Bilderbuch 2.1

Bilderbuch 2.1 is part of Emic Units, a project by Shibboleth consisting of fifty booklets by fifty artists. Emic Units is a series about the migration of ideas exploring how far the confines of meaning can be stretched geographically, historically, metaphorically and visually.

Exhibition in Turin

All These Fleeting Perfections
Biblioteca civica Alberto Geisser
Artists: Matthew Attard, Bernadette Corporation, Mariella Bettineschi, James Bridle, Claude Cahun, Liz Deschenes, Federica di Pietrantonio, Francesco Gennari, Oscar Giaconia, Teresa Giannico, Matthias Herrmann, Thomas Hirshhorn, David Horvitz, Voluspa Jarpa, Sharon Ya´ari, Eva & Franco Mattes, Rebecca Moccia, Boris Mikhailov, Linda Fregni Nagler, Anna Ridler, Thomas Ruff, Joachim Schmid, Jeremy Shaw, Lucie Stahl, Marco Strappato, Leslie Thornton, Troika, Franco Vaccari
Curator: Domenico Quaranta
Exhibition: 27 October – 6 November 2023

Photographs I did not make

I am not a photographer. Occasionally I do make photographs but most of the time I don’t. For one reason or the other I don’t make the photographs most people make, and I have not made many other photographs either. I do remember some of the photos I did not make and I can imagine many more I could have made. This book lists one thousand of these photographs I did not make.
2023
digital print, b/w
12.5 x 19 cm, 108 pages
softcover, sewn
edition of 100 copies
24 €


Kein Werk, ohne Titel

I’ll be present with a little untitled intervention at A Casual Corridor in Berlin-Neukölln, an outdoor vitrine exhibition space with a monthly changing show.
Kein Werk, ohne Titel
26 May – 22 June 2023
Opening May 26 at 7pm
wirwir.org

Archivo Papers

A selection of panels from my Picture Library project were published in the recent issue of Archivo Papers – Journal for Photography and Visual Culture edited by Paula Ribeiro Lobo (Volume 2, Issue 2, 2022). You can view it as a pdf here.

Exhibition in Dunkirk

Horizon(s)
Frac Grand Large — Hauts-de-France
Artists: Marie Bourget, Charley Case, Christine Deknuydt, Hans Haacke, Ali Hanoon, Paul Hemery, Ilanit Illouz, Roy Lichtenstein, Helen Mirra, Erez Nevi Pana, Ria Pacquée, Frank Perrin, Catherine Rannou, Joachim Schmid, smarin, UZÉS, Capucine Vever
Exhibition: 17 September 2022 — 23 April 2023
Opening: 17 septembre at 4pm

On Location

Photographs of historical markers commemorating the shooting of a movie on location.
2022
digital print, b/w
21 x 14.8 cm, 24 pages
softcover, saddle-stitched
50 copies
8 €

Naked Lunch Remix

During the past century artists, writers, filmmakers, and musicians have experimented in many different ways with chopping up and re-mixing materials in order to create new expressions of reality. In the early nineties I began re-combining discarded cut-up negatives in the series Photogenetic Drafts. A few years later I was repurposing materials by developing a method of splicing up visual and textual materials through the use of an office paper shredder – putting the shreds together in new random constellations in the series Statics. The idea was to recycle materials that I had accumulated but didn’t want to use anymore, including my own photographic prints. In Naked Lunch Remix I have applied the same method on William Burroughs’ classic milestone of the cut-up technique.
2022
digital print, b/w
12.5 x 19 cm, 108 pages
softcover, sewn
edition of 100 copies
24 €


Exhibition in Palermo

Amici di Berlino
Artists: Friedrich Gobbesso, Stefan Koppelkamm, Flavio de Marco, Nanne Meyer, Johannes Neuhann, Sophia Pompéry, Christian Schiebe, Joachim Schmid, Mirjana Vrabaski
Studio Koppelkamm, Via Alloro 107, Palermo
Exhibition: 5 – 7 November 2021
Opening: 5 November, 6pm

Exhibition in Granollers

El dit a l’ull: fotografia inconscient
Artists: Nancy Bean c/o Christian Allen, Sylvie Bussières, Blanca Casas, Francele Cocco, Pierre Cordier, Lluís Estopiñan, Pere Formiguera, Luis Gordillo i Nino Migliori, Juana Gost, Roberto Huarcaya, Andreas Müller-Pohle, Joachim Schmid, Philip Schuette, Miguel Ángel Tornero, Blanca Viñas
Curated by Joan Fontcuberta
Panoràmic. Festival de cinema, fotografia i més
Museu de Granollers
14 October – 28 November 2021

On Photography

A playful, peripatetic, and eccentric rumination on humans, cameras, and photos, based on photographic and photo-related miscellanea collected over decades and organized in twenty-three chapters.
2021
digital print, colour
14.8 x 10.5 cm, 152 pages
softcover, sewn
edition of 100 copies
20 €


On Location (2021)

Photographs of historical markers commemorating the shooting of a movie on location.
Twelve pigment ink prints (20 x 15 cm on 25 x 20 cm paper), edition of 3 copies + 1 AP
A catalogue is available in the series of white books.

Drei Bilder (2021)

Am 20. März 1981 erschien die Wochenzeitung Die Zeit mit drei Fotos, die in jedem der vier Teile der Zeitung je einmal mit jeweils anderen Bildlegenden veröffentlicht wurden, ohne einen Hinweis auf Absicht und Urheber dieses ungewöhnlichen Vorgehens. In der folgenden Ausgabe der Zeitung offenbarte die Redaktion, dass es sich bei diesem Eingriff um ein „Happening der falschen Fotos“ von Allan Kaprow handelte. Nach dieser Tat konnte man Zeitungen, Fotos und deren Beschriftungen nicht mehr so betrachten, wie das davor wohl noch möglich gewesen war.
On March 20, 1981, the regular edition of the weekly newspaper Die Zeit appeared with three photos, each of which was published once in each of the four parts of the newspaper with different captions, without any indication of the originator or intention of this unusual occurrence. In the following edition, the editors revealed that this intervention was a “Happening of falsified photographs” by Allan Kaprow. After this act it was no longer possible for people to look at newspapers, photos and their labels as they probably had before.

Three pigment ink prints (30 x 40 cm each) and a booklet (20 pages, A4)

Bologna Exhibition Update

The ongoing exhibition at P420 was prolongated for another month until April 10th.
Mre reviews were published recently, “Riflettere sulle immagini. Le fotografie di Joachim Schmid a Bologna” by Giulia De Sanctis in Artribune, “Schmid rende arte la fotografia: la sua mostra a Bologna” by Paola Naldi in la Repubblica, and “Nessuna nuova fotografia, finché tutte quelle esistenti non siano state utilizzate” by Bruna Giordano on exibart.

Steuerfreie Einkünfte

Following a dispute with the fiscal authorities about taxable income and tax-deductible expenses, I started playing with the tax inspectors. What expenses are deductible, what income is taxable, and what income is free of tax? It’s a tricky field, however, there’s one thing that’s clearly free of tax, and that is money found in the street. If finding things in the street is your work, related expenses are deductible. For the past ten years picking up money was one of my works, Steuerfreie Einkünfte. I made annual inventories of the found money in book form with photographs of all the coins and notes I found. A complete ten volumes report is now available in an edition of ten copies. The price of the edition is determined by the total of the found money (tax-free income of 141.51 €) plus the cost for printing the reports (tax-deductible expenses of 83.72 € per copy). A signed and numbered certificate states the value of the work.
2021
digital print, colour
10 volumes, 14.8 x 10.5 cm each, total of 844 pages
softcover, sewn
with a certificate of value, numbered and signed
in a slipcase
limited edition of 10 copies
225.23 €


Article in esse

Julie-Ann Latulippe discusses my work Bilder von der Straße in her article “Par-delà les images : quand la matérialité photographique éclipse la représentation / Beyond the Image: When the Materiality of the Photograph Eclipses Representation”, published recently in esse magazine #101: Nouveaux matérialismes / New Materialisms.

The Watch

“Watch porn” is one of the many microgenres of popular photography. The genre experienced a heyday as the pandemic and the subsequent lockdown changed many people’s perception of time and their time management. This was also a perfect moment for completing a work I had considered for years (following in the footsteps of Christian Marclay). The Watch is a collection of 548 amateur photographs of men’s wristwatches, arranged in chronological sequence of the time shown on the watch faces.
2020
digital print, b/w
14.8 x 10.5 cm, 728 pages
softcover, perfect bound
numbered edition of 60 copies
64 €


The Last Days of Mr T

For the first time we heard of “alternative facts” in January 2017. It was a truely shocking revelation which triggered my research into the matter. Not much later I published my findings in a small booklet presenting an alternative number of Two Hundred Alternative Facts about Mr T. As announced, this booklet is only available as long as Mr T is in office. Now that Mr T’s days in office are numbered it’s your last chance to get one of the few copies left. The remainig copies will be shredded on January 20th, 2021 at 6pm CET.

Kein Schweigen im Wald

Kein Schweigen im Wald ist ein aleatorisches Gedicht, das man sich in einem kleinen Waldstück in der Nähe meines Hauses etwa vierzig Kilometer nördlich von Berlin erwandern kann. Es besteht aus Wörtern, die wir vielleicht zurückgelassen haben, als wir bei einem Waldspaziergang versuchten, den Kopf frei zu bekommen. Die für diesen Ort entwickelte Installation wird allenfalls zufällig von Spaziergängern entdeckt. Sie wird für unbestimmte Zeit existieren, die Dauer ist der natürlichen Entropie überlassen. Wer nicht vom Zufall abhängig sein oder dem Zerfall zuvor kommen möchte, kann per E-Mail eine Führung in den Wald vereinbaren.

Kein Schweigen im Wald (No Silence in the Forest) is an aleatory poem in a small forest close to my house about thirty miles north of Berlin. It consists of words we may have left behind when we tried to clear our minds during a stroll in the forest. The site-specific installation may be discovered by walkers accidentally. It will exist for an undetermined period of time, its lifespan depends exclusively on natural entropy. If you do not wish to depend on a chance discovery or wish to beat disintegration, you may arrange for a guided visit by sending me an email.

Exhibition in Riga

Wunderkammer
Riga Photography Biennial at Latvian Museum of Photography
Artists: Andrés Galeano, Flo Kasearu, Margit Lõhmus, Visvaldas Morkevičius, Jaanus Samma, Joachim Schmid, Iiu Susiraja, Diāna Tamane, Rvīns Varde
Curated by Šelda Puķīte
Exhibition: 24 July – 23 August 2020

Blätterbuch

A book of leaves. A book to leaf through.
2020
digital print, b/w
24 x 17 cm, 80 pages
softcover, saddle-stitched
100 copies
16 €


Exhibition in Bologna

E subito riprende il viaggio
After 11 weeks of lockdown, gallery P420 will re-open its spaces and resume its activity with the group exhibition E subito riprende il viaggio, featuring works by Helene Appel, Riccardo Baruzzi, Irma Blank, Adelaide Cioni, John Coplans, June Crespo, Milan Grygar, Rodrigo Hernández, Paolo Icaro, Piero Manai, Stephen Rosenthal, Joachim Schmid, Alessandra Spranzi, and Goran Tbuljak.
30 May – 31 July 2020

E-Book on Academia.edu

Mireille Ribière discusses my E-Book in a paper presented at a conference in Mexico City in May last year. Her text “Georges Perec et les arts plastiques. Détournement et fidélité : E-book de Joachim Schmid” is now available for download on Academia.edu.

Shipping delays

Collectors ordering books please note that due to the ongoing pandemic there may be substantial delays in the postal service. The service in Germany and to most European countries is more or less regular but there are substantial disruptions in overseas services. For up to date details please check the Deutsche Post site.

Exhibition in Melbourne

The Image Looks Back
RMIT Gallery
Artists: Jacqueline Felstead, Joan Fontcuberta, Forensic Architecture, Generative Photography (Adam Brown, Tabea Iseli, Alan Warburton), Mike Gray, Joe Hamilton, Thomas Hirschhorn, Rhonda Holberton, Fei Jun, Amalia Lindo, Rosa Menkman, Tyler Payne, Queertech.io, Joachim Schmid, Winnie Soon
Curated by Alison Bennett, Shane Hulbert, Rebecca Najdowski and Daniel Palmer
Exhibition: 27 March – 16 May 2020
The exhibition is postponed, new dates to be announced.

Road Trip USA

A Volkswagen T1 camper van on a road trip down the US West coast from the Canadian border to Southern California and back again. A painter churned out pictures of this adventure, showing the car so many dreamt of more than half a century ago at various locations along the way. Vroom vroom!
2020
digital print, colour
14.8 x 10.5 cm, 80 pages
softcover, sewn
100 copies
16 €

Testing humanism

Mark Durden discusses my book L.A. Women in his essay “Testing humanism: the transactions of contemporary documentary photography”, published recently in The Routledge Companion to Photography Theory.

Il Mare

A meditation on the sea and our ideas about the sea in the course of its exploration, inspired by a secondhand paperback I discovered in a street vendor’s wave-like pile of books in Rome.
2019
digital print, b/w
14.8 x 10.5 cm, 240 pages
softcover, sewn
100 copies
24 €

Little Portraits

Samuel Little is a serial killer who was convicted of the murders of three women in California between 1987 and 1989 and one woman in Texas in 1994. He serves a lifelong sentence. In the spring of 2018, Little was hoping to move prisons. In exchange for a move, he was willing to talk. He remembers his victims and the killings in great detail. Little provided portraits of many of the women he killed. Some of these portraits have already helped identify victims. In total, Little confessed to ninety killings. Authorities have confirmed thirty-four of them. There are still a number of confessions that remain uncorroborated.
In 2019, the Federal Bureau of Investigation released twenty-six of Little’s portraits of unidentified victims.
2019
digital print, colour
14.8 x 10.5 cm, 64 pages
softcover, sewn
100 copies
16 €

Exhibition in Munich

Von Ferne. Bilder zur DDR
Artists: Tina Bara, Sven Johne, Jens Klein, Jürgen Kuttner, Christian Lange, Emanuel Mathias, Katrin Mayer, Simon Menner, Einar Schleef, Christine Schlegel, Joachim Schmid, Erasmus Schröter, Maya Schweizer, Seiichi Furuya, Gabriele Stötzer, Paul Alexander Stolle, Tamami Iinuma, Elisabeth Tonnard, Andreas Trogisch, Joerg Waehner, Ulrich Wüst.
Curated by Sabine Schmid
Museum Villa Stuck
3 June – 15 September 2019
Opening: 5 June at 7pm

Talk in Mannheim

I am pleased to participate in the conference smart as photography – be an artist today! at Museum Zeughaus in Mannheim, 28 February through 2 March 2019.
Speakers: Cord Arendes, Douglas Busch, David Campany, Forensic Architecture, Dieter M. Gräf, Katrin Koenning, Yasmin Meinicke, Simon Menner, Ina Neddermeyer, Rosa Roth, Anastasia Samoylova, Thomas Schirmböck, Joachim Schmid, Alistair Taylor-Young

Exhibition in Berlin

Etwas kam auf uns zu
Artists: Emma Adler, William Engelen, Friederike Feldmann, Dagmara Genda, Emily Hunt, Rodney LaTourelle & Louise Witthöft, Thomas Locher, Joachim Schmid
Curated by Dagmara Genda
Englische Straße 29 *
10 – 24 February 2019
Opening 9 February at 7 pm

* (This is an apartment building earmarked for demolition. The door of the building is locked. Visitors call 01573 1834625 when arriving).

She looks better in pictures

Taking a snapshot used to be a casual but somehow meaningful act. Yet today, the omnipresent smartphones have turned it into a completely insignificant act. Snapshots are no longer made as references for future memory but are made for the moment only to be immediately replaced by the next, never to be looked at again. Scenic landscapes, historic towns, even works of art are mere stage sets for selfies and social media influencers. She looks better in pictures is a reflection on the work of art in the age of Instagram. It presents photographs made in front of the Louvre’s most popular attraction: the painting known as La Gioconda or Mona Lisa.  
2019
digital print, color
21 x 21 cm, 720 pages
hardcover, sewn
25 copies
160 €


Exhibition in Mannheim

smart as photography – be an artist today!
Artists: Douglas Busch, David Campany, Forensic Architecture, Dieter M. Gräf, Katrin Koenning, Simon Menner, Rosa Roth, Anastasia Samoylova, Joachim Schmid, Alistair Taylor-Young
Reiss-Engelhorn-Museen, Zephyr – Raum für Fotografie
3 February – 3 March 2019
Opening: 2 February at 7pm

Il Mare (2018)

Il Mare is a contemplation of the sea, juxtaposing fragments from a book of the same title found at a second-hand shop in Rome with photos of the actual sea – the wild, chaotic nature with its everlasting recurrences meets the human desire to subject it to the system of linear logic.

