Birgit Kleber – Photographers

Guest Review by Micah McCoy •

Birgit Kleber’s book, Photographers, takes a simple concept and rigidly sticks to the script, only occasionally deviating from the framework set in motion from the first photograph in the book. The book’s power, and it is a forceful book, comes from Kleber’s dogged adherence to a set goal; to capture the portraits of some of the most important photographers of our time in the descriptive style that belongs only to her. Each portrait features the visage of the subject, presented in high contrast black and white, with the sitter peering deeply into the camera.

The short essay that leads us into the photographs, written by Matthias Harder, describes Kleber’s process in making the photographs, but it only confirms what could easily be deduced from an introductory viewing. This isn’t to say that Harder’s essay doesn’t provide a worthy introduction to the photographs to come, but just that Kleber approaches the project with a tenacious certitude — any description of her process seems redundant. These photographs could only have been made in exactly the manner they were. That Kleber put each subject in the same rigid pose, and dictated exactly how the session would go is therefore no surprise. It couldn’t have been any other way.

To understand the project is to wrestle with the history of the portrait and what such a photograph can tell us — about the subject, and often, more interestingly, about the photographer. I maintain that Photographers is a forceful book, and the reason that such a simple concept is effective is precisely because in each photograph we witness various creative titans as their own wills, bent in service of Kleber’s vision. Laurence Vecten runs a popular Instagram account titled, Photographers, Photographed. The account proves a few things. First, through the countless self-portraits and portraits of photographers by other photographers, we find that most photographic artists like being in front of the camera more than they let on. We also see the myriad ways a person can be described by a lens, all dictated precisely by the person behind it, and much less often than by that of the person in front it. Kleber’s photographs bear this rule out. These portraits tell us more more about Birgit Kleber’s view of the world than they do about any of the photographers presented in her photos. Alec Soth’s gaze on page 11 is powerful, but if one wants to learn about Alec Soth, I’d recommend picking up a copy of Niagra. Photographers is about Birgit Kleber, not Alec Soth or anyone else.

That isn’t to say that the book doesn’t provide a useful catalog of important photographers. When Elliott Erwitt passed on November 29th of this year, I found myself grateful that Kleber was able to photograph him for this book. The book is indeed a powerful reminder of the our great fortune to have been able to look at the work of each of these creators. One can’t help but smile when passing by their favorites.

Another remarkable aspect of the book, and one that complicates the simple at-face-value concept, is the function of time in relation to the creation of the work. The series began with a prototype; a portrait of Nan Goldin, made in 1992. It’s no wonder that Kleber saw something in this photograph worth duplicating. To make a powerful photograph of Goldin, who stands as such a towering figure in her own photographs, is no small task.

While we are all fortunate that Kleber continued to make these photographs of photographers, it is fortuitous that Kleber wasn’t able to complete the project for decades, extending to the years just before the book’s release in 2023. By spanning over 30 years, Kleber successfully maintained the power of that first photograph in 1992 through to the cover image — a portrait of Richard Mosse made in 2018. The span covered by the book allows Kleber to make a further statement about photography during her own life. By the mere inclusion of around 100 photographers, Kleber becomes the curator of a kind of a pantheon of photographers. Those selected do form a notable group, and Kleber’s choices again reflect her authoritative hand in creating this body of work.

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Micah McCoy is a photographer, poet, and curator.

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Birgit Kleber – Photographers

Photographer: Birgit Kleber (born in Hanover, Germany; lives in Berlin)

Texts: Matthias Harder

Languages: English, German available

Hardcover, 23.5 × 28.5 cm, 128 pages, 106 duotone illustrations; ISBN 978-3-96900-110-3

Photobook Designer: Birgit Kleber

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