Die Fotografie - An Interview with the Magazine's Editor

T.O. Immisch, curator of the collection of photographs at the Staatliche Galerie Moritzburg Halle, which has housed the picture collection of the former Fotokino publishing house since 1992, asked the questions. Answers were given by Gerhard Ihrke, photographer, author, and editor, who from 1964 till 1991 was the editor of the publishing house's two magazines, Die Fotografie and Fotokinomagazin. Now he is caretaker of the Fotokino collection at the museum. (Translated by Norbert Schaffranek)

How was this magazine re-established at Halle's Knapp publishing company after the war?

By doing so, the Wilhelm Knapp publishing company continued a tradition. More than one hundred years before, in 1839, the first instruction on daguerreotyping in German had appeared in Halle. The Knapp publishing company published various photographic magazines, and so it was only logical that they also tackled the publication of a photo magazine after the war again, which happened under very difficult circumstances. The first issue of Die Fotografie appeared in July 1947 in the then Soviet-occupied zone. This issue's subtitle named the previous seven different magazines, which referred to the various publications of pre-war times. It is therefore no wonder that the magazine was of nearly all-German character, as photographs and articles by authors from all over Germany were published in it. This did not change until the end of the 1950s. After 1961, publication of authors from the Federal Republic became a mere exception. However, this was mainly due to the fact that the publishing company and the editorial staff were lacking the foreign currency required to pay the fees. In 1952, the Wilhelm Knapp publishing company was transformed into a state-owned company. This firm name led to complications in the export of the magazine, and even more so with the books, into the Federal Republic; and therefore, they decided in 1957 to rename the »VEB Wilhelm-Knapp-Verlag« publishing company to »VEB Fotokino-Verlag«. Now, export to West Germany was possible again. It should be mentioned, however, that only a few issues of the magazine were delivered to the Federal Republic, whereas things were different with the technical photographic books, which were much sought-after even in the Federal Republic.

How did the magazine become an extension of the Central Commission of the Cultural Association of the German Democratic Republic?

The Central Photography Commission (ZKF) of the Cultural Association of the GDR was an umbrella organization for the photographic work in the GDR. It coordinated the photographic work in the country, organized photographic exhibitions and supported the social recognition of photography, which then - unlike in the USA - still represented a peripheral phenomenon in society, culture and art. Naturally, a magazine was needed for that, and therefore they ended up combining the Central Commission with the »Fotokinoverlag« publishing company. The Central Photography Commission became responsible for the editing of the Die Fotografie magazine.

What goals did the ZKF pursue with the magazine and how did they influence its contents and layout?

It has already been suggested what the ZKF was interested in, what has to be emphasized, however, is a statement that appeared in the December 1957 issue of the magazine and that actually expresses everything with regard of the aims being pursued at that time. It reads: »Photography is to be led out of a state of unconscious Weltanschauung and political neutrality in order to have it, being an activity in accordance with party thought, consciously embrace the building of GDR socialism.« An advisory committee consisting of leading members of the ZKF presidency was charged with monitoring the editorial staff. This advisory committee was informed of everything that was to be published, and later they evaluated the published magazines. Some articles and photo publications were frequently criticized, and this went on until the end of the 1960s.

What were the effects of the politico-cultural »breaks« - for example in 1965, after the 11th Plenum* or in 1971, after the change from Ulbricht to Honecker?

I guess that after 1971 a certain tolerance emerged or started to become apparent. This had an effect also on the work of the editorial staff, as in some respects they could tackle problems of photography, regarding contents, in a more liberal way and publish more differentiated photographic conceptions. What I mean is, it was no longer so much the point to publish representations that were to be classified as »socialist realism« as it is called. Now, the advisory committee was more open-minded about many subjective photographic ideas.

Were there times of greater or lesser independence of the editorial staff?

In spite of the supervision of the ZKF, the editors were comparatively independent. They chose the subject matter, determined the make-up of the magazine, and emphasized the main points regarding content. After the issues were published, the advisory committee discussed the magazine. This was normally done every six months. In a sense, the editorial staff did work independently. There was a good cooperative relationship between the advisory committee of the ZKF and the editors. Naturally, the projects and plans of the ZKF and the later Photographic Society (GfF) were supported and promoted by publications. For example, editors were represented in juries of photo shows, they were involved in the development of large-scale exhibitions, and so, at an early stage got some sort of an idea of the pictures to be selected for the magazine and of potential themes. It was important that the editorial staff be informed early because they had to prepare each issue four months in advance of printing. Can you imagine, how they wished to be topical?