Thirty pigment ink prints, 18 x 24 cm each

Books for free!

Books are great. What’s better than books? Free books! Here’s your chance: although I am totally subscribed to the idea I know there are moments when books are not so great. One of these moments is when you are moving house. That’s what I’ll do soon. Before moving I’d love to lose weight, and therefore I’ll give away books for free.
This is how it works: Order a book and you’ll get another book for free. Any book order will come with an extra copy of a randomly chosen book from the available stock. This is a one-time offer, effective immediately and expiring on December 15. Buy one, get two. Buy two, get three. Buy now. Help me clear my shelves by filling yours. It’ll make me a happy man when moving house.

Article and Interview in Hestetika

Erika Lacava’s article “Senza macchina fotografica” as well as an interview she made with me were recently published in Hestetika magazine no. 31, October 2018 (in Italian).

One Hundred Things to Remember

Insufficient memory is as common as it is unpreventable. Or so we think. Countless techniques were developed to improve our mnemonic skills, however, most of them were a dubious success for most of us. They went out of date when we started to rely on electronic storage of data. One Hundred Things to Remember is based on one book suggesting a visual approach to improving memory. Taken out of context and viewed from a distance of nearly seventy years, the combinations of simple words and drawings turn out to be an absurd selection of random signs, a form of unintentional poetry reminding us of a time when computers with virtually unlimited memory were not even a dream yet.
2018
digital print, b/w
14.8 x 10.5 cm, 108 pages
softcover, sewn
100 copies
16 €

Art Peace China Daily

In springtime 2018 I spent a few weeks inside the modern world’s dystopian dream, living under constant video surveillance and being identified by face recognition software wherever I went. The authorities aim to control everybody and everything with an ever-growing number of cameras. The daily paper informed me of whatever anomalies the omnipresent cameras recorded and also what had escaped them. Art Peace China Daily is the report of my sojourn in this country.
2018
digital print, b/w
14.8 x 10.5 cm, 72 pages
softcover, perfect bound
100 copies
16 €

Exhibition in Arles

The exhibition The Hobbyist that was originally presented at Fotomuseum Winterthur will open soon at Les Rencontres de la Photographie in Arles.
2 July – 23 September 2018

Exhibition in Sarasota

an untitled show about Trump, the alt-right, and the state of things
With ephemera, publications, and politically-engaged art by Alexandra Sobiecki, Alfred Jarry, Antonia Wright, Cain Press, Chris Maddox, Dale Zine, Dan Wittig, Desert Island, Devyn Galindo, FICTILIS, Foolscap Press, J. Morrison, Joachim Schmid, Louise Neaderland, Miranda July, Primary Information, Richard Kraft, Russ White, Tom Scarpino, Visitor
Brizdle-Schoenberg Special Collections Center
Alfred R. Goldstein Library, Ringling College of Art + Design, Sarasota
1 June – 8 September 2018

The Data Thing

Everyone’s mailbox is clogged these days with messages sent by absolutely every entity we ever were in contact with. That’s because the European authorities released some small print nobody really understands. To avoid trouble we all need to assert that we are the good guys. We are the ones who do neither collect nor sell data (it’s true, as far as I am concerned). It seems that we risk being sued by ruthless lawyers during hate week if we do not send such statements to just about everyone we ever were in contact with. Done.
The only data I collect are the email addresses of people who subscribed to my site at one point. I do not share these with anyone, not for free, not for money, not for candy, and not for sex. The addresses I collected are kept in a locked ebony casket; the gilded key for this is well hidden in a vault known only to me. If you should wish your address to be removed from my collection, just click the unsubscribe link that should be somewhere down there; if it isn’t send me a teeny weeny email and my staff will get out the erasers immediately.
Once you’re at it you may also consider to get rid of your telescreens and to drop your social media accounts in the memory hole.
I am sending best wishes to all of you from Shanghai where I am working for some months on a new project, fingerprinted, under constant video surveillance, and with very limited internet access. (It’s not called work by the way; if I’d call it work I might be back home much sooner than expected.) Stay tuned and you’ll learn about the results one day. My site is the only place where you find regular updates about my work by the way.
Facebook site deleted? Yes. Facebook account deleted? Yes.
Have a nice day. Skip hate week.

Gesucht wird …

Gesucht wird … (Wanted …) presents found posters assembled in twelve countries around the world between 1983 and 2018. Spanning 400 pages, all were produced in the search for missing animals and mostly include cats, dogs, a few birds, and one ferret.
In the book, these posters are presented in the order they were found. The sequencing inadvertently reveals the creeping influence of personal computers in society, as expressive hand-written scrawls slowly give way to the clean, generic typefaces of Microsoft Word.
The longer I collected them the more I realized there’s probably no better way of showing the affection people have with their pets than a home-made poster. The self-made design and typography, the vernacular language used, and the snapshot quality of the photographs are endearing and expressive markers of that affection. With the latter, it’s possible to imagine that all the photos of cats and dogs in the world are only really ever made in case they one day have to appear on a Wanted poster.
2018
digital print, color
29.7 x 21 cm, 400 pages
softcover, sewn
25 copies

Exhibition in Brussels

Earth & Sky
Artists: Neal Beggs, Nicolas Bourthoumieux, Marc Buchy, Mark Geffriaud & Géraldine Longueville, Jakub Geltner, Marco Godinho, Mishka Henner, Pierre-Philippe Hofmann, Douglas Huebler, Julien Levesque & Albertine Meunier, Heinz Mack, Jonathan Monk, Dennis Oppenheim, Jon Rafman, Ed Ruscha, Joachim Schmid, Robert Smithson, Kris Van Dessel, Clement Valla, a.o.
Société d’électricité
19 April – 30 June 2018

Land’s End

A series of street views taken in Silicon Valley in the vicinity of new technology companies. The photos show locations where Google Street View comes to its limits and the non-accessible spaces controlled by corporations or governmental agencies begin.
2018
digital print, b/w
21 x 14.8 cm, 20 pages
softcover, saddle-stitched
50 copies

New Topography

A series of real estate photographs in the aftermath of the global financial crisis when signs advertising foreclosure auctions became a significant topographical feature in vast parts of the USA.
2018
digital print, b/w
21 x 14.8 cm, 20 pages
softcover, saddle-stitched
50 copies
8 €

Talk in Berlin

Privates in der Öffentlichkeit?
In the context of the ongoing exhibition FOTO | ALBUM Rainer Erlinger and Joachim Schmid will discuss the use of amateur photographs in artworks and in museums.
Museum der Dinge
Monday, February 5, 2018, 7 pm

Fotobuch

What do a Marilyn Monroe poster, a fast food menu, a postcard rack, a hairdresser’s model collection, a Che Guevara portrait, and a lost cat poster have in common? Nothing, except that they are photographs displayed in public space that all ended up in my archive of photographs gathered from around the world over fifteen years. Removed from their original context and presented without any comment, these photographs of photographs turn out to be a miscellaneous reflection of popular obsessions, fantasies, and desires that become apparent in the everyday use of photography. The book is a twin of my Bilderbuch, maybe it’s my only real photo book.
2018
digital print, colour
21 x 14.8 cm, 120 pages
softcover, perfect bound
100 copies
32 €


R. Flick Collection (2017)

The R. Flick Collection is a sequel of the 1989 project Meisterwerke der Fotokunst. The series of twenty photographs draws on the ever-expanding pool of a popular photo hosting site and focuses on unknown works by award-winning photographers posted on that site.
Photographs by Robert Adams, Bernd und Hilla Becher, Richard Billingham, Sophie Calle, Rineke Dijkstra, William Eggleston, Joan Fontcuberta, Lee Friedlander, Anna Gaskell, Jim Goldberg, David Goldblatt, Nan Goldin, Paul Graham, Andreas Gursky, Cindy Sherman, Joel Sternfeld, John Stezaker, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Jürgen Teller, Jeff Wall.
Twenty matted pigment ink prints (20 x 25 cm each) and a brochure with background information. Archival box, 22 x 27 x 6 cm, edition of 5 copies + 2 AP, numbered and signed.

Exhibition in Riga

You’ve got 1243 Unread Messages
Artists: Xavier Antin, Irma Blank, Braco Dimitrijević, Rodney Graham, Yoko Ono, On Kawara, William Kentridge, Martha Rosler, Dieter Roth, Joachim Schmid, Dayanita Singh, Miroslav Tichý, Franz Erhard Walther, et al.
Curated by Kaspars Vanags, Zane Zajančkauska, Diana Franssen
Latvian National Museum of Art
9 December 2017 – 4 February 2018

Paris Gallery Update

With immediate effect I discontinued my collaboration with Galerie Alain Gutharc in Paris. Collectors who consider buying artwork from the gallery are advised that I am no longer represented by the gallery. The gallery is no longer authorized to sell any of my works. Collectors who acquired work by me from this gallery in the past are informed that I may not have been paid for those works.

Exhibition in Ribeira Grande

O risível enigma da vida normal / The Laughable Enigma of the Ordinary
Artists: BANK, Common Culture, Maurice Doherty, Erica Eyres, João Paulo Feliciano, Peter Finnemore, Carla Garlaschi, Thomas Geiger, Kara Hearn, Richard Hughes, Gemma Marmalade, Paul McCarthy, Joachim Schmid, David Sherry, John Smith, Pilvi Takala, Gilian Wearing, Richard Wentworth, Olav Westphalen
Curated by David Campbell and Mark Durden
Arquipélago – Centro de Artes Contemporâneas, Ribeira Grande, Azores
Exhibition: September 15 to December 31, 2017
Opening: September 15th at 6pm

Exhibition in Winterthur

The Hobbyist
Hobbies, Photography, and the Hobby of Photography
Fotomuseum Winterthur
Artists: Kenneth Anger, Diane Arbus, Benedikt Bock, Mohamed Bourouissa, Chris Burden, Ricardo Cases, Bruce Davidson, David De Beyter, Jeremy Deller/Alan Kane, Glen Denny, Jeff Divine, Craig Fineman, Robert Frank, Fuzi, Alberto Garcia-Alix, William Gedney, Kirill Golovchenko, Carol Goodden/Gordon Matta-Clark/Tina Girouard/Suzanne Harris/Rachel Lew, Volker Heinze, Stephanie Kiwitt, Les Krims, Mike Mandel, Ari Marcopoulos, Eva & Frank Mattes, Naha Miletić, Neozoon, Simone Nieweg, Jenny Odell, Bill Owens, Lotte Reimann, Alexander Remnev, Cosmos Andrew Sarchiapone, Eckhard Schaar, Joachim Schmid, Oliver Sieber, Alec Soth, Xiaoxiao Xu.
Curated by Anna Planas, Pierre Hourquet, Thomas Seelig
Exhibition: 9 September 2017 – 28 January 2018

Exhibition in Mannheim

My series Other People’s Photographs will be presented in the exhibition Kein Bild ist eine Insel / No Image Is an Island at Port 25 – Raum für Gegenwartskunst during the Biennale für aktuelle Fotografie.
Artists: Natalie Bookchin, Andreas Horlitz, Stefan Karrer, Marc Lee, Eva und Franco Mattes, Reinhard Matz, D.H. Saur, Joachim Schmid, Andrew Norman Wilson
Curated by Fabian Knierim
Exhibition: 9 September – 5 November 2017
Opening: Friday 8 September at 7pm

Exhibition in London

Burning with pleasure #3
An exhibition of artists’ books at Seen Fifteen in London curated by Magali Avezou of Archipelago. Artists include Francis Alÿs, Yto Barrada, Ruth van Beek, Katrien de Blauwer, Anouk Kruithof, Raymond Meeks, Jean-Luc Moulène, Joachim Schmid, Elisabeth Tonnard, Daisuke Yokota, and others.
September 8 to 30, 2017.

The Mexicans will pay for this!

My work The Mexicans will pay for this billboard! is part of the Protest art festival, opening tomorrow in Berlin at 6pm.
On the occasion of the exhibition I published another version of the work, The Mexicans will pay for this poster! – it’s multiple, affordable and lasts longer than the billboard. The hand-printed linocut is available in my shop.

Exhibition in Reggio Emilia

Les Nouveaux Encyclopédistes
Fotografia Europea
Artists: Juan del Junco, Andrea Ferrari, Mishka Henner, Félix Heyes e Benjamin West, Glenda León, Iraida Lombardía, Daniel Mayrit, Roberto Pellegrinuzzi, Gregoire Pujade-Lauraine, Luciano Rigolini, Joachim Schmid, Tom Stayte, Batia Suter, Useful Photography (Hans Aarsman, Claudie de Cleen, Julian Germain, Erik Kessels, Hans van der Meer, Frank Schallmaier)
Curated by Joan Fontcuberta
Chiostri di San Pietro
Exhibition: May 5 to July 9, 2017
On Saturday, May 6 I’ll discuss my work in conversation with Joan Fontcuberta (4 pm at Teatro della Cavallerizza).

Exhibition in Berlin

The Library
A Photo Book Love Affair with Clara Bahlsen, Joachim Bartsch, Nadja Bournonville, April Gertler, Hannah Goldstein, Fred Hüning, Richard Rocholl, Joachim Schmid
tête
Exhibition: 8 – 30 April 2017
Opening: Friday, 7 April at 7 pm
I’ll present and discuss my project Other People’s Photographs on Sunday, April 9th at 2 pm.

Exhibition in Mechelen

Copy Construct
Cultuurcentrum Mechelen
Artists: Kasper Andreasen, Jan Op de Beeck, Koenraad Dedobbeleer, Peter Downsbrough, Vincent Geyskens, Henri Jacobs, Jan Kempenaers, Anne-Mie van Kerckhoven (Club Moral), Kris Kimpe, Stephanie Kiwitt, Aglaia Konrad, Alon Levin, Sara MacKillop, Gregorio Magnani, Mark Manders, Marc Nagtzaam, Willem Oorebeek, Frans Oosterhof, Ria Pacquée, Simon Popper, Guy Rombouts, Joachim Schmid, Elisabeth Tonnard, Mitja Tušek.
Curated by Kasper Andreasen
Exhibition: 25 March – 4 June 2017
Opening: March 24th at 8pm

Two Hundred Alternative Facts about Mr T

The title says it all, two hundred little known alternative facts. Count them. They are painstakingly researched and they are true. The full truth about Mr T, all you need to know in this time of fake news and demagogy. This is a great brochure. It’s true. It’s one of the best brochures ever. It’s sold at the fantastic price of just € 3 per copy. And things get better: There is a special unlimited quantity discount – just € 25 for a bundle of 10 copies. Get them for your friends. This very special brochure is only available as long as Mr T is in office. The day he resigns or gets impeached or assassinated or is replaced by another president, the remaining stock will be sent to hell. Until then a free copy of this great brochure will be included in every book order. And that is a fact.
2017
digital print, b/w
14.8 x 10.5 cm, 20 pages
softcover, saddle-stitched
250 copies
no longer available

sind wir dumm

An experimental exploration of the search engine and its role in confirming popular prejudices through search suggestions (in German language). Read my notes about the work here (also in German).
2017
digital print, b/w
19 x 12.5 cm, 312 pages
softcover, perfect bound
100 copies
20 €

Bilderbuch 2.0

Bilderbuch draws on an extensive archive of photographs taken from newspapers, magazines, books etc. that I have been gathering over more than 40 years. A selection from this ongoing collection of printed matter, removed from the original context and presented without any comment, was first published in book form in 2012. Bilderbuch 2.0 is an expanded remix of the book’s first edition.
2017
digital print, colour
21 x 14.8 cm, 144 pages
softcover, perfect bound
100 copies
32 €

Vom Gehen

In late autumn 1974, Werner Herzog walked from Munich to Paris. In the logbook of his journey he mentioned the village I grew up in and that I had left a few months before he passed through it. His three words in Vom Gehen im Eis / Of Walking in Ice are possibly the only literary mention of the village. Forty-two years later I repeated one leg of Werner Herzog’s walk, from Burgfelden to Dotternhausen. Just like him, I passed through the village I grew up in without stopping. Vom Gehen is my report of the walk.
2017
digital print, b/w
14.8 x 10.5 cm, 72 pages
softcover, perfect bound
100 copies
16 €

Vom Gehen (2017)

In late autumn 1974, Werner Herzog walked from Munich to Paris. In the logbook of his journey he mentioned the village I grew up in and that I had left a few months before he passed through it. His three words in Vom Gehen im Eis / Of Walking in Ice are possibly the only literary mention of the village. Forty-two years later I repeated one leg of Werner Herzog’s walk, from Burgfelden to Dotternhausen. Just like him, I passed through the village I grew up in without stopping. Vom Gehen is my report of the walk.
Sixteen pigment ink prints, 30 x 40 cm each, edition of 3 copies + 1 AP

Exhibition in Berlin

Das wäre doch nicht nötig gewesen
Artists’ books, editions, multiples by Nancy Jahns, Hans-Wulf Kunze, Robert Kuta, Ann Lichtenstein, Sven Märkisch, Simon Popper, Joachim Schmid, Erik Steinbrecher, Nicole Wermers, et al.
Bäckerei, Berlin-Moabit
Exhibition: 9 December 2016 – 18 February 2017

The Artist’s Model

Finding a nude photograph was not so easy half a century ago. But for interested parties there were books and magazines with photographic studies of “artists’ models”. Art was one legitimate pretext for looking at nudes. The pertinent publications provided plenty of material to look at. Line and Form was one of them. In a second-hand book market I found a copy of this magazine from the early 1960s. One of its previous owners was apparently not inspired by the photographs. That person’s interventions are the resource of my work.
2016
digital print, b/w
21 x 14.8 cm, 16 pages
softcover, saddle-stitched
50 copies

Offprint Paris

Next week I’ll be participating in Offprint Paris again. This 7th edition of the fair will host 130 independent and experimental publishers in photography, contemporary art, and graphic design from 16 countries. You’ll find me and my books at the table I share with Elisabeth Tonnard.
November 10–13, 2016
Please note that for security reasons it is prohibited to access the building with bags exceeding the A3 format. We make small books.

