Fred Herzog
Fred (Ulrich) Herzog was born in 1930 in the small town of Bad Friedrichshall in southern Germany. Since childhood, he was fond of photography, and at the age of 20 he bought his first camera. At that moment, the landscape of his hometown becomes his permanent place for shooting.
However, a terrible thing happens in the life of a photographer - parents die at the height of the war. This drama greatly influenced the photographer, and in the early 50s, the future pioneer of color photography was completely disillusioned with his post-war life in Germany and decided on a one-way trip to Canada.
However, a terrible thing happens in the life of a photographer - parents die at the height of the war. This drama greatly influenced the photographer, and in the early 50s, the future pioneer of color photography was completely disillusioned with his post-war life in Germany and decided on a one-way trip to Canada.
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Arriving in Canada by ship also did not pass without a trace for the photographer - according to his memories, the old vessel almost drowned in the Atlantic, his luggage was soaked through and the negatives brought from Germany were irretrievably destroyed. But the life story of Fred Herzog is the story of a never discouraged man with a happy ending at the end. Having visited Toronto and Montreal, in 1953 he ended up in Vancouver, where he would continue to live his entire life.
The first years of an emigrant in the new place is almost always quite difficult, Fred Herzog gets a job at the ship's dock and for the first time rents a place in a shelter. In parallel, he continues to take photographs of the streets and inhabitants of the city.
"The reason I chose documentary photography — I didn't even know that word — [was] I had great fun walking around the old streets of Vancouver, looking at the second-hand stores, the people and the signs. To me, that was a kind of vitality that spoke to me directly."
— Fred Herzog
— Fred Herzog
That time, he begins to use Kodachrome color slide film, when a positive image appears immediately after shooting. However, this was the main difficulty - many photographers of that time refused to work with color because of the reasonable problems connected with printing such a photograph and also the too small circle of admirers of color photography.
The main issue with color photography at that time was that it was perceived primarily for commercial, only black and white photographs were included in the "art" section. But Fred Herzog has always been an experimenter, and for him color in his works played a fundamentally important role.
In 1957, he was hired as a medical photographer by St. Paul's Hospital, documenting surgeries, skin rashes, arthritic hands and the results of accidents. But he continued his hobby: "I became a medical photographer, and almost at the same time I became a serious documentary photographer. The reason I chose documentary photography — I didn't even know that word — [was] I had great fun walking around the old streets of Vancouver, looking at the second-hand stores, the people and the signs. To me, that was a kind of vitality that spoke to me directly."
The vibrant colors of neon signs, red lanterns in Chinatown, a motley crowd and other manifestations of the everyday life of a leisurely Canadian city - that's what really inspired Fred Herzog. To capture the moments of life in all its colors became for him the goal of his creative life.
The vibrant colors of neon signs, red lanterns in Chinatown, a motley crowd and other manifestations of the everyday life of a leisurely Canadian city - that's what really inspired Fred Herzog. To capture the moments of life in all its colors became for him the goal of his creative life.
However, recognition came to Herzog only in the middle of his seventieth.
In the 2000s, digital scanning and printing technology finally developed to the level allowing Fred Herzog make archival pigment prints that closely match the color palette and intensity of Kodachrome film.
In the 2000s, digital scanning and printing technology finally developed to the level allowing Fred Herzog make archival pigment prints that closely match the color palette and intensity of Kodachrome film.
"I was aware I was taking art. That's the conceit of young people. I knew that what I am doing is not only unique, but that someday I'm going to unpack that and shock people with it. And that was 50 years ago. It's sort of a fairy tale story, but that's exactly how it's beginning to play out"
— Fred Herzog
— Fred Herzog
In 2007, the Vancouver Art Gallery hosted a retrospective exhibition "Fred Herzog: Vancouver Photographs", which became, in fact, the first major recognition of Herzog's work. This exhibition was a revelation for those who previously saw his photographs only through slides, as well as for a new generation of art lovers who knew absolutely nothing about his work. Fame is finally coming to him, exhibitions are being organized everywhere, and photographs are sold to private collections.
In 2017, the album "Modern Color" was published, which is the most complete of the published books of Fred Herzog's works, and it is from this book that professionals and amateurs of photography are still learning to work with color according to the precepts of the great Master.
Fred Herzog passed away in September 2019, but he was a happy man who proved to everyone that he was doing good art.
Fred Herzog passed away in September 2019, but he was a happy man who proved to everyone that he was doing good art.