Germany around 1980. Photographs from a distant land

An exhibition by the F.C. Gundlach Foundation from October 9, 2024 to March 3, 2025 at the Altonaer Museum Hamburg

1980! Forty-four years later, in a reunified Germany, this point in time seems like a distant land. Yet many developments that originated around 1980 continue to resonate today. The exhibition "Germany around 1980: Photographs from a Distant Land ," presented by the Altonaer Museum in collaboration with the F.C. Gundlach Foundation, showcases ten diverse and compelling perspectives on the years between 1975 and 1985 through works by Angela Neuke, Barbara Klemm, Christian von Alvensleben, Martin Langer, Ingolf Thiel, Asmus Henkel, Mahmoud Dabdoub, Gerd Danigel, Hans-Martin Küsters and Wilfried Bauer. The photographers offer highly individual views on the developments of that time in both parts of Germany: as freelancers, as reportage photographers commissioned by newspapers and magazines, or as photographic artists. The exhibition sheds light on political and social issues and events of this period, and also looks back at the music, fashion and design of the years around 1980.

The period around 1980 is considered a time of fundamental upheaval in Germany and Europe: the economic and energy crises of 1973 and 1979, the debate about the limits to growth, and the spreading knowledge of environmental destruction shook the Western world. They abruptly ended the dream of a perpetual economic miracle. The division of Germany and the world in its entirety into East and West, and the arms race-fueled scenario of nuclear war, spurred the peace movement. With it emerged a culture of public engagement, including demonstrations and protests, which changed issues and decisions. The political landscape in West Germany was reshaped by the founding of the Green Party, while at the same time, the "spiritual and moral renewal" formulated by Helmut Kohl (CDU) after his election as Chancellor in 1982 was intended to bring about a return to tradition and civic virtues. Many social developments were continued or newly initiated and continue to have an impact today, such as the struggle for equality of women, the struggle for self-realization and new lifestyles, or the fight for the environment and climate protection.

Media phenomena such as the zeitgeist magazines Wiener and Tempo , and the licensing of private radio and television stations, brought the importance of youth culture into everyday consciousness. Punk and pop, aerobics, and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Adidas and Puma became socially acceptable, even in East Germany. Apple's first Macintosh computer and Motorola's first mobile phone came onto the market, and from 1984 onward, it was even possible to send the first emails. Young people listened to the music of Neue Deutsche Welle (New German Wave), played Pac-Man, or tried their hand at the Rubik's Cube. Many of these phenomena of the 1980s can be found in artistic documentary photography, either as street photography or commissioned by newspapers and magazines as reportage photography.

GERMANY AROUND 1980
Photographs from a Distand Land

10/9/2024 - 3/3/2025
Opening hours: Mon, Wed - Fri 10am - 5pm / Tue closed / Sat, Sun 10am - 6pm

Altonaer Museum
Museumsstraße 23
22765 Hamburg