Exhibition in Brighton

Control
Sixty Eight Middle Street
Artists: Simon Menner, Rafal Milach, Sarah Pickering, Joachim Schmid
Curated by Gordon MacDonald
Exhibition: 21 – 30 October, 2016
Opening Party: Fri 21 Oct, 6pm to 10pm

The Artist’s Model (2016)

Finding a nude photograph was not so easy half a century ago. But for interested parties there were books and magazines with photographic studies of “artists’ models”. Art was one legitimate pretext for looking at nudes. The pertinent publications provided plenty of material to look at. Line and Form was one of them. In a second-hand book market I found a copy of this magazine from the early 1960s. One of its previous owners was apparently not inspired by the photographs. That person’s interventions are the resource of my work.
Eight pigment ink prints, 40 x 26.5 cm each, edition of 3 copies + 1 AP

New York Art Book Fair

Printed Matter, Inc. presents the eleventh annual NY Art Book Fair, from September 16 to 18, 2016, at MoMA PS1, Long Island City, Queens. A preview will be held on the evening of Thursday, September 15. You’ll find me and my books on the second floor at the table I share with Elisabeth Tonnard (N 52).
Free and open to the public, the NY Art Book Fair is the world’s premier event for artists’ books, catalogs, monographs, periodicals, and zines. The 2015 fair featured over 350 booksellers, antiquarians, artists, institutions and independent publishers from twenty-eight countries, and was attended by more than 35,000 people. (That’s about 20.000 visitors too many. People who do not want to buy books are encouraged to stay away.)

Exhibition in Beverly Hills

On the 50th anniversary of Ed Ruscha’s iconic publication Every Building on the Sunset Strip Gagosian Gallery presents the final iteration of the well traveled exhibition, Ed Ruscha Books & Co., at Gagosian Gallery Beverly Hills.
Exhibition: 28 July – 9 September, 2016
Opening July 28, 6–8 pm

[logo] SUCKS

There are two kinds of things in the world, things that are ok and things that suck. Many of the things that suck are strictly speaking not really things. They are companies or services. It’s not a big surprise that many of these are related to the internet. These amorphous entities are the pillars of the digital universe. Amazon sucks, Facebook sucks, Google sucks, and so do all the other companies that infiltrated modern life and that seem to be so indispensable in present age. For the contemporaries who share the feeling that these things suck I made a set of prints. Each print is based on the logo of one of the entities that suck.
2016
18 linocuts, hand-printed on 120 gr acid-free dorée paper, 29.5 x 21 cm each, stamped with archival ink, in a semi-archival box (31 x 22.5 x 3 cm).
Edition of 20 copies (+ 1 AP), 360 €

Unfortunate Selfies

A compilation of international news reports about (mostly lethal) accidents that happened while and because people were distracted by taking selfies. Many of these incidents seem so surreal that we find it hard to believe what we read. But all the accidents described in this book really happened, the facts are double-checked.
Unfortunate Selfies was nominated for the Prix Bob Calle 2019 du livre d’artiste.
2016
print on demand, b/w
17.5 x 11 cm, 76 pages
softcover, perfect bound
open edition
12 €

Exhibition in Arles

Fabulous Failures
The Art of Embracing Serendipity and Mistakes

Les Rencontres de la Photographie
Artists: Lukas Blalock, Paul Bogaers, Heike Bollig, Daniel Eatock, Joan Fontcuberta, Thomas Mailaender, Peter Piller, Putput (Stephan Friedly & Ulrik Martin Larsen), Kent Rogowski, Joachim Schmid, Helmut Smits, Matt Stuart, André Thijssen, Timm Ulrichs, Ruth van Beek, Barry van der Rijt, Anegien van Doorn
Curator: Erik Kessels
Palais de l’Archevêché
4 July – 25 September, 2016

Exhibition in Belfast

Double Act: Art and Comedy
Metropolitan Arts Centre Belfast
Artists: Bas Jan Ader, Cory Arcangel, Terry Atkinson, Mel Brimfield, Common Culture, Keith Coventry, Maurice Doherty, Richard Hughes, Paul McCarthy, Jonathan Monk, Adrian Paci, Julian Rosefeldt, Joachim Schmid, John Smith, Michael Smith, Richard Wentworth, Olav Westphalen, Erwin Wurm
Curated by David Campbell and Mark Durden
Exhibition: May 6 – July 31, 2016
Opening May 5th, 7 – 9pm

Exhibition in Paris

Les adoptés
Artists: Katrien de Blauwer, Inés de Bordas, Dina Kelberman, Thomas Sauvin, Joachim Schmid, John Stezaker, Thierry Struvay
Curated by Laure Flammarion
Honoré Visconti
21 April – 8 May 2016
Opening on April 20 at 6.30pm

Exhibition in Milan

Corale
Curated by Monitor, P420, SpazioA
Artists: Eric Bainbridge, Franco Guerzoni, Benedikt Hipp, Nicola Samorì, Claudio Verna for Monitor; Luca Bertolo, Esther Klas, Chiara Camoni, Piotr Lakomy, Giulia Cenci for SpazioA; Riccardo Baruzzi, Irma Blank, Rodrigo Hernández, Paolo Icaro, Joachim Schmid, Alessandra Spranzi, Franco Vaccari for P420
Frigoriferi Milanesi, Centro per l’Arte Contemporanea
Exhibition: 8 April – 10 June 2016
Opening on 7 April at 8pm

Exhibition in Paris

After Photography
Galerie Alain Gutharc
Artists: Janis Avotins, Dieter Hacker, Nøne futbol club, Estefanía Peñafiel Loaiza, Abigail Reynolds, Sebastien Riemer, Ariane Schick, Joachim Schmid, Sarah Schoenfeld, Sam Smith.
Curated by Pascale Krief
Exhibition: 13 April – 21 May, 2016
Opening: 12 April, 5 pm

Sorry. A Book of Errors

Incorrect password. Unknown username. The application encountered a problem. The server does not respond. Please try again later.
We write letters and we share photos and we buy things and we book trips and we pay taxes and we talk to friends and we watch movies and we read books and we do a lot of work with computers. Computers are ubiquitous, and so is their relentless logic. There’s no “maybe”, no “nearly”, no “approximately”, no “not quite, but I know what you mean.” The computer knows only two options, right or wrong, yes and no, zero and one. Computers pretend to be perfect and we know we are not. The result is a flood of error messages. Things go wrong all the time, and this is – according to the computer – usually our fault. Unknown error, please try again. Sometimes you wonder whether buying a computer was error number one.
This book is comprised of more than four hundred error messages in six languages collected by a user over the course of two years.
2016
digital print, b/w
14.8 x 10.5 cm, 144 pages
softcover, sewn
100 copies
16 €

¥€$

Artists’ books come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. I prefer the ones that are conceptually striking, not made for the sake of craft. Usually these are simple, small, and cheap. Often I wonder about the economy of artists’ books. We work and make and publish books in small editions, and then we sell them at reasonable prices. How does this work? This book explains in detail how artists make (or lose) money with self-published books. The book comes in two editions: the regular edition that is very affordable and a very limited edition that makes the money.
2016
digital print, b/w
14.8 x 10.5 cm, 48 pages
softcover, sewn
100 copies
16 €


limited edition of 4 copies (+ 1 AP) with an original signed and stamped banknote (one copy for each of the currencies mentioned in the book: ¥, €, $, and £); the limited edition is out of stock


E-Book

E is the most commonly used letter in many languages including Dutch, English, French, and German. Writing a few sentences without an E is difficult, and writing an entire book without one single E seems impossible. With La Disparition, Georges Perec did exactly that. E-Book is its counterpart with E being the only letter that shows up on its pages. The book’s layout is based on a letter written to Elisabeth Tonnard. The words of the letter remain invisible but every E is included in the form of a photograph.
The various Ees were photographed between January and October 2015 in Amsterdam, Berlin, Weimar, Florence, Venice, Leerdam, Middelburg, New York, Ravenna, ’s-Hertogenbosch, and Rotterdam.
E-Book is printed on paper, a digital version is not available.
2016
digital print, b/w
21 x 14.8 cm, 120 pages
softcover with stamped dust jacket, sewn
100 copies
40 €


PowerPoint Polemics

Opening tomorrow at The Photographers’ Gallery in London: PowerPoint Polemics
“Although there’s a growing body of literature addressing PowerPoint’s place in contemporary knowledge production, it has so far been overlooked as an artistic medium and exhibition format, despite its sole function being grounded in visual arts.
On the year the 26th anniversary of Microsoft’s release of PowerPoint, the Media Wall, in partnership with the Goethe-Institut London, are commissioning 15 artists, scientists and theorists to playfully consider the politics and aesthetics of slideware, while speculating on the future of image production.
With contributions from: Stephan Dillemuth, IOCOSE, Lev Manovich, Rosa Menkman, Sascha Pohflepp, Claire Tolan, Rebecca Roth (NASA), Joe Gibson & Mishka Henner, Joachim Schmid, João Enxuto & Erica Love, Olga Goriunova & Matthew Fuller, Paul Wombell, Clunie Reid, Werkflow & Mechanical Turk.”

Exhibition and Book Fair in Berlin

I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library
Artists: Susanne Bürner, Natalie Czech, Anita Di Bianco, Dominique Hurth, Ines Lechleitner, Jonathan Monk, Joachim Schmid, Erik Steinbrecher, Elisabeth Tonnard
Curated by Savannah Gorton
The exhibition is part of Friends with Books: Art Book Fair Berlin where I’ll have a table with my books (E5)
Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart Berlin
December 11–13, 2015
Saturday, December 12 at 1 pm: Dr. Michael Lailach, Kunstbibliothek Berlin, leads a panel discussion with artists Céline Duval, Joachim Schmid, Erik Steinbrecher, and Elisabeth Tonnard on the artist and author as publisher.

Talk in Nicosia

The Photograph as a Found Object
Roundtable discussion with Clare Grafik, Merja Salo, and Joachim Schmid, organized by The International Association of Photography & Theory IAPT
Point Centre for Contemporary Art, Nicosia
Saturday, November 28, 2015, 10 am

Viaggio in Italia

A notional journey through Italy based on maps, memory, and postcards.
2015 by P420 Arte Contemporanea, Bologna
digital print, colour
23.5 x 16.5 cm, 68 pages
softcover, sewn
200 copies
ISBN 978-88-98476-07-7
20 copies with an enclosed postcard, numbered and signed

New York Art Book Fair

Printed Matter, Inc. presents the tenth annual NY Art Book Fair, September 18 to 20, at MoMA PS1, with a public opening on the evening of Thursday, September 17, from 6 to 9pm.
Free and open to the public, the NY Art Book Fair is the world’s leading event for artists’ books, catalogs, monographs, periodicals, and zines showcased by more than 300 booksellers, antiquarians, artists, and independent publishers from more than twenty countries.
You’ll find me and my books on the second floor at the table I share with Elisabeth Tonnard (N 52).
On Saturday at 6 pm I’ll be launching my new book Ikea Sucks.

Exhibition in Montreal

The Post-Photographic Condition
Le Mois de la Photo à Montréal
Artists: Laia Abril, After Facebook, Roy Arden, Christopher Baker, Christina Battle, Leandro Berra, Dominique Blain, Adam Broomberg and Oliver Chanarin, Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller, Grégory Chatonskay and Dominique Sirois, Hans Eijkelboom, Dina Kelberman, Erik Kessels, Owen Kydd, Isabelle Le Minh, Liam Maloney, Simon Menner, Misspixels, Roberto Pellegrinuzzi, Patricia Piccinini, Jacques Pugin, Andreas Rutkauskas, Joachim Schmid, Sean Snyder, Paul Wong
Curated by Joan Fontcuberta
Occurrence, Espace d’art et d’essai contemporains
10 September – 11 October, 2015
The New Predators.
Joan Fontcuberta in conversation with Joachim Schmid and Isabelle Le Minh
The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
13 September, 2015 at 2 pm

Exhibition in Groningen

You and me and everyone we do not know
Academie Minerva
Artists: Harry Bos, Angelica Dass, Tijmen van Dijk, Elsadig Mohamed, Nii Obodai, Willem Popelier, Joachim Schmid, Romaric Tisserand
Curated by Andrea Stultiens
Exhibition: 4 September – 2 October, 2015
Opening: 4 September at 5 pm

Exhibition in New York

Evil: A Matter of Intent
Hebrew Union College Museum
Artists: Andi Arnowitz, Helene Aylon, Debra Band, Harriet Estel Berman, Riva Bell, Leon Bibel, Andres Borocz, Beverly Brodsky, Linda Caspe, Judy Chicago, Dorit Dotan, Rosalyn A. Engelman, Larry S. Frankel, Tommy Gelb, Linda Gissen, Grace Graupe-Pillard, Barbara Green, Debbie Teicholz Guedalia, Karen Gunderson, Carol Hamoy, Nathan Hilu, Tamar Hirschl, Judith Glickman Lauder, John Lawson, Margalit Mannor, Elizabeth Langer, Reuben Malayn, Paul Margolis, Richard McBee, Meadow, Leonard Meiselman, Rabbi Linda Motzkin, David Newman, Hedy Pagremanski, Mark Podwal, Archie Rand, Faith Ringold, Trix Rosen, Marilyn Rosenberg, Joachim Schmid, William Sharp, Linda Soberman, Arthur Szyk, David Wander, Grace Bakst Wapner, Paul Weissman
Exhibition: 1 September, 2015 – 30 June, 2016

IKEA Sucks

IKEA sucks. In my opinion they owe me money. They don’t agree. In order to recuperate the disputed amount I made this book. The prices of all items bought at IKEA are listed in the book. The revenue from sales of the complete edition equals the total of my purchase.
All materials used for the production of the book were involuntarily supplied by IKEA. The book’s pages are IKEA note sheets, the cover is made of IKEA wrapping paper and cardboard, the typographic elements and photos are taken from the IKEA catalog. The twenty-five copies of the book are numbered and signed using an IKEA pencil which is attached to each copy. Everything is kept neat and flat and in place by a belly band made of an IKEA measuring tape.
IKEA is a registered trademark of Inter IKEA Systems B.V.
2015
22 x 10.5 cm, 36 pages
hardcover, perfect bound
25 copies (+ 2 AP), numbered and signed
49 €

Viaggio in Italia (2015)

A notional journey through Italy based on maps, memory, and postcards. The images are derived from postcards collected during various trips through Italy between 1989 and 2015.
An artist book of the same name was published by P420 Arte Contemporanea on the occasion of an exhibition in Bologna in 2015.
Eight pigment ink prints, 40 x 30 cm each, edition of 3 copies + 1 AP

Drucksachen

A box containing rare and out-of-print books and ephemera including Erste allgemeine Altfotosammlung (1991) with a copy of the original flyer, Art Addicts Anonymous (1993), Bilder von der Straße (1994), Kunst gegen Essen (1996), Very Miscellaneous (1997), Sinterklaas ziet alles (1998), The Face in the Desert (1999), Alexander Honory. The Private Institute of Contemporary Family Photography / Joachim Schmid. The Institute for the Reprocessing of Used Photographs (2001), Traballos Fotográficos 1982–2002 (2002), A meeting on holiday (2004), Belo Horizonte, Praça Rui Barbosa (2004), Retratos decisivos (2005), Tausend Himmel (2007), the set of thirteen ABC Cards (2010), Illustriertes Tierleben (2010), a special, deliberately misprinted edition of The Coach House / An Inventory (2011), Ohne Worte (2013) plus a copy of Schmid Books, a comprehensive catalogue of all my publications since 1982.
2015
33 x 25 x 11 cm
20 copies
480 €

Main Street

Twenty-six photographs of small town main streets.
2015
digital print, colour
14.8 x 10.5 cm, 60 pages
softcover, sewn
100 copies

Exhibition in Dunkirk

Se fier aux apparences
Françoise Pétrovitch rencontre les collections du LAAC et du Frac Nord–Pas de Calais
LAAC – Lieu d’Art et Action contemporaine de Dunkerque
Exhibition: 27 March – 20 September, 2015
Opening: 27 March at 6.30pm

History Lessons

Forty-four postcards depicting moments of US history as represented in monuments, replica buildings, wax museums, or reenactment shows, covering four centuries from the arrival of the first European settlers to the collapse of World Trade Center.
2015
digital print, colour
21 x 14.8 cm, 96 pages
softcover, sewn
100 copies

Are you searching for me?

