and destroy the photographic plates. While studies on Sander’s work have shown the documentary photographer as rather a conservative, some authors such as Long have shown the leftist culture of Sander. Much of this controversy arises from the fact that Sander failed to openly express his political beliefs and therefore, his stand on whether he supported the Nazi or the Jews remains largely obscured. From the diversity of the portraits published in the “Face of Our Time” 1929, the photographs can be analysed as a rejection of both the physiognomic principles and Nazi racism (Grundberg). In most cases, the individuals who are presented in the photographs fail to fit in the role they are supposed to embody. Sometimes, the portrayed individuals overwhelm their roles with their personal presence strength. His work reflects a cultural history of diverse classes in Germany and the structure, development and functioning of the human society.
Sander was born in Germany to a father who worked in the mining industry. As an assistant photographer in a local mine, Sander learnt the art of photography and set up his own darkroom and photographic equipment with the financial help he got from his uncle. Between 1897 and1899, Sander worked as a photographer assistant going places across the country. In 1901, he began work in a photo studio in Austria before becoming a partner and a sole proprietor in 1902 and 1904 respectively. The early years of 1920s, he joined a group known as the Group of Progressive Artists that was based in Cologne and started plans to have a series of portraits documenting the contemporary society. Travelling through Sardinia with writer de:Ludwiq Mathar for three months, Sander managed to take about 500 portraits though a planned book that was meant to detail his travels was barely completed (AugustSander.com). The “Face of Our...