Synopses & Reviews
Astrid Kirchherr is best known to many as the first professional photographer to photograph the Beatles in Hamburg in 1960 and 1961, and as the fiancée of Stuart Sutcliffe, the original bass player in the Beatles. Less well-known are her other photographs, and Astrid Kirchherr: A Retrospective seeks to place Kirchherr's photography in a wider context.
The book charts her life as an art student in Hamburg through new interviews with Kirchherr and the people who knew her personally at that time. Klaus Voormann, Kirchherr's close friend at art college, provides unique insight into their life in the city in the late 1950s, with fascinating details of the time and place. Further detail is provided by Gibson Kemp, Kirchherr's ex-husband, and Ulf Kruger, her close friend and manager. It was in a studio created in Kirchherr's mother's attic that Stuart Sutcliffe made his famous Hamburg series of abstract expressionist canvases—and where historic photographs of the Beatles were made.
The editors, working closely with Kirchherr, have unparalleled access to her photographic archives, and the essays are complemented with a wealth of black-and-white and color plates of key photographs, and by numerous additional images of Kirchherr and her contemporaries, including the Beatles. Many of these photos are previously unpublished and many more appear here for the first time uncropped.
Synopsis
Astrid Kirchherr - A Retrospective presents a stunning collection of photographs by the legendary Hamburg photographer, including some never before seen early shots of the Beatles. This richly illustrated book also puts Kirchherr's work in a context above and beyond the shadow of Merseybeat: though she has taken few photographs since 1967 her work has been exhibited in Hamburg, Bremen, Liverpool, London, Vienna, New York, Washington D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles, Indianapolis and Tokyo, highlighting her significant international presence in photography over the past 50 years. The book draws heavily on unparalleled access to the archives of Astrid Kirchherr and includes photographs of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Kirchherr's former fiance, Stuart Sutcliffe, as well as other key protagonists in the Beatles story, such as Klaus Voormann and Rory Storm. Essays from acclaimed contemporary music writers Jon Savage and Michael Bracewell complete a book that will be compulsory reading - and viewing - for Beatles fans and photography students alike.
About the Author
Matthew H. Clough is director of the Victoria Gallery and Museum. Colin Fallows is professor of sound and visual arts at Liverpool School of Art and Design, Liverpool John Moores University.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Artist and Muse—The Photography of Astrid Kirchherr
Michael Bracewell
Interview with Astrid Kirchherr
Colin Fallows
Astrid Kirchherr—Pop Modernist 1959-1966
Jon Savage
Interview with Klaus Voormann
Colin Fallows
Interview with Gibson Kemp
Colin Fallows
A Vision of Liverpool—Astrid Kirchherr and the city in 1964
Matthew H Clough
Interview with Ulf Krüger
Colin Fallows
Influences and Favourites
Contributors Biographies