There are many Joachim Schmids. Some play a role in public life, others don’t. People who wish to learn what we do or what we did, what we wrote or what we said, begin by searching the internet. It’s all there: names, dates, pictures and the rest. Thanks to the search engine the world has become transparent and there are no more secrets. Or so we think. If it’s me you’re looking for, most of the information you’ll find is not correct.
This book was first published in 2012. The original print-on-demand edition is discontinued and replaced by this second edition, re-designed in a different format.
second edition 2015
digital print, b/w
14.8 x 10.5 cm, 48 pages
softcover, sewn
100 copies

Exhibition in Paris

Jardins d’hiver – Jardin d’Eden
Galerie Alain Gutharc
Artists: Alinari, Anonyme, François Auradon, Louise Bossut, Adolphe Braun, Jean Dubuffet, Véronique Ellena, Walker Evans, Hans Peter Feldmann, Laurent Goumarre, Hervé Guibert, Guillaume Janot, Man Ray, Kazuma Ogawa, Présence Panchounette, Achille Quinet, Albert Renger-Patzsch, Michaël Roy, Thomas Ruff, Joachim Schmid, Charles T. Scowen, Jean-Marc Tingaud
Exhibition: 7 February – 3 March, 2015

Exhibition in London

If A Circle Meets Itself
Hollybush Gardens
Artists: Peles Empire, Esther Ferrer, Sunil Gupta, Lubaina Himid, Fred Lonidier, Eline McGeorge, Ruth Proctor, Joachim Schmid
Exhibition: 30 January – 7 March, 2015
Opening: 29 January 7 – 9 pm

Exhibition in Lyon

La Double vie des images
Galerie Le Réverbère
Artists: Pauline Bastard, Lionel Fourneaux, Emmanuelle Fructus, Elsa Leydier, Loriot-Mélia, William Nefussi, Philippe Pétremant, Joachim Schmid
Exhibition: 30 January – 28 March, 2015
Opening: 29 January 6 – 9 pm

Souvenirs

Thirty-two photographs of spoons that I collected over twenty-five years of traveling (1983–2008).
This book was first published in 2010. The second edition is colour instead of black and white and re-designed in a different format.
second edition 2015
digital print, colour
14.8 x 10.5 cm, 72 pages
softcover, sewn
100 copies
20 € (last copies)

Around the World in Eighty Minutes

A World Expo may have made sense a century ago but since the invention of television the idea seems obsolete. In Shanghai, China, the basic premise is to wait in lines; incredibly long lines. Occasionally, a speaker system announces three hours waiting time for this pavilion, seven hours here, five hours there. Queuing for hours to visit something I never wanted to see is not my idea of fun. Yet here I am, with a group of students I’m obliged to accompany, watching our tour guide hand out hats to make sure we look as ridiculous as every other tour group. Fortunately, it isn’t long before I lose them but what do you do in a world exhibition filled with several hundred thousand Chinese? Over a cup of coffee I forge a plan: Around the World in Eighty Minutes.
The plan is to walk around the site without entering a single pavilion. In front of each pavilion, I take a self-portrait in the style of the modern tourist: camera at arm’s length with the attraction behind me. “I was there,” the picture says. So I don my hat and begin the journey, visiting about eighty countries and spending only a minute in each without even pausing to examine the pictures. I miss a country or two, but that’s to be expected when you travel in a rush.
This book was first published in 2011. The original print-on-demand edition is discontinued and replaced by this edition.
2015
digital print, colour
14.8 x 10.5 cm, 180 pages
softcover, sewn
100 copies

Souvenirs (2010)

Photographs of spoons collected over twenty-five years of traveling.
Courtesy of Air France · British Airways · British Midland Airways · Café de Flore, Paris · Café New York, Budapest · Continental Airlines · Delta Air Lines · Iberia · KLM · KLM UK · Lufthansa · Mitropa · Museum of Modern Art, New York · Nola’s in Tiergarten, Berlin · Olympic Airlines · Orbis Grand Hotel, Łódź · Radisson Béke Hotel, Budapest · Savoy Hotel, Luxor · Schlosshotel im Grunewald, Berlin · Swissair · TAP Air Portugal · Tate Modern, London · Türk Hava Yollari · Varig (1983 – 2008).
Thirty-two c-prints, 13 x 18 cm each, edition of 3 copies + 1 AP

Fifteen Minutes on Broadway

On September 29, 2014 I set up a surveillance camera on the sidewalk in front of the former home of Andy Warhol‘s factory on 33 West Union Square in Manhattan. The camera automatically took a photo every 30 seconds recording pedestrian traffic between 10:38 and 10:53 am. No celebrities were spotted during these fifteen minutes.
2014
digital print, b/w
14.8 x 10.5 cm, 72 pages
softcover, sewn
100 copies
16 €

Exhibition in Düren

The exhibition We Fragment, Collect and Narrate with works from the collection of FRAC Nord–Pas de Calais, originally presented at Cultuurcentrum Mechelen will open this week at Leopold-Hoesch-Museum in Düren.
Exhibition: 7 December 2014 – 22 February 2015

Exhibition in Bolzano

The Hierarchy of Images
Foto Forum
Artists: Mishka Henner, Joachim Schmid, Tobias Zielony
Curated by Sabine Gamber and Nicoló Degiorgis
Exhibition: 5 December 2014 – 24 January 2015
Opening: 4 December at 7 pm

Offprint Paris

Offprint Paris Paris is an art-publishing fair featuring discerning publishers on art, photography, design and experimental music labels. This year’s edition showcases more than 130 publishers from over 20 countries. You’ll find me and my books at the table I share with Elisabeth Tonnard.
November 13–16, 2014

Lambe Lambe

Three series of portraits, based on street photographers’ discarded negatives found in the streets of Belo Horizonte between 1992 and 2002.
The portraits in this book were made by anonymous “lambe-lambe” photographers in the streets of Belo Horizonte, Brazil, and were not intended to be seen by a larger audience. Their initial function was for private clients who were in need of portraits for various administrative purposes. The photographers had the habit of discarding their negatives in the streets where I collected this treasure. The photographers worked with extremely simple equipment and they processed film and paper quickly disregarding any archival considerations. Despite or maybe even because of the seemingly artless process the images are striking and powerful. As a group they form a randomly composed collective portrait of the population of a city, and they are documents of an era gone by, replaced by the clean process of digital photography that does not leave any trash in the street.
2014 by Editorial RM
book design by Astrid Stavro
text in English, Spanish, Portuguese
offset, colour
18.5 x 13 cm, 120 pages
softcover, sewn
1,000 copies
ISBN 978-84-16282-00-5
28 €

Article in Photographies Magazine

An eighteen-page article by Susana Martins, “Photography as Anti-Museum? Conflicting museological concepts in the work of Joachim Schmid” was published in Photographies magazine volume 7, issue 2, 2014.

New York Art Book Fair

Printed Matter, Inc. presents the nineth annual NY Art Book Fair, September 26 to 28, at MoMA PS1, with a public opening on the evening of Thursday, September 25, from 6 to 9pm.
Free and open to the public, the NY Art Book Fair is the world’s leading event for artists’ books, catalogs, monographs, periodicals, and zines showcased by more than 280 booksellers, antiquarians, artists, and independent publishers from more than twenty countries.
You’ll find me and my books in the Small Press Dome in the building’s courtyard at the table I share with Elisabeth Tonnard (B17).

ABCED

A very simple font designed for ABCED, a multi-volume book project created by members of ABC Artists’ Books Cooperative to celebrate Ed Ruscha’s seventy-fifth birthday.
2014
digital print, b/w
21 x 14.8 cm, 32 pages
softcover, saddle-stitched
50 copies

Exhibition in San Francisco

Secondhand
Pier 24
Artists: Maurizio Anzeri, John Baldessari, Viktoria Binschtok, Melissa Cantanese, Daniel Gordon, Erik Kessels, Mike Mandel, Matt Lipps, Richard Prince, Rashid Rana, Joachim Schmid, Larry Sultan, Hank Willis Thomas
Exhibition: August 1, 2014 – May 31, 2015

One Day in May

Every time we learn about another gun rampage in the US, people ask the same questions – why did someone kill so many people, what went wrong with that person? In May, 2014 another one of these killing sprees occurred in Santa Barbara, California, claiming seven lives. One Day in May does not ask any of the usual questions but takes a look at the wider context of the event – the other fourty-nine shootings that happened on the same day, starting in Connecticut and ending in California in the course of the day. The Santa Barbara shooting is only one event in an ongoing series; it made international news because of the number of victims. Looking at the local news on any given day may tell us more about the occasional mass shooting than asking the same questions time and again.
2014
digital print, colour
14.8 x 10.5 cm, 124 pages
softcover, sewn
100 copies
32 € (last copies)

Sixty-Eight Minutes on the Sunset Strip

On March 26th, 2014 I set out to explore the Sunset Strip. Coming from the south, I arrived at the western end of the strip at 2:58 pm. Traffic moved very slowly past buildings, apartments, real estate opportunities, parking lots, a gasoline station, and a few palm trees. It took sixty-eight minutes of stop and go traffic before I arrived at the eastern end of the strip. The reason for slow traffic was a small fire.
2014
digital print, b/w
14.8 x 10.5 cm, 80 pages
softcover, sewn
100 copies

Exhibition in London

Pastiche, Parody and Piracy
Exploring different approaches in contemporary art appropriation
The Cob Gallery
Artists: Jeremy Banx, Andrew Birch, Hollie Chastain, Stanley Donwood, Miriam and Ezra Elia, Noel Ford, Nina Mae Fowler, Neal Fox, Sadie Hennessy, Steve Jones, Peter Kennard, Kathryn Lamb, Chris Madden, Alexander Matthews, Eric Oglander, Michalis Pichler, Ken Pyne, Patricio Reig, Joachim Schmid, Cathy Simpson, Hattie Stewart, Bill Stott, Mike Turner
Curated by Camilla Ellingsen Webster
Exhibition: June 20 – July 5, 2014
Opening: Thursday, June 19, 6 – 9pm

Photogenetic Drafts


This series of 32 photographs is based on the archive of a commercial photographer who donated the negatives he didn’t need any more to the Institute for the Reprocessing of Used Photographs. The photographer cut his negatives to prevent their future use. This attempt to preclude new prints triggered the creation of photographs that would not exist without the attempted destruction. Consistent point of view, consistent light, and consistent poses allowed the combination of two negatives into one single image. The resulting photographs are portraits of non-existing persons. They are based on the genetic pool of the population of a small town in Bavaria. Like in genetic engineering, existing information was dismantled and spliced to create formerly unknown mutations, playing with genetic inheritance, age, gender, and personality. 
2014
digital print, b/w
21 x 14.8 cm, 36 pages
softcover, saddle-stitched
50 copies

Exhibition in Essen

(Mis)Understanding Photography – Werke und Manifeste
Museum Folkwang, Essen
Artists
Werke: Claudia Angelmaier, Michael Badura, Sylvia Ballhause, Laura Bielau, Viktoria Binschtok, Kristleifur Björnsson, Anna und Bernhard Blume, Christian Boltanski, Günter Karl Bose, Johannes Brus, Michel Campeau, Sarah Charlesworth, Jojakim Cortis & Adrian Sonderegger, Tacita Dean, Bogomir Ecker, Hans Eijkelboom, Hans-Peter Feldmann, Joan Fontcuberta, Florian Freier, Katharina Gaenssler, Jochen Gerz, G.R.A.M., Aneta Grzeszykowska, Jeff Guess, Rudolf Herz, John Hilliard, Alfredo Jaar, Kenneth Josephson, Erik Kessels, Jochen Lempert, Zoe Leonard, Les Levine, Zbigniew Libera, Stanislaw Markowski, Santu Mofokeng, Ugo Mulas, Andreas Müller-Pohle, Renate Heyne & Floris M. Neusüss, Peter Piller, Steven Pippin, Richard Prince, Barbara Probst, Arnulf Rainer, Timm Rautert, Benjamin Rinner, Józef Robakowski, Thomas Ruff, Ed Ruscha, Adrian Sauer, Joachim Schmid, Pavel Maria Smejkal, Michael Snow, Clare Strand, Larry Sultan & Mike Mandel, Jirō Takamatsu, Vibeke Tandberg, Ulrich Tillmann & Wolfgang Vollmer, Wolfgang Tillmans, Axel Töpfer, Timm Ulrichs, Franco Vaccari, Matthias Wähner, Gillian Wearing, Jan Wenzel, Christopher Williams, Akram Zaatari
Manifeste: Shahidul Alam, ANT!FOTO/Katja Stuke & Oliver Sieber, Nobuyoshi Araki, Keith Arnatt, Mel Bochner, Victor Burgin, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Louis Jacues Mandé Daguerre, Louis Darget, Eugenio Dittborn, Hossam el-Hamalawy, Peter Henry Emerson, Group f/64, Francis Frith, Luigi Ghirri, Raoul Hausmann, John Heartfield, Mishka Henner, Rudolf Herz, Lewis W. Hine, Thomas Hirschhorn, Edwin Hoernle, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Martin Kippenberger, Oscar Krifka, Germaine Krull, Heiner Kurzbein, Dorothea Lange, Sherrie Levine, Jerzy Lewczynski, Lomographische Gesellschaft, Man Ray, F.T. Marinetti / Tato, Chris Marker, Renzo Martens, Peter McKenzie, Lucia Moholy, László Moholy-Nagy, Johannes Molzahn, Daido Moriyama, Maurice Vidal Portman, Albert Renger-Patzsch, Alexander Rodtschenko, Martha Rosler, August Sander, Joachim Schmid, Allan Sekula, Jo Spence / Terry Dennett, Otto Steinert, Hito Steyerl, Alfred Stieglitz, Paul Strand, William Henry Fox Talbot, Karel Teige, Raoul Ubac, Timm Ulrichs, Johan van der Keuken, Ai Weiwei, Minor White
Curated by Florian Ebner
Exhibition June 14 – August 17, 2014
Opening Friday, 13 June at 7 pm

Exhibition in Douchy-les-Mines

Using Images
Centre Régional de la Photographie Nord – Pas-de-Calais
Artists: Christian Boltanski, Hans-Peter Feldmann, Bruce Nauman, Cady Noland, Peter Piller, Joachim Schmid
Curated by Erik Verhagen
Exhibition: May 10 – September 7, 2014

“L’exposition vise à conjuguer des propositions artistiques qui s’articulent autour de la réappropriation par des artistes de documents photographiques préexistants. Photographies d’amateur, coupures de presse, clichés historiques, œuvres conçues par d’«autres» artistes : autant de documents renégociés par des créateurs qui ne ressentent pas ou plus le besoin de produire des photographies «originales», préférant reproduire, réinvestir, contaminer et décontextualiser dans une perspective postmoderniste des éléments ready-made retenus pour des raisons diverses et variées.
Composée de travaux conçus par des artistes de générations et sensibilités différentes et diversifiées, l’exposition s’attache à démontrer que les pratiques d’appropriation n’ont cessé, en dépit de leur manque d’ «originalité», de générer des propositions riches en possibilités, tant sur le plan formel que thématique. L’exposition couvre un spectre de 45 années de création. Il s’agirait de présenter les œuvres du (ou associées au) CRP au FRAC Nord – Pas-de-Calais et inversement celles du FRAC dans la galerie du CRP à Douchy-les-Mines.”

