Rico Puhlmann in Berlin: A Rediscovery – Between Nostalgia and Critical Reassessment
The decision by the Berlin Museum of Photography to dedicate a comprehensive retrospective to Rico Puhlmann is more than just an homage to a forgotten artist. It is a critical examination of German post-war fashion photography, a journey into the visual history of a nation in flux, and a test of how we reassess the boundaries between craftsmanship and art in the digital age.
From Illustrator to Image Composer: The Genesis of a Vision
Born in Berlin in 1934, Puhlmann initially made a name for himself as a sought-after fashion illustrator for magazines like Constanze and Burda. This formative period, characterized by an innate elegance and a keen sense of line and composition, laid the groundwork for his later photographic work. As Dr. Anna Schmidt, art historian and curator of the exhibition, notes, “Puhlmann left nothing to chance. Every pose, every incidence of light, every accessory was part of a meticulously thought-out staging. This background as an illustrator is key to understanding his photographic creations.”
By the late 1950s, Puhlmann transitioned to photography, quickly becoming a defining visual artist in the nascent Federal Republic of Germany. At a time when West Berlin was still considered a fashion metropolis, he shaped a modern, cosmopolitan aesthetic for publications such as Brigitte and Stern. His early works are not merely fashion spreads; they are documents of an awakening era, capturing the spirit of the economic miracle long before the term became a cliché.
Chronicler of the West German Chic: A Societal Mirror
The exhibition’s core and arguably most compelling section transports viewers to the golden age of German advertising photography. In an era when print fashion magazines were undisputed trendsetters and revenue generators, Puhlmann provided the visual blueprints for an entire generation’s aspirations. The retrospective unfolds a panorama of West German consumer culture, from the neat elegance of the sixties to the more self-assured fashion of the seventies. It’s not just about clothes; it’s about the evolution of female archetypes, social conventions, and what was considered desirable.
A historical footnote, almost bizarre in its context, highlights the unique bureaucratic landscape of the time: until the 1970s, models in Germany were scouted solely through personal contacts or the employment offices’ artist services, as private model agencies were not permitted. This regulatory peculiarity underscores the professionalization the industry underwent, a process in which photographers like Puhlmann played a significant role. He not only shaped the images of stars such as Hildegard Knef on record covers and book titles but also defined the faces of anonymous mannequins who embodied the dream of a better life.
Newton’s Long Shadow: The Limits of Perfection
As Berlin’s star as a fashion capital began to wane in the seventies, Puhlmann answered the industry’s call and moved to New York. There, he seamlessly continued his career, working for major names like Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue, and GQ, photographing supermodels such as Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, and Christy Turlington before they became household names. The exhibition meticulously documents this career progression with a wealth of works that perfectly capture the polished “American Look” of that era.
However, for those who follow Puhlmann’s trajectory, a comparison with Helmut Newton is inevitable. In Puhlmann’s American works, particularly in the erotically charged stagings, there is a palpable attempt to emulate Newton’s provocative visual language. And it is precisely here that the limits of Puhlmann’s artistry become apparent. While his photographs are consistently technically brilliant, elegant, and imbued with an immaculate sense of style, they often lack the ultimate, profound consequence, the taboo-breaking edge that so powerfully defines Newton’s oeuvre. Puhlmann invariably remains on the safe side of good taste – a craftsman rather than a revolutionary artist. His tragic death in the crash of TWA Flight 800 in 1996 abruptly ended this remarkable career.
The Berlin retrospective serves as an insightful lesson in applied photography history and an invitation to re-evaluate the work of a master of staging who has been unjustly half-forgotten. It offers a deep dive into a time when photographic vision was inextricably linked with artisanal skill. Incidentally, visitors to the exhibition can view works by Helmut Newton one floor below without additional admission fees.
Source: https://www.docma.info/blog/rico-puhlmann-in-berlin-eine-wiederentdeckung