Was it a problem to meet the double demand of making a magazine for both professionals and amateurs?

Yes and no. As the ZKF and the later GfF were organizations that felt bound to both professional and amateur photography, as editorial staff, we had to take into consideration works from these fields as well. In many cases, use was made of articles on exhibitions, exhibition evaluations, reviews, contributions on renowned photographers, well-working and efficient photo groups and clubs, and so it actually wasn't too difficult to bring these works from different fields together. Of course, discontinuities in quality happened. Discontinuities also happened because of one characteristic printing feature: First forme and second forme printing reproduction of color pictures was possible to a very limited extent only. Therefore, the position of those color pages often determined the length of contributions. As color photography at that time couldn't keep pace with black-and-white photography, again, discontinuities were the result. Looking upon them today, absolutely embarrassing ones, in some cases.

For years, the »Fotografie« magazine had been printed in letterpress printing. Why did the publishing company change to intaglio printing in the 80s?

The magazine was among the few that were now and then granted an increase in circulation in spite of the paper shortage existing in the GDR. The publishing company couldn't just simply increase the circulation off its own bat, but it was the state authorities who decided on a larger paper allotment and with that on a higher circulation. In the 1980s, 50,000 issues of Die Fotografie were printed (and sold) in good quality. Further increases in circulation, however, wouldn't have been anymore possible in letterpress printing, technically. From No 1/1981 the magazine appeared in intaglio printing. To that the editorial staff had pinned high hopes, as intaglio printing, after all, is a fantastic technique for reproducing photographs in all their subtle gradations. Unfortunately, the printers didn't always succeed in meeting those expectations. That had mainly something to do with the paper quality, but nevertheless, intaglio printing was very well received by the community of photographers in this country.

Why was publication of the magazine stopped and the publishing company closed down?

At the time when the Wall came down, in 1989, the magazine had a circulation of approximately 75,000. Now, however, that the press publications of the Federal Republic were glutting the local market and people had to make up for lost time, it is quite obvious that the circulation of all of the »Eastern« magazines crashed. The newsstands were flooded with the colorful pictures of the magazines from the Federal Republic. The publications of the »East« were lying around somewhere at the back and were hardly in demand anymore. It took some time until this leveled off and the demand of those concerned was satisfied. They noticed that the others were not different from anybody else. In the middle of 1990 the circulation of Die Fotografie leveled out at 16,000 sold issues, which just absolutely corresponded to the demand in the ancient GDR. It is therefore no wonder, that the publishing company gradually got into financial difficulties and the printers refused to continue working on the magazine. So the April 1991 issue had to be withdrawn from the printing house. The March 1991 issue was the last issue of Die Fotografie magazine. It was only after the magazine had disappeared from the market that they noticed, and this was the case with other local press publications as well, that now something was missing. Revival, however, was not possible. The publishing company was taken over by the trust company and finally sold. The new owner was not interested in the »Fotokino« literature. In June 1992, a 150 year old publishing tradition came to an end.

How do you judge today the importance, role, and function of the magazine - what did it achieve and what did it not achieve?

I'm afraid it's not easy for me to answer this, naturally, because I had been working for more than 25 years with that editorial staff. Over all those years we really tried hard to deliver a very true reflection of the development of photography in the GDR. We tried not to miss any of its facets and to take any sphere into consideration. I guess, on closer examination, those years' issues deliver a vivid reflection of photography in the GDR. By presenting exemplary works of renowned photographers from at home and abroad, especially from the socialist countries, reporting on their working methods and acknowledging their work, we were able to present examples which did have an effect. In the wider sense, Die Fotografie was a kind of picture book, and this was something that did partly make up its popularity, as otherwise they wouldn't have been able to sell a circulation of that size at the newsstands in our little country.

Do you see any magazine in the German-speaking world at present, which is similar or comes close to »Fotografie« as far as standard and program is concerned?

This question isn't so easy for me to answer either. People who live (or better used to live) in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. I'm afraid, a magazine like Die Fotografie with its message and design in those days wouldn't be possible anymore today. Our unspoken shining example was the Swiss magazine Camera. Due to tightened conditions, it had already disappeared from the market in 1981. As I see it, there isn't anything comparable anymore among the German-speaking magazines.

 

* The 11th Plenum of the Central Commity of the Socialist Unity Party, with which a very restrictive phase in the East German cultural policy began.