One Thousand Books

I am pleased to participate in the One Thousand Books festival in Copenhagen, April 10–13, 2014.
“Twenty-eight independent publishers from all of Northern Europe meet up in a supermarket in Copenhagen to sell books, greet their audience face to face and to share ideas and strategies with one another. The isles of the supermarket act as a visual and conceptual backdrop as the art books are sold alongside everyday groceries, to bibliophiles and the unexpecting shopper alike.”
Talks by David Senior, Jacob Fabricius, Erik Kessels & Paul Kooiker, Thomas Hvid Kromann, and Joachim Schmid.

Exhibition in Thun

A remix of the exhibition We Fragment, Collect and Narrate that was originally presented at Cultuurcentrum Mechelen will open at Kunstmuseum Thun this week.

Artists: Pawel Althamer, Francis Baudevin, Carol Bove, Marcel Broodthaers, Davide Cascio, Jeremy Deller, Diana Dodson, Haris Epaminonda, Hans-Peter Feldmann, Hans Gerber, Ingo Giezendanner, Felix Gmelin, Monica Ursina Jäger, Hella Jongerius, Scott King, Reto Leibundgut, Christian Marclay, Josephine Meckseper, Chantal Michel, Claudia & Julia Müller, Sarah Ortmeyer, Man Ray, Giacomo Santiago Rogado, Lorenzo Salafia, Joachim Schmid, Fridel Sonderegger, Dominik Stauch, Joëlle Tuerlinckx
Curated by Sayoko Nakahara, Petra Giezendanner and Helen Hirsch
Exhibition: February 15th – April 27th, 2014
Opening: February 14th at 6.30 pm

Exhibition in Pessac

L’Eclipse de la figure
Les arts au mur – Artothèque à Pessac
Artists: Philippe Bazin, Victor Burgin, Serge Comte, Philippe Fangeaux, Hans-Peter Feldmann, Lee Friedlander, Paolo Gioli, Laurent Kropf, Pierre Labat, Lilly Lulay, Duane Michals, Kyoko Nagashima, Roman Opalka, Dennis Oppenheim, Jacques Perconte, Leila Sadel, Joachim Schmid, Roman Signer, Julien Tiberi
Exhibition: 24 January – 3 April, 2014
Opening: Thursday, January 23rd at 6 pm

Decisive Portraits


Decisive Portraits is a series of eight b/w photographs and a text panel. The photographs are portraits of black American soldiers taken by George Garland in April and May 1944 in Petworth, West Sussex.
2014 (the 2013 print-on-demand edition is discontinued)
digital print, b/w
21 x 14.8 cm, 20 pages
softcover, saddle-stitched
50 copies
8 €

Nine Errors

The series Nine Errors was made when Breda Photo Festival invited me to participate in their exhibition Another Street View in September 2010. Photographs were presented as an online exhibition that was accessible via smartphone. Stickers with QR codes refering to the exhibits were spread around the city of Breda. So the exhibition existed only on the displays of smartphones in the streets of Breda. Instead of providing the expected images for an exhibition in public space that would be accessible exclusively for the owners of smartphones and that would support the idea of turning public space into a machine-readable surface, I decided to subvert the system by introducing (images of) a series of errors. Throughout the following years, stickers with the very same codes were pasted in various cities, replacing existing codes with error messages.
2014 (the 2013 print-on-demand edition is discontinued)
digital print, b/w
21 x 14.8 cm, 24 pages
softcover, saddle-stitched
50 copies

Netzerscheinungen

Netzerscheinungen (2006/2007) are three multi-channel digital photo installations that are based on photographic imagery found on the internet:
Menschen und Dinge. 853 Bilder für das 21. Jahrhundert (People and Things. 853 Pictures for the 21st Century)
Orte und Zeichen. 692 Bilder für das 21. Jahrhundert (Places and Signs. 692 Pictures for the 21st Century)
Waren und Träume. 781 Bilder für das 21. Jahrhundert (Commodities and Dreams. 781 Pictures for the 21st Century)
The three volumes contain a selection of photographs, organized in the same 66 chapters that build the structure of the installations.
2014
digital print, colour, 3 volumes
21 x 24.8 cm, 40–48 pages
softcover, saddle-stitched
50 copies

Exhibition in Paris

For Your Loving
Galerie Jeanroch Dard
Artists: Samuel François, Olivier Kosta-Théfaine, Justin Morin, Walter Pfeiffer, Benoit Platéus, Man Ray, Michael Roy, Joachim Schmid
Exhibition: 6 December 2013 – 6 January 2014
Opening 6 December 6 – 9 pm

Offprint Paris

Offprint Paris is a platform dedicated to contemporary photography and image making, a meeting place for artists, photographers, graphic designers, curators offering a unique selection of artist’s books, magazines, prints and zines.
Beaux Arts de Paris, 14 rue Bonaparte, 75006 Paris
November 14–17, 2013
You’ll find some of my books at the stand of Kominek Gallery. I’ll be signing books there on Thursday, November 14 at 4pm.

Von eigener Hand

Eine Sammlung gefundener Notizen, Einkaufszettel, Kurzbriefe – anonyme Bespiele handschriftlicher Alltagskommunikation in vier Sprachen. Die Fundstücke stammen aus der zweiten Hälfte der 90er Jahren des 20. Jahrhunderts, der Buchentwurf von 1999.
2013
digital print, b/w
21 x 14.8 cm, 112 pages
softcover, sewn
100 copies

Kunstgeschichte für alle

Das Pin-Up-Foto hat seinen angestammten Platz in der Boulevardpresse, doch ganz ohne Tarnung kommt es selten daher. Den nackt posierenden Frauen werden Geschichten angedichtet und erzieherische Worte in den Mund gelegt, wobei die Themen dieser kurzen Texte so beliebig wie austauschbar sind – gelegentlich taucht selbst Kunst in diesem Kontext auf. Kunstgeschichte für alle versammelt eine Reihe solch populärer Einführungen in die weite Welt der Kunst, deren auffälligstes Merkmal ist, dass die Porträts ihrer vermeintlichen Autorinnen im Vergleich zum gewohnten Bild der Kunsthistorikerin recht freizügig sind und mehr Raum einnehmen als die knappen Erläuterungen des jeweiligen Gegenstands. Hier reden keine Kunstgeschichtler über weibliche Akte, sondern Akte über Kunstgeschichte.
Die Zeitungsausschnitte stammen aus den 80er Jahren des 20. Jahrhunderts, der Buchentwurf von 1990.
2013
digital print, colour
29.7 x 21 cm, 28 pages
softcover, saddle-stitched
100 copies

Talk in Gothenburg

By invitation of the Friends of the Hasselblad Center I’ll be talking about my book works in the context of the Göteborg International Biennial for Contemporary Art on October 9th.

Exhibition in Mechelen

We Fragment, Collect and Narrate
Works from the collection of FRAC Nord–Pas de Calais
Artists: Pawel Althamer, Cosima von Bonin, Carol Bove, Matthew Brannon, Marcel Broodthaers, Julie Cockburn, Theo Cowley, Jeremy Deller, Haris Epaminonda, Hans-Peter Feldmann, Felix Gmelin, Daan van Golden, Hella Jongerius, Scott King, Catherine Lommee, Josephine Meckseper, Boris Mikhailov, Sarah Ortmeyer, Man Ray, Julia Rometti & Victor Costales, Gerhard Rühm, Joachim Schmid, Joëlle Tuerlinckx, Jan Wawrzyniak.
Curator: Sayoko Nakahara
Cultuurcentrum Mechelen at De Garage, ruimte voor actuele kunst
5 October – 15 December, 2013
The exhibiton will travel to Kunstmuseum Thun (Switzerland), Galerie Robespierre (France), and Leopold-Hoesch-Museum Düren (Germany) in 2014.

New York Art Book Fair

Printed Matter, Inc. presents the eighth annual NY Art Book Fair, September 20 to 22, at MoMA PS1, with a public opening on the evening of Thursday, September 19, from 6 to 9pm.
Free and open to the public, the NY Art Book Fair is the world’s leading event for artists’ books, catalogs, monographs, periodicals, and zines showcased by more than 280 booksellers, antiquarians, artists, and independent publishers from more than twenty countries.
You’ll find me and my books in the Small Press Dome in the building’s courtyard at the table I share with Elisabeth Tonnard.

Exhibition and Talk in Savignano sul Rubicone

I’ll present a selection from my project Archiv at Savignano Immagini Festival of Photography
Exhibition: 13 September – 6 October, 2013
Saturday, 14 September at 3 pm, Accademia dei Filopatridi, Piazza Borghesi: Joachim Schmid in conversation with Franco Vaccari and Roberta Valtorta
Sunday, 15 September at 12 pm, Open Space, Piazza Borghesi: Manuela de Leonardis interviews Joachim Schmid

Exhibition in Pristina

Alone Together: Photography and the Other
13th edition of the Gjon Mili International Exhibition
Artists include Marina Abramovic & Ulay, Julian Germain, Eva Leitholf, Martino Marangoni, Joachim Schmid, Oliver Sieber, Ari Versluis & Ellie Uittenbroek, and others.
Curator: Frits Gierstberg
National Gallery of Kosovo
Exhibition: September 13th – October 13th, 2013
Opening: September 13th at 7 pm

Land’s End (2013)

A series of street views taken in Silicon Valley in the vicinity of new technology companies. The photos show locations where Google Street View comes to its limits and the non-accessible spaces controlled by corporations or governmental agencies begin.
Sixteen pigment ink prints, 20 x 15 cm on 25 x 20 cm paper, edition of 3 copies + 1 AP
A catalogue is available in the series of white books.

New Topography (2013)

A series of real estate photographs in the aftermath of the global financial crisis when signs advertising foreclosure auctions became a significant topographical feature in vast parts of the USA.
Twenty pigment ink prints, 20 x 15 cm on 25 x 20 cm paper, edition of 3 copies + 1 AP
A catalogue is available in the series of white books.

X Marks the Spot

Dallas, Texas, Dealey Plaza. The site where John F. Kennedy was assassinated is a major tourist magnet. White Xes on the pavement mark the spots where the president was fatally shot – in the middle of a freeway on-ramp. Visitors often wait for a gap in traffic, hurry to one of the Xes, get their photos taken and leave the road before the next cars arrive. Some of those photos end up in online photo sharing sites such as Flickr, with captions along these lines: “I don’t know why I felt the need to stand by the X but judging from everyone else, it would appear to be the thing to do.”
A webcam is positioned in a window on the sixth floor of the former Texas School Book Depository, the site where, on November 22, 1963, an assassin allegedly fired the shots that killed Kennedy as the presidential motorcade passed through Dealey Plaza. The camera’s perspective exactly matches that of the assassin: it now shoots the tourists shooting their own memorial photos, and we can watch this in real time.
The book combines snapshots taken by tourists at Dealey Plaza with footage from the webcam.
2013
digital print, colour
14.8 x 10.5 cm, 84 pages
softcover, sewn
100 copies
second edition 2014: 100 copies

Estrelas amadas

The series Estrelas amadas – Beloved Stars – is based on black and white photographs of movie stars found in a Portuguese magazine from the late 1950s. The former owner of the magazine, a young woman from Lisbon, coloured the lips of all her beloved stars in the brightest red, presumably soon after she acquired the magazine and decades before her copy ended up in a flea market.
2014 (the 2013 print-on-demand edition is discontinued)
digital print, colour
21 x 14.8 cm, 20 pages
softcover, saddle-stitched
50 copies
8 €

X Marks the Spot (2013)

Dallas, Texas, Dealey Plaza. The site where John F. Kennedy was assassinated is a major tourist magnet. White Xes on the pavement mark the spots where the president was fatally shot – in the middle of a freeway on-ramp. Visitors often wait for a gap in traffic, hurry to one of the Xes, get their photos taken and leave the road before the next cars arrive. A webcam is positioned in a window on the sixth floor of the former Texas School Book Depository, the site where, on November 22, 1963, an assassin allegedly fired the shots that killed Kennedy as the presidential motorcade passed through Dealey Plaza. The camera’s perspective exactly matches that of the assassin: it now shoots the tourists shooting their own memorial photos, and we can watch this in real time.
Twenty-one pigment ink prints, 18 x 24 cm on 24 x 30 cm paper each, edition of 3 copies + 1 AP


^ Hollybush Gardens, London November 2016

Estrelas amadas (2013)

The series Estrelas amadas – Beloved Stars – is based on black and white photographs of movie stars found in a Portuguese magazine from the late 1950s. The former owner of the magazine, a young woman from Lisbon, coloured the lips of all her beloved stars in the brightest red, presumably soon after she acquired the magazine and decades before her copy ended up in a flea market.
Twelve pigment ink prints, 24 x 30 cm each, and one print 60 x 100 cm, edition of 3 copies + 1 AP
A catalogue is available in the series of white books.

Archiv

Archiv (1986–1999) is an analytical survey of international vernacular photography through the course of 20th century consisting of assortments of images – snapshots, studio photos, postcards, commercial photos, photos of missing people, newspaper images – grouped and classified according to their similarity on panels. The panels highlight the mechanical uniformity and conformity of image production, the collective patterns and rituals of popular photographic representations. The project is a history, a commentary, and a celebration of the mundane weirdness of commonplace photography.
The entire project consist of 726 panels, the book includes a selection of 53 panels.
2014 (the 2013 print-on-demand edition is discontinued)
digital print, colour
21 x 14.8 cm, 56 pages
softcover, saddle-stitched
50 copies

Statics

The series Statics (1995–2003) is an artistic reply to the aggressive visual pollution and excess information in modern society. Media fall-out such as garbage photos, advertising leaflets, unsolicited mail, redundant books etc. was the raw material that was recycled. Using an office shredder, this existing (paper-based) information was sliced, turning information into meaningless matter. The resulting strips were gathered to create visual fields with specific tonalities and colours that reflect the original content.
2014 (the 2013 print-on-demand edition is discontinued)
digital print, colour
21 x 14.8 cm, 32 pages
softcover, saddle-stitched
50 copies

The ABC of Popular Desire

The ABC of Popular Desire is a visual index of the most popular internet searches made between January and May 2013. Based on data provided by meta search engines, the compilation reveals internet users’ real interests; sports, celebrities, entertainment, new products, catastrophes, crimes, and the occasional political event.
Arranged in alphabetical order, the survey turns out to be an unpredictable mix of photographs that were, like the news agenda itself, hot one day and forgotten the next. For many, the absence of expected searches may be surprising, but this could also indicate that the data we receive from the search engine is as biased and tailored as the results of the searches we perform.
2013
digital print, colour
29.7 x 21 cm, 32 pages
softcover, saddle-stichted
100 copies

Menschen des 20. Jahrhunderts

The photographic project Menschen des 20. Jahrhunderts (People of the Twentieth Century) began as an experiment to see if there was any logic behind which newsworthy photographs make it to the front covers of newspapers, and how this may correspond with the diversity of photographs of the respective event. Created between August 1985 and March 1987, the final collection consists of fifteen booklets, each containing repetitive images of a particular person that, for some reason or another has made it onto the front covers of German newspapers.
The criterion for selecting the images was rigid; the photographs were only to be taken from a pre-chosen list of twenty German newspapers that were available in West-Berlin at the time; at least 50% of those newspapers had to feature the same person on their front cover for images to be selected.
Each newspaper has its own particular page in each booklet of compiled photographs. If one of the chosen newspapers did not publish an image of the respective person on its front cover, its respective page in the booklet is left blank.
The resulting booklets contain images that have been removed from their original context and presented without their relevant news stories. All photographs are (re-)printed in original size. Although some persons depicted are well-known, it is still the title of each book that gives the images some grounding. These include: The Civil Servant, The Physicist, The Artist, The Astronaut, The Goal Keeper, The Tennis Player, The Professor, The Princess, The Terrorist, The Actor, The Diplomat, The Writer, The Dissident, The Chancellor, and The Party Leader.
2013
digital print, colour
16 booklets, 29.7 x 21 cm, 24 pages each
softcover in box (32 x 24 x 4 cm)
25 copies

Ohne Worte

Dieses Büchlein versammelt zwanzig Bildwitze über Kunst und Künstler, die ich vor Jahren zusammengetragen und aufgehoben habe, obwohl oder weil ihre Pointen so absehbar, redundant und dämlich sind, dass sich jedes weitere Wort über sie erübrigt.
2013
digital print, b/w
14.8 x 10.5 cm, 24 pages
softcover, saddle-stitched
50 copies

Found on Flickr

This book is the printed version of a weblog published from August 2008 through December 2009 when I explored the realm of the photo hosting site Flickr while working on the project Other People’s Photographs. The book includes photos found on Flickr, observations, comments, and questions that emerged in the process. It can be read as a casual journal that provides an insight into the making of the project.
2013
print on demand, b/w
21.5 x 14 cm, 272 pages
softcover, perfect bound
open edition
20 €

Steuerfreie Einkünfte

Steuerfreie Einkünfte (tax-free income) is a new work consisting of annual reports that are published in book form.
2012 ongoing
print on demand, colour
20 x 13 cm each, variable number of pages
softcover, perfect bound
open editions

This series of print-on-demand books is discontinued due to the provider’s insufficient service. An edition of annual reports will be available when the project is completed.

Joachim Schmid e le fotografie degli altri

Published on the occasion of an exhibition at the Museo di Fotografia Contemporanea di Cinisello Balsamo, Milano, edited by Roberta Valtorta, with texts by Mark Durden, Joan Fontcuberta, Simone Menegoi, John S. Weber, Franco Vaccari
2012 by Johan & Levi Editore
offset, colour
24 x 17 cm, 88 pages
softcover, sewn
ISBN 978 88 6010 094 8

Borrowed

Thirty-four Madonna Inn postcards in a book with a blue cover, entitled Borrowed. If you prefer books with red covers you may prefer Replicated. Both books are part of ABCED, a multi-volume book project created by members of ABC Artists’ Books Cooperative to celebrate Ed Ruscha’s seventy-fifth birthday. ABCED was available from December 2012 until December 2013 only.
2012
print on demand, colour
20 x 13 cm, 40 pages
softcover, perfect bound
open edition
no longer available

Replicated

Thirty-four Madonna Inn postcards in a book with a red cover, entitled Replicated. If you prefer books with blue covers you may prefer Borrowed. Both books are part of ABCED, a multi-volume book project created by members of ABC Artists’ Books Cooperative to celebrate Ed Ruscha’s seventy-fifth birthday. ABCED was available from December 2012 until December 2013 only.
2012
print on demand, colour
20 x 13 cm, 40 pages
softcover, perfect bound
open edition
no longer available

Are you searching for me?

There are many Joachim Schmids. Some play a role in public life, others don’t. People who wish to learn what we do or what we did, what we wrote or what we said, begin by searching the internet. It’s all there: names, dates, pictures and the rest. Thanks to the search engine the world has become transparent and there are no more secrets. Or so we think. If it’s me you’re looking for, most of the information you’ll find is not correct.
2012, 2013 (expanded version)
print on demand, b/w
17.5 x 11 cm, 64 pages
softcover, perfect bound
open edition (discontinued in 2015)

Bilderbuch

What do Elizabeth Taylor, a bicycle seat, Carlos the Jackal, a lobster, Silvio Berlusconi, and a toilet brush have in common? Nothing, except that their photographs all ended up in my archive of scanned printed matter gathered from around the world over four decades. Removed from their original news context and presented without any comment, this apparent random, unrelated series of images turns out to be a miscellaneous reflection of popular obsessions, fears and fantasies.
The book was made on the occasion of the Bilderbuch exhibition at Zephyr, Mannheim.
2012 in collaboration with Zephyr, Mannheim
digital print, colour
23 x 16 cm, 120 pages
softcover, sewn
250 copies

Joachim Schmid, O Campo

A catalogue featuring the complete series O Campo, published on the occasion of an exhibition at Sala BBK in Bilbao, organized by Fundación Athletic Club. Introduction by Galder Reguera (text in Basque, Castilian, and English).
2012 by Fundación Athletic Club, Bilbao
offset, colour
22 x 17 cm, 64 pages
hardcover, sewn
ISBN 978 84 8056 312 3

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Photography

The internet is flooded with billions of snapshots, many of which are hosted on photo sharing websites like Flickr. With millions more added every day, we often wonder why people decide to take these pictures, why they save them, why they put them on public display. You’ll find answers to all these questions in this book. In addition, you’ll also find answers to questions you never asked.
2012
print on demand, b/w
17.5 x 11 cm, 80 pages
softcover, perfect bound
open edition
12 €

Awesome Errors, Dreadful Glitches

The internet is flooded with billions of snapshots, many of which are hosted on photo sharing websites like Flickr. With millions more added every day, we often wonder why people decide to take these pictures, why they save them, why they put them on public display. Awesome Errors, Dreadful Glitches is about the photographic errors, mistakes, glitches, and malfunctions that so many find fascinating. Contrary to popular belief, people do not simply delete pictures when they go wrong, they often develop an affection and curiosity for them, uploading them to photo sharing sites in huge numbers and helping create an apparently booming sub-genre of photography.
2012 (the 2012 Blurb edition is discontinued)
print on demand, b/w
17.5 x 11 cm, 80 pages
softcover, perfect bound
open edition
12 €

Authentic Replica

Twelve pictures based on Madonna Inn postcards found in 1994 – pictures based on postcards based on authentic photographs of replicas of diverse places gathered in one location on the coast of California.
2014 (the 2012 print-on-demand edition is discontinued)
digital print, colour
21 x 14.8 cm, 16 pages
softcover, saddle-stitched
50 copies
8 €

Zwölf Frauen

Pixelated portraits of twelve women united by a status unique only to them.
2014 (the 2011/2012 print-on-demand editions are discontinued)
digital print, b/w
21 x 14.8 cm, 16 pages
softcover, saddle-stitched
50 copies

Untitled Portraits

Twenty-one pixelated and decontextualized portraits of politicians altered in such a way as to test the treshold of recognition.
2014 (the 2011/2012 print-on-demand editions are discontinued)
digital print, colour
21 x 14.8 cm, 24 pages
softcover, saddle-stitched
50 copies
8 €

The Missing Pictures

Eight pictures based on placeholders for missing pictures collected from various websites.
2014 (the 2012 print-on-demand edition is discontinued)
digital print, b/w
21 x 14.8 cm, 12 pages
softcover, saddle-stitched
50 copies

Meetings

Twelve pictures based on photographs from travel brochures found in 2002. This series takes you to Postcardland where happy couples gather under a perfectly blue sky and enjoy the beach, the pool, a cocktail, a dinner, a sunset, and a hotel room.
2014 (the 2012 print-on-demand edition is discontinued)
digital print, colour
21 x 14.8 cm, 16 pages
softcover, saddle-stitched
50 copies
8 €

Zwölf einfache Zeichnungen

Twelve simple hand drawings based on the Webdings dingbat font (2003).
2014 (the 2011/2012 print-on-demand editions are discontinued)
digital print, b/w
21 x 14.8 cm, 20 pages
softcover, saddle-stitched
50 copies

Vierzig einfache Zeichnungen

Forty simple hand drawings based on the Cairo dingbat font (2002).
2014 (the 2011/2012 print-on-demand editions are discontinued)
digital print, b/w
21 x 14.8 cm, 44 pages
softcover, saddle-stitched
50 copies

American Photographs

Walker Evans’ American Photographs is considered by many to be one of the most important photobooks ever published. Made on the occasion of his one-man show at the Museum of Modern Art in 1938 – the first MoMA exhibition devoted to the work of a single photographer – the book went on to influence generations of photographers.
This remake of a classic explores the possibility that in the past decades, almost everything has been photographed and that in the photographic universe anything we wish to see is readily available to us. Drawing on the constantly growing resource of online photo hosting sites and using the original captions of Evans’ celebrated photographs as search terms, this new edition of American Photographs offers a modern equivalent of Evans’ masterpiece, compiled entirely of found photographs and created with the help of a search engine instead of a camera.
2011
print on demand, colour
18 x 18 cm, 110 pages
softcover, perfect bound
open edition
40 €

Around the World in Eighty Minutes

A World Expo may have made sense a century ago but since the invention of television the idea seems obsolete. In Shanghai, China, the basic premise is to wait in lines; incredibly long lines. Occasionally, a speaker system announces three hours waiting time for this pavilion, seven hours here, five hours there. Queuing for hours to visit something I never wanted to see is not my idea of fun. Yet here I am, with a group of students I’m obliged to accompany, watching our tour guide hand out hats to make sure we look as ridiculous as every other tour group. Fortunately, it isn’t long before I lose them but what do you do in a world exhibition filled with several hundred thousand Chinese? Over a cup of coffee I forge a plan: Around the World in Eighty Minutes.
The plan is to walk around the site without entering a single pavilion. In front of each pavilion, I take a self-portrait in the style of the modern tourist: camera at arm’s length with the attraction behind me. “I was there,” the picture says. So I don my hat and begin the journey, visiting about eighty countries and spending only a minute in each without even pausing to examine the pictures. I miss a country or two, but that’s to be expected when you travel in a rush.
2011
print on demand, colour
20 x 13 cm, 178 pages
softcover, perfect bound
open edition (discontinued in 2015)

Vierzig Jahre

I have been collecting photographs for forty years. Some ended up in my works, others were discarded, and the rest I preserved in my collection despite not knowing what to do with them. The earliest of these survivors is a series of nineteen portraits reproduced in this book – portraits that have endured four continuous decades of sifting, disposal and preservation. There must be a reason for this.
2011
print on demand, colour
20 x 13 cm, 40 pages
softcover, perfect bound
open edition
12 €

The Coach House / An Inventory

I have been living with Marshall McLuhan’s books for more than thirty years, so when I was in Toronto, in the spring of 2010, a visit to McLuhan’s institute was inevitable. McLuhan was the man who anticipated the internet four decades in advance of its inception, the man “who perpetually stated his loathing and contempt for most of the electronic age, yet a man who perversely and ironically is considered its biggest cheerleader.” Mulling over the impact of McLuhan’s writing as well as the impact of the internet on the perception of his ideas, I decided to test the internet and specifically the search engine, that mnemonic slot machine that the modern world relies upon, using McLuhan as an example. The Coach House, McLuhan’s professional home, a tiny building behind a grand old mansion on the university’s campus, served as my object of investigation. On the anniversary of McLuhan’s death, December 31st, 2010 a Google image search for “Coach House” Toronto produced “about 12,100 results.” The search engine presented a selection of 908 “relevant” photographs. All of them are now printed in this publication. Five of these images relate in some way to the coach house in question; two of them show the house itself and a further two show Marshall McLuhan at this coach house.
2011 in collaboration with Graphic Design Museum Breda and NPN Drukkers
offset, colour
16 x 22 cm, 96 pages
softcover, sewn
250 copies
24 €

L.A. Women

In December 2010, Los Angeles Police Department released one hundred and eighty photographs that were found in the possession of a serial murder suspect. All of them are photographs of women. These women may or may not be residents of Los Angeles, they may or may not be prostitutes (as were the women in the investigation). They may or may not be murder victims. We don’t know. We don’t even know whether the arrested suspect took these photographs himself.
Without knowing where the photographs come from, most of them wouldn’t be worth a second glance; for you and me, that is. Of course this is different for friends and family of the women depicted. And it is certainly different for the person who took these pictures. From the testimony of one surviving victim we know that the woman was first photographed, then shot, and then raped before she was dumped in the street.
Most of the women were clearly alive when the photos were taken; some are smiling, some are posing. Some appear to be asleep, they may or may not be sleeping the big sleep. Some of them may have been shot soon after or just before the photographer shot the picture. We don’t know.
It is actually the fact that we don’t know anything – apart from the context where these photographs come from – that makes them so eerie. We want to know more but the pictures don’t tell us. We look at them and they look at us. That’s all there is.
L.A. Women received an honorable mention in the 2011 Photography Book Now competition.
2011
print on demand, colour, uncoated paper
18 x 18 cm, 154 pages
hardcover with dust jacket
open edition
96 €
(a slightly different edition of 50 copies with one extra sheet was launched at the 4th International Photobook Festival Kassel in 2011)

Souvenirs

Thirty-two photographs of spoons that I collected over twenty-five years of traveling (1983–2008).
2010
digital print, b/w
9.5 x 13 cm, 40 pages
softcover, perfect bound
50 copies

Seventy-Five Are Better Than Thirty-Two

Millions of tourists travel to New York City every year. Many of them visit the Museum of Modern Art. Many of them take photographs inside the museum. Many of them show Andy Warhol‘s thirty-two pictures of Campbell‘s soup cans. Thousands of these snapshots are to be found on photo sharing sites. Seventy-five of them are collected in this book – works of art in the age of digital photography.
Nearly forty years after Warhol made his Mona Lisa paraphrase Thirty Are Better Than One he might well agree today that seventy-five are better than thirty-two.
2011
print on demand, colour
18 x 18 cm, 160 pages
softcover, perfect bound
open edition / discontinued

Illustriertes Tierleben

Illustriertes Tierleben – Eine allgemeine Kunde des Tierreichs is a collection of images taken from a daily Berlin newspaper, all of which come from the animal related “human interest” articles that run in the “miscellaneous news” section of the paper. The pictures and relating stories illustrate the relationship between modern humans and fauna. The book includes a selection of 45 photographs, its title refers to Alfred Brehm’s famous Tierleben (Life of Animals), first published in 1863.
2010
digital print, colour
21 x 14.8 cm, 48 pages
softcover, saddle-stitched
100 copies
12 €

Lost Memories

In the age of digital photography, taking snapshots has become a reliably constant background sound of everyday life, in fact everywhere we turn there is somebody taking photographs. It has got to the point that we can’t imagine life without the possibility of a camera recording it. Losing a camera, and indeed these visual recordings of everyday activities is, for most people, an awfully emotional scenario to find oneself in. And it happens more often than we may think. Perhaps unsurprisingly a number of websites have been created as an antidote for this. Their purpose? To reunite people with their lost cameras and in turn, their lost photographs. 
Lost Memories documents some of these Internet messages, or pleas of people who are desperately seeking their lost cameras. Many of them are heart-wrenching distress calls that disclose the importance of photographs in modern life. The book is a compilation of such desperate attempts to retrieve personal lost treasures. Every cry for help evokes Bruce Chatwin’s observation that “to lose a passport was the least of one’s worries; to lose a notebook was a catastrophe.”
2012 (the 2010 Blurb edition is discontinued)
print on demand, b/w
17.5 x 11 cm, 80 pages
softcover, perfect bound
open edition
12 €

But Is It Art?

The internet is flooded with billions of snapshots, many of which are hosted on photo sharing sites like Flickr. With millions more added every day, we often wonder why people decide to take these pictures, why they save them, why they put them on public display. Studying the captions and descriptions of these photographs we see a variety of reasons for their existence. But is it Art? is a new addition to my series of black books exploring the realm of online photo hosting sites. The book contains images that are screenshots, specifically from the website Flickr. Each image shows people’s attempts at creating photography “after”, “based on”, “in the style of” or “inspired by” well-known artists, to varying degrees of success. As individual attempts these samples may be charming, hilarious or bold (and sometimes embarrassing), as a group they raise more interesting questions of originality and authorship.
But Is It Art? was shortlisted for the 2011 Artists’ Book of the Moment award.
2012 (the 2010 Blurb edition is discontinued)
print on demand, b/w
17.5 x 11 cm, 120 pages
softcover, perfect bound
open edition
12 €

Quick Response

Quick Response is a hands-on introduction into the realm of QR code applications and demonstrates a way in which two-dimensional bar codes can be used to view images. People have to “read” this book by taking photos of each page using a cameraphone. The phone’s QR code reader will then decode the abstract image to reveal that each of them is an encoded URL for a photograph hosted on Flickr. The series of photos demonstrates the variety of modern commercial, artistic and subversive QR code applications. In addition, the book demonstrates a new way of appropriating other people’s photographs.
2012 (the 2010 Blurb edition is discontinued)
print on demand, b/w
17.5 x 11 cm, 40 pages
softcover, perfect bound
open edition
12 €

O Campo

O Campo, or in its translation The Field, is a photographic compilation of football fields in Brazilian cities. The images were taken via satellite and they show the rather oddly shaped football pitches that seem to be built wherever possible – the desire for playing the game has clearly surpassed and ignored the limitations of natural topography and FIFA’s laws of the game. According to the official rules and regulations (which are included in the book as an epilogue) you would not be allowed to play football on any of these fields. However, the careers of some of the world’s best football players began on these very same fields despite their askew angles, odd proportions, mis-shapen border lines and pitch markings. Studying the architectural contexts of these fields we also get an idea about the social context where these players come from.
O Campo received an honorable mention in the 2010 Photography Book Now competition.
2010
print on demand, colour
20 x 25 cm, 40 pages
softcover (hardcover with dust jacket on request)
open edition
48 €

Twentysix Gasoline Stations, Every Building on the Sunset Strip, Thirtyfour Parking Lots, Nine Swimming Pools, A Few Palm Trees, No Small Fires

Between 1963 and 1972, Edward Ruscha published fifteen artist’s books, his first being Twentysix Gasoline Stations; a book which is considered to be the first modern artist’s book, and has become the iconic precursor and a major influence on the emerging international artists’ books culture. Twentysix Gasoline Stations, Every Building on the Sunset Strip, Thirtyfour Parking Lots, Nine Swimming Pools, A Few Palm Trees, No Small Fires is a modern remake of some of Ruscha’s famous books, all grouped in one volume. Unlike the original books it relates to, this work was made entirely at my Berlin studio. I didn’t visit Los Angeles to make the book and I didn’t use a camera either. The camera is out there.
2009
print on demand, colour
18 x 18 cm, 198 pages
softcover (hardcover with dust jacket on request)
open edition
64 €

Joachim Schmid Is Martin Parr · Martin Parr Is Joachim Schmid

In September 2009 Martin Parr sent me his VIP pass to the Berlin Art Forum, that he had recently received and knew full well, he would be unable to attend. I saw this as an opportunity to visit the fair and take photos in the spirit of Martin Parr. I was to be Martin Parr for the 23rd September. For those that know anything about my work, this must be a surprise, as my career in the art world is based entirely on orchestrating other people’s photographs.
I then invited Martin to be Joachim Schmid, and he decided to trawl through the “Martin Parr, We Love You” group on Flickr. This was established a few years ago as a forum for photographers who had been seemingly influenced by his photographic language. So in the spirit of Joachim Schmid, Martin looked for the most “Parr-like” images. The resulting two sets of images are what you will find on the pages of Joachim Schmid is Martin Parr · Martin Parr is Joachim Schmid.
2009
print on demand, colour
18 x 18 cm, 40 pages
softcover (hardcover with dust jacket on request)
open edition / discontinued

In Dialogue

This book is the result of an experimental process of non-verbal communication. Between November 2008 and January 2009, Marcelo Brodsky and me had a dialogue without any words, without any emphasis on a particular subject, without any pre-conceived ideas — a dialogue about nothing. The two of us took turns exchanging photographs by email, each one a direct response to the previous one, creating a continuous and meandering photographic ping-pong through the visual universe. Despite the lack of obvious subject matter the resulting sequence of photographs creates meaning. For the viewers it is an invitation to retrace the decisions made by two brains working in visual rather than verbal mode.
2009
print on demand, colour
18 x 18 cm, 40 pages
softcover (hardcover with dust jacket on request)
open edition / discontinued

Bilder von der Straße

Bilder von der Straße (Pictures from the Street) is a thirty-year project which began in 1982 and ended in 2012. During this time I picked up one thousand lost or abandoned photographs from the world’s pavements. Although the collection has been exhibited widely, this is the first time it is printed as a complete set. Published in four volumes, the books present every found photograph or its fragments in their original size and in the chronological order they were discovered. No artistic intervention has taken place except for the inclusion of the date and location where each picture was found. As well as providing a record of my travels, the books document people’s use and abuse of photographs, with almost all the photographs in the collection depicting people and more than half of these being ripped or defaced in some way.
This act of discarding or destroying individual photographs seems to point to a desire to eliminate memories of specific moments in people’s lives. By encouraging viewers to imagine the stories of the people depicted, the project raises questions about the emotionally-charged events that could warrant such destruction. I consider this collection to be a social documentary consisting of both visual artefacts and human documents. Produced in a systematic manner, it is an inventory of lost photographs and memories that hint at the mysteries of people’s private lives and at their attempts to document and destroy them.
2012 (the 2009 Blurb edition is discontinued)
print on demand, colour
29.7 x 21 cm, 4 volumes in a box, 256 pages each
softcover, perfect bound
open edition
240 €

ABC Cards

To celebrate the first anniversary in 2010, ABC Artists’ Books Cooperative launched a unique set of collectible trading cards printed by Topps, manufacturers of fine baseball cards since 1950. This limited-edition, must-have item features a stellar line-up of international artists. The set of 13 cards presents your favorite on-demand book artists along with up-to-date career stats, all held together with a simple belly band. Cards are printed on acid free, heavy weight card stock in full colour with high gloss lamination to ensure maximum durability. Printed at the international trading card standard size, these golden nuggets will fit snuggly in most trading card albums.
2010
digital print, colour
13 cards, 9 x 6.5 cm each
100 copies
12 €


few copies signed by several artists are available, price on request

The Missing Pictures

Between 2006 to 2008 I completed a series of works based on imagery found on the Internet. These works are a continuation from the Archiv project, altered to suit the circumstances of modern technologies. Digital photography, Internet, and photo sharing sites have created a new visual environment and new forms of producing, distributing and using photographs. Digital multichannel photo installations such as Netzerscheinungen and Reload were my response to this new situation, researching the realm of online photography for recurring motifs and patterns. A small selection of photographs incorporated into these works have been presented on my website. Since receiving several complaints by photographers who found their images on my site I have replaced the images with placeholders denoting a removed or missing image. This has also turned into a new book. The book contains the complete set of these icons indicating that something went wrong with a photograph. It goes without saying that these were found on the Internet as well, just like the photographs they replace.
2012 (the 2009 Blurb edition is discontinued)
print on demand, b/w
17.5 x 11 cm, 40 pages
softcover, perfect bound
open edition
12 €

Cool Pictures, Cool Stuff

The internet is flooded with billions of snapshots, many of which are hosted on photo sharing websites like Flickr. With millions more added every day, we often wonder why people decide to take these pictures, why they save them, why they put them on public display. Studying the captions and descriptions of these photographs we see a variety of reasons for their existence. One of them is simple, striking and apparently quite popular: “I thought it looked cool.” There is an incredible number of photographs on Fickr that people have taken because they thought something looked ‘cool’. 
The book consists of 116 images based on various perceptions of what people consider to be ‘cool’. Each picture is accompanied by the photographer’s original caption. The resulting collection of images is very revealing and often hilarious.
2012 (the 2009 Blurb edition is discontinued)
print on demand, b/w
17.5 x 11 cm, 120 pages
softcover, perfect bound
open edition
12 €

When Boredom Strikes

The internet is flooded with billions of snapshots, many of which are hosted on photo sharing websites like Flickr. With millions more added every day, we often wonder why people decide to take these pictures, why they save them, why they put them on public display. Studying the captions and descriptions of these photographs we see a variety of reasons for their existence. One of them is simple, striking and apparently quite popular: boredom. There is an incredible number of photographs on Fickr that people have taken just because they’ve been bored. 
The book assembles 156 photographs made on account of boredom. Each picture is accompanied by the photographer’s original caption. In stark contrast to the title this book isn’t boring at all, but very revealing and often hilarious.
2012 (the 2009 Blurb edition is discontinued)
print on demand, b/w
17.5 x 11 cm, 160 pages
softcover, perfect bound
open edition
12 €

Reload

Reload brings together photographs from various online image searches. The selection begins to show something of the way in which we photograph everyday scenarios and highlights what we deem to be ‘event’ enough to capture. All of these photographs depict a kind of achievement. The book Reload is an abbreviated version of a digital multichannel photo installation that shows 900 photographs.
2014 (the 2009/2012 print-on-demand editions are discontinued)
digital print, colour
21 x 14.8 cm, 40 pages
softcover, saddle-stitched
50 copies

Arcana

Arcana is a series of photographs made from discarded and damaged negatives that have been collected over a long period of time from many cities. These abandoned images have either been rejected or lost by their original owners. Removed from their original context and scratched by the streets they were dropped on, we are given a rare, altered glimpse into the everyday lives of strangers. There is a kind of violence in the degraded objects these negatives have become, but also a beauty. The book includes the entire series of 45 photographs.
2014 (the 2009 print-on-demand edition is discontinued)
digital print, b/w
21 x 14.8 cm, 48 pages
softcover, saddle-stitched
50 copies
8 €

Cyberspaces

Cyberspaces is a series of interior photographs taken from many webcams. It is a collection of pictures that are devoid of actual human presence. The focus of the image unclear, you will start to hunt the image for human presence, for any object that will help identify the scene you are faced with. Bedrooms and chairs, rooms with garish colours stare blankly back at you, until a pair of shoes come into view. Plastic stilettos. And then the vibrators appear. This is a series of screenshots taken from interactive pornography websites, but without the sex worker.
2014 (the 2009 print-on-demand edition is discontinued)
digital print, colour
21 x 14.8 cm, 28 pages
softcover, saddle-stitched
50 copies
8 €

Faits divers

“Through photographs, the world becomes a series of unrelated, free-standing particles; and history, past and present, a set of anecdotes and faits divers. The camera makes reality atomic, manageable, and opaque. It is a view of the world which denies interconnectedness, continuity, but which confers on each moment the character of a mystery.” Susan Sontag, On Photography, 1977
Faits divers is a collection of non-sensational images taken from a Berlin tabloid newspaper. The images, along with the title of the photograph have been removed from their original context, enlarged and placed separate from their news story. The result is a view of how image and minimal text can reveal and hide the connecting story in equal measures. It makes comment about some of the mundane news stories that make it to print. The book includes the entire series of twelve photographs.
2014 (the 2009 print-on-demand edition is discontinued)
digital print, b/w
21 x 14.8 cm, 20 pages
softcover, saddle-stitched
50 copies
8 €

The Showbag Book

This book is composed of snapshots found on the many sites of the world’s ever-growing online picture pool. Each book is customised for the individual buyer, containing 24 to 240 pages. There are no two identical copies of The Showbag Book. The books range from 24 to 240 pages. Please specify the desired number of pages when ordering your copy.
Print on demand, hardcover with dust jacket, 18 x 18 cm, 24 – 240 pages, 20 – 236 photographs
2008 ongoing
print on demand, colour
18 x 18 cm, 24–240 pages
hardcover with dust jacket
unique editions, signed
price on application
email orders only

Other People’s Photographs (2008–2011)

Assembled between 2008 and 2011, this series of ninety-six print-on-demand books explores the themes presented by modern everyday, amateur photo­graphers. Images found on photo sharing sites such as Flickr have been gathered and ordered in a way to form a library of contemporary vernacular photography in the age of digital technology and online photo hosting. Each book is comprised of images that focus on a specific photo­graphic event or idea, the grouping of photographs revealing recurring patterns in modern popular photography. The approach is encyclopedic, and the number of volumes is virtually endless but arbitrarily limited. The selection of themes is neither systematic nor does it follow any established criteria — the project’s structure mirrors the multifaceted, contradictory and chaotic practice of modern photography itself, based exclusively on the motto “You can observe a lot by watching.”
The series Other People‘s Photographs includes these titles: Airline Meals · Airports · Another Self · Apparel · At Work · Bags · Big Fish · Bird’s Eyes · Black Bulls · Blue · Bread · Buddies · Cash · Cheques · Cleavage · Coffee · Collections · Colour · Commodities · Contents · Currywurst · Damage · Digits · Documents · Dogs · Drinks · Encounters · Evidence · Eyes · Faces in Holes · Fauna · Feet · First Shots · Fish · Flashing · Food · Fridge Doors · Gathered Together · Gender · Geology · Hands · Happy Birthday · Hotel Rooms · Images · Impact · In Motion · Indexes · Information · Interaction · Kisses for Me · Lego · Looking · Maps · Mickey · Models · More Things · Mugshots · News · Nothing Wrong · November 5th, 2008 · Objects in Mirror · On the Road · Parking Lots · Pictures · Pizza · Plush · Portraits · Postcards · Purple · Pyramids · Real Estate · Red · Room with a View · Self · Sex · Shadow · Shirts · Shoes · Silvercup · Sites · Size Matters · Space-Time · Statues · Sunset · Surface · Targets · Television · The Other Picture · The Picture · Things · Trophies · Tropic of Capricorn · Various Accidents · Wanted · Writings · You Are Here.
2008–2011
print on demand, colour
18 x 18 cm, 36 pages each
hardcover with dust jacket
open edition, numbered and signed
price on application
email orders only
see also the 2 volume paperback version

View more photos

Tausend Himmel

The pictures in Tausend Himmel (Thousand Skies or Thousand Heavens) are a small selection from a vast collection. At first glance they appear to be photographs of clouds, of the sky, and of helicopters. In fact, they are photographs of sounds – the sounds of helicopters. I took them to help me deal with a hearing condition called hyperacusis. After more than a year and two thousand photographs later, I had nearly stopped noticing why I started taking them. I guess, in this way, the exercise could be considered a complete success.
The book was published to co-incide with a presentation of Tausend Himmel, a multi-channel digital photo installation, as part of the exhibition Joachim Schmid. Selected Photoworks 1982–2007 at The Photographers’ Gallery.
2007 by Photographers’ Gallery, London
offset, colour
10.5 x 14 cm, 64 pages
softcover, perfect bound
1,000 copies
ISBN 9780907879794

Joachim Schmid, Photoworks 1982–2007

A comprehensive catalogue published on the occasion of the retrospective exhibition at the Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY (also on view at The Photographers’ Gallery, London; Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco; Nederlands Fotomuseum, Rotterdam; Bildmuseet, Umeå).
Edited by Gordon MacDonald and John S Weber, with texts by Stephen Bull, Joan Fontcuberta, Frits Gierstberg, Jan-Erik Lundström, John S Weber, Val Williams.
2007 by Photoworks, Brighton and Steidl, Göttingen
offset, colour
26 x 21 cm, 288 pages
hardcover with dust jacket
ISBN 978 3 86521 394 5

Genesis

Made in 2005 as a part of the Marks of Honour collection, this project consists of a colour print, a text (in German) and a copy of Marshall McLuhan’s book The Medium Is the Massage (modern paperback edition, Gingko Press 2001), presented in an archival box.
2005
27.5 x 22 x 3 cm
limited edition of 5 numbered and signed copies
250 €


Retratos decisivos

Portraits of black American soldiers taken in the south of England in April and May 1944. Published by Photo España on the occasion of an installation in the Nuevos Ministerios station, the booklet was distributed for free to clients of the Madrid metro.
2005 by Photo España
offset, b/w
24 x 17 cm, 16 pages
softcover
10,000 copies

Belo Horizonte, Praça Rui Barbosa

When I made my first trip to Brazil in 1992 I arrived in Belo Horizonte, a city as big as Berlin that most people have never heard of outside Brazil. In a public square in the center of this city I found a series of black-and-white portrait negatives. The photographers who made these portraits worked in the square using extremely simple equipment: a wooden box that served both as a camera and a darkroom. In front of a simple backdrop, photographs were taken with that box and developed inside it. The clients got their portraits after few minutes. The negatives were discarded. I collected these negatives and printed them. The title of that work is Belo Horizonte, Praça Rio Branco. In 1993 I made a similar work, Belo Horizonte, Parque Municipal.
Originally these portraits were taken for various administrative purposes, ID cards, driving licenses, and so on. People who are well off get their portraits taken in studios, and people who cannot afford studio portraits go to the square. The photographers do not give directions to the people depicted. They take plain, frontal, straightforward portraits.
When I returned to Belo Horizonte this year the photographers had moved to another square. And they had abandoned their primitive technique. They work in colour now using 35 mm cameras. After the photographs are taken they run to the nearest lab to get the strip of film developed and printed. The clients pick up their portraits about half an hour after they were taken. Negatives are still discarded. During my stay in Belo Horizonte I got up very early every morning before the street cleaners start to work, walked to the square and collected all the negatives I found. The result is Belo Horizonte, Praça Rui Barbosa.
2004
offset, colour
14.8 x 10.5 cm, 64 pages
softcover
400 copies

A meeting on holiday

A postcard book with 48 perforated cards based on imagery provided by international holiday resort operators. The book takes you to Postcardland where happy couples gather under a perfectly blue sky and enjoy the beach, the pool, a cocktail, a dinner, a sunset, and a hotel room.
2004 in collaboration with KesselsKramer and NEROC’VGM in Amsterdam
offset, colour
21 x 15 cm, 56 pages
softcover, perfect bound
2,500 copies
24 €

Joachim Schmid, Traballos Fotográficos / Photoworks 1982–2002

A small book featuring several works including Bilder von der Straße, Archiv, Meisterwerke der Fotokunst, Photogenetic Drafts, Very Miscellaneous, Statics, and Belo Horizonte, Praça Rui Barbosa with an introduction by Stephen Bull (text in Galician and English).
2002 by Edition Do Trinque, Centro de estudos fotográficos, Vigo
offset, colour
15 x 11 cm, 64 pages
softcover
1,000 copies
ISBN 84 87882 21 8

Alexander Honory / Joachim Schmid

Alexander Honory, The Private Institute of Contemporary Family Photography / Joachim Schmid, The Institute for the Reprocessing of Used Photographs
Published on the occasion of an exhibition at Galerie FF. Text by Lech Lechowicz (in Polish and English)
2001 by Galeria FF, Lódz
offset, b/w
21 x 21 cm, 16 pages
softcover
400 copies
ISBN 83 87398 40 3

The Face in the Desert

Portraits and Stories from the Daily Herald Archive. Education notes written by Jo Booth.
1999 by National Museum of Photography, Film & Television, Bradford
offset, b/w
29.7 x 21 cm, 24 pages
softcover, saddle-stitched

The Face in the Desert

Published by the National Museum of Photography, Film & Television on the occasion of an installation in Bradford city centre, the paper was distributed for free to visitors of the museum.
1999 by National Museum of Photography, Film & Television, Bradford
offset, colour
37 x 30 cm, 52 pages
10,000 copies

Sinterklaas ziet alles

A seemingly random collection of found images interspersed with short texts, collected and written on travels mostly in the Netherlands in 1997/1998. A book without a spine, it‘s like a blog before there were blogs.
1998 by Nederlands Foto Instituut, Rotterdam
offset, colour
180 A6 cards in a box (12 x 16 x 5 cm)
200 copies
ISBN 90 76085 08 0

Very Miscellaneous

A possible history of country life in Sussex from the 1920 to the 1960s constructed of portraits found in the George Garland archive combined with fragments of news stories photographed from local newspapers of the era.
1997 by Photoworks, Maidstone
offset, b/w
16 x 10 cm, 48 pages
softcover
1,000 copies
ISBN 0 9517427 2 8
40 € (last copies)

Kunst gegen Essen

A concise reflection on art, economy, and food, published on the occasion of an exhibition which was held in an Italian restaurant in Berlin and for which I received payment in food and wine.
1996 by Edition Fricke & Schmid
offset, b/w
21 x 14.8, 16 pages + 9 separate colour reproductions
softcover
500 copies
ISBN 3 927365 31 9
8 €


⟩Knipsen⟨. Private Fotografie in Deutschland von 1900 bis heute

Catalogue of a touring exhibition drawn on Archiv
1993 by Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen, Berlin/Stuttgart
offset, colour
29.7 x 21 x cm, 80 pages
softcover

English text supplement Taking Snapshots. Amateur Photography in Germany from 1900 to the Present
1993 by Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen, Berlin/Stuttgart
offset, b/w
29.7 x 21 x cm, 20 pages
softcover

AAA Boxed Set

Art Addicts Anonymous Collector’s Edition Boxed Set containing the AAA postcards and booklet, a set of twelve AAA stickers, a copy of the AAA poster (numbered and stamped), an AAA button, a set of AAA matchbooks, an AAA t-shirt, and an original internationally postmarked set of the complete 1992 AAA mailing.
1993
44 x 33 x 4 cm
limited edition of 5 copies (numbered and stamped)

Art Addicts Anonymous

In keeping with the established format of 12-step programs, 12 different postcards with testimonials of former art addicts were sent anonymously from 12 different cities to approximately 100 art world figures (including artists, critics, and curators) and a number of museums, galleries, and art magazines in seventeen countries over the course of one year.
1993 by Edition Fricke & Schmid
offset, colour
12 postcards + a 16 page booklet, 14 x 9 cm each
softcover
500 copies
ISBN 3 927365 23 8
16 € (last copies)

Phantome

Reproductions of police drawings of wanted criminals with an insert list of various offenses that can be cut out and pasted to the picture of your choice.
1992 by Edition Fricke & Schmid
photocopy, b/w
21 x 14.8 cm, 36 pages
softcover
100 copies
ISBN 3 927365 22 X

Porträts

A collection of portraits of more or less well-known contemporaries with random factoid captions, collected from a Berlin tabloid.
1990 by Edition Fricke & Schmid
photocopy, b/w
21 x 14.8 cm, 36 pages
softcover
100 copies
ISBN 3 927365 17 3

Faits divers

Factual news photographs unfold an unintentional poetic character in combination with their deadpan captions.
1989 by Edition Fricke & Schmid
photocopy, b/w
14.8 x 21 cm, 36 pages
softcover
100 copies
ISBN 3 927365 08 4

Errata

Collected newsclippings featuring mistakes, typos, wrong captions and other errors.
1990 by Edition Fricke & Schmid
photocopy, b/w
21 x 14.8 cm, 38 pages
softcover
100 copies
ISBN 3 927365 09 2

Das Bild des Fotografen

Collected photographs of people taking photographs.
1988 by Edition Fricke & Schmid
photocopy, b/w
21 x 14.8 cm, 72 pages
softcover
100 copies
ISBN 3 927365 05 X

Der Leser hat das Bild

Letters to the editor of a Berlin tabloid, published with photographs provided by the readers (including the artist and his various pseudonyms).
1988 by Edition Fricke & Schmid
photocopy, b/w
21 x 14.8 cm, 72 pages
softcover
100 copies
ISBN 3 927365 02 5

Wundertüte

1a Fotos und andere Merkwürdigkeiten aus der Sammlung Joachim Schmid
1988 Edition Fricke & Schmid
paperbag with miscellaneous photographs
19 x 15 cm
15 copies, numbered

Fotokritik

A magazine about photography
1982–1987, 24 issues
photocopy, b/w
29.7 x 21 cm, 20–60 pages
softcover
100–800 copies

Fotokritik Nr. 1—8
1984
photocopy, b/w
29.7 x 21 cm, 160 pages
hardcover
limited edition of 50 copies, numbered and signed

Fotokritik Nr. 24
1987
photocopy, b/w + colour
29.7 x 21 cm, 28 pages
softcover
with a 12 x 9 cm b/w print
limited edition of 50 copies

New listings of publications, new online shop

With the increasing number of books I have been making during the past years and with the various places where to find information about these books, things have become a bit confusing – time for a new presentation. All the printed matter I published during my career will be listed in individual posts on this site from now on, properly described, tagged and easily searchable. Interested parties who wish to purchase any books can do this through my new online shop.

Exhibition in Marseille

Des images comme des oiseaux
Photographs by 183 artists from the collection of the Centre national des arts plastiques (CNAP), curated by Patrick Tosani and Pierre Giner
Friche la Belle de Mai, Tour Panorama
Exhibition: 6 July – 29 September, 2013
Opening: 4 July at 7 pm

Library of the Printed Web in Venice

Paul Soulellis will present his Library of the Printed Web at The Book Affair during the opening of the 55th Venice Biennale, May 29 – 31. The presentation will include several of my books and that of some 30 other artists, including Mishka Henner, David Horvitz, Jon Rafman, Elisabeth Tonnard, and Penelope Umbrico.
An inventory of the library is available in print.

Exhibition in Bologna

Lumpenfotografie
P420 Arte Contemporanea
Artists: Hans-Peter Feldmann, Peter Piller, Joachim Schmid, Alessandra Spranzi, Franco Vaccari
Curated by Simone Menegoi
Exhibition: May 4th — July 13, 2013
Opening: May 4th at 6 pm
The gallery published a catalogue on the occasion of this exhibition: Lumpenfotografie. Per una fotografia senza vanagloria, text in Italian and English by Simone Menegoi, 24 x 16 cm, 72 pages, ISBN 978 88 98476 00 8

Exhibition in Saint-Yrieix-la-Perche

Enrichissements de la collection 2011-12 – images / images of images / no images
Centre des livres d’artistes
Artists: Jean-Marc Berguel, Alain Bernardini, Christian Boltanski, Ernst Caramelle, Philippe Clerc, Céline Duval, Hans-Peter Feldmann, Rinata Kajumova & Achim Riecher, Sharon Kivland, Sol LeWitt, John McDowall, Roberto Martinez, Maurizio Nannucci, Hubert Renard, Edward Ruscha & Lawrence Weiner, Joachim Schmid, Andreas Schmidt, Erik Steinbrecher, Taroop & Glabel, Endre Tót, Jan Dirk van der Burg, Éric Watier
Exhibition: 16 March – 29 June, 2013
Opening: March 16th, 6 pm

Exhibition in New York

Ed Ruscha. Books & Co.
Gagosian Gallery, Madison Avenue, New York
Ed Ruscha’s work has profoundly influenced countless modern artists, but his artist books — such as Twentysix Gasoline Stations, Every Building on the Sunset Strip, Thirtyfour Parking Lots in Los Angeles, and A Few Palm Trees — offer a unique opportunity to trace that influence directly to the near and far corners of the modern art world. For decades, a broad spectrum of artists have produced their own small books revisiting, rebelling against, and responding to the American painter and photographer’s idiosyncratic collections.
Now, Ruscha’s artist books and the fascinatingly kindred works they inspired are the focus of a new exhibition at the Gagosian Gallery and a book — Various Small Books: Referencing Various Small Books by Ed Ruscha from MIT Press — both of which showcase Ruscha’s materials alongside the numerous books they influenced, including my book Twentysix Gasoline Stations, Every Building on the Sunset Strip, Thirtyfour Parking Lots, Nine Swimming Pools, A Few Palm Trees, No Small Fires as well as the Artists’ Books Cooperative’s collective project ABCED.
Exhibition: March 5 – April 27, 2013

Exhibitions in Barcelona

Obra-colección. El artista como coleccionista
Fundación Foto Colectania
Artists: Ève Cadieux, Emilio Chapela Pérez, Hans Eijkelboom, Erik Kessels, Martin Parr, Jean-Gabriel Périot, Joachim Schmid, Richard Simpkin, Eric Tabuchi, Penelope Umbrico
Curated by Joan Fontcuberta
Exhibition: 21 February – 25 May, 2013
Opening: February 20th, 7 pm

The exhibition From Here On, originally shown at Les Rencontres d’Arles in 2011, curated by Clément Chéroux, Joan Foncuberta, Erik Kessels, Martin Parr, and Joachim Schmid will open simultaneously at Arts Santa Mònica.
Exhibition: 21 February – 13 April, 2013
Opening: February 21st, 8 pm

Article in Aperture Magazine

My project Other People’s Photographs is discussed in a four page article by Geoffrey Batchen, Observing by Watching: Joachim Schmid and the Art of Exchange published in the Spring issue of Aperture magazine (# 210).

West Ost West

One day one man went from West to East. A year later another man went from East to West. Most of us had never heard of either of them before, both of them made front page news for a few days in the last years of the Cold War.
Thirty-four laser prints, 29.7 x 21 cm each

Exhibition in Milan

Joachim Schmid e le fotografie degli altri
Museo di Fotografia Contemporanea
Cinisello-Balsamo/Milano
Exhibition: December 2nd, 2012 – May 5th, 2013
Opening: December 1st at 6 pm
Joachim Schmid in conversation with Simone Menegoi, Franco Vaccari, and Roberta Valtorta at Goethe-Institut Milan on November 30 at 6 pm.
Johan & Levi editore will publish the book Joachim Schmid e le fotografie degli altri on the occasion of the exhibition; edited by Roberta Valtorta, the book includes essays by Mark Durden, Joan Fontcuberta, Simone Menegoi, Franco Vaccari, and John S. Weber.

Offprint Paris

Offprint Paris is a platform dedicated to contemporary photography and image making. A meeting place for artists, photographers, graphic designers, curators, artistic directors e.a. Offprint focuses on high-end and emerging practices, offering a unique selection of artist’s books, magazines, prints and zines.
November 15–18, 2012
You’ll find me and my books at the stand of ABC Artists’ Books Cooperative.

Talk in Barcelona

I’ll be speaking at the conference The Anarchival Impulse in Contemporary Art at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Barcelona, October 24-26, 2012.

Exhibitions in Vienna

The exhibition Graphic Detour – Crossing Borders in European Design will travel to its third and final location, freiraum quartier21 INTERNATIONAL in the MuseumsQuartier in Vienna. It will be part of the Vienna Design Week and Vienna Art Week.
Exhibition: September 29 – November 25
Opening: Friday, September 28 at 8 pm
Vienna Design Week: September 27 – October 7
Vienna Art Week: November 19 – 25
Also traveling to Vienna is the exhibition Derrière le rideau – L’Esthétique Photomaton, originally shown at the Musée de l’Elysée in Lausanne.
With more than 300 works by about 60 international artists, this exhibition introduces us to the world of the “aesthetics behind the curtain”, which range from the photo booth’s “original” function through artistic ways of playing with identities to the telling of short stories or the creation of individual worlds.
Kunst Haus Wien
Exhibition: October 10, 2012 – January 13, 2013

The New York Art Book Fair

Printed Matter presents the seventh annual NY Art Book Fair, from September 28 to 30, 2012, at MoMA PS1, Long Island City, Queens. A preview will be held on the evening of Thursday, September 27.
Free and open to the public, the NY Art Book Fair is the world’s premier event for artists’ books, catalogs, monographs, periodicals, and zines presented by more than 200 international presses, booksellers, antiquarians, artists, and independent publishers from over twenty countries.
You’ll find me and my books at the stand of ABC Artists’ Books Cooperative on the 2nd floor (Q43).

ABCED

“I guess maybe I woke up in a cold sweat once and just had this light bulb go off of doing a book of some sort.”
This is how Ed Ruscha, in a 2004 interview, recalled the events that led him to start creating books. The books he started making half a century ago were influential for generations of artists. To honour his contribution to the artist book, members of ABC Artists’ Books Cooperative are launching ABCED in Autumn 2012. ABCED is a multi-volume book project created on the occasion of Ed Ruscha’s 75th birthday, consisting of 33 books by 24 artists. The project will be launched simultaneously in multiple venues on both sides of the Atlantic in the final weeks of September:
Offprint Amsterdam, 20–23 September
The London Art Book Fair, 21–23 September
The New York Art Book Fair, 27–30 September.
My books Borrowed and Replicated are part of this project.
My new series Authentic Replica is based on a selection of images from these books.

Offprint Amsterdam

Offprint Amsterdam is a new book fair for international publishers, artists and designers who will showcase the best of contemporary art publications. Focusing on independent publishing communities, Offprint is a meeting place for artists, photographers, graphic designers, curators, artistic directors, journalists and collectors alike.
September 20–23, 2012
You’ll find my books at the stand of ABC Artists’ Books Cooperative.

My book Around the World in Eighty Minutes is shortlisted for the Unpublished Dummy Award and included in the exhibition that is held simultaneously at Unseen photo fair.

Article in Dossier

A six page article featuring my work, El arribo del arte contemporáneo a la fotografía by Natalie de León was published in the July/August issue of Dossier magazine, Montevideo.

Authentic Replica (2012)




The series Authentic Replica is based on a collection of Madonna Inn postcards found in 1994. A selection of these postcards became part of Archiv. Another selection was published in bookform as Borrowed / Replicated in 2012 as a part of the ABCED collection.
Twelve pigment ink prints, 30 x 40 cm on 40 x 50 cm paper, edition of 3 copies + 1 AP
A catalogue is available in the series of white books.

Exhibition in New York

Several of my books will be included in HELP/LESS, an exhibition hosted by Printed Matter, organized by artist Chris Habib. The store-wide show includes over 180 books that explore the fluidity of authorship in artists’ books and multiples.
Exhibition: July 14 – September 29, 2012
Opening: Saturday, July 14th, 5–7 pm

Vevey, Ville d’Images

I am pleased to participate in Vevey, Ville d’Images, an ongoing presentation of photoworks in public space in Vevey, Switzerland. Two images from the series Photogenetic Drafts are exhibited as billboards for one month.
(Installation photographs by Corinne Vionnet)

Exhibition in Paris

Re-Printed.2
Books and multiples by artists working with found photographs
RVB Books, Paris
Artists: Tiane Doan na Champassak, Erik Kessels, Anouk Kruithof, Thomas Mailaender, Grégoire Pujade-Lauraine, Lotte Reimann, Doug Rickard, Joachim Schmid
Exhibition: 26 June – 26 July, 2014
Opening: Thursday 26 June, 6–10 pm

Talk in Brussels

Meet the Artists – Symposium on Landscape Photography
With Tamara Berghmans, Pedro Cabrita Reis, Celine Clanet, Philippe Durand, Denis Gielen, Mishka Henner, Vesselina Nikolaeva, Joachim Schmid, Massimo Vitali, Liz Wells
Bozar, Centre for Fine Arts
Thursday, 14 June, 2012, 2 pm

C/O Berlin Book Days

I am pleased to participate in the C/O Berlin Book Days. 33 international publishers and artists will be introducing their latest publications on the subject of photography. The program includes discussions, seminars, lectures, live presentations, book signings, a photobook slam, a concert, BBQ and a bar.
You’ll find me at the stand of ABC Artists’ Books Cooperative.
Admission is free.
May 25–26

Bilder von der Straße


^ No. 1000, Gallipoli, March 2012

I am pleased to announce that my thirty-year project Bilder von der Straße (Pictures from the Street) was completed recently. I decided to discontinue the work after one thousand findings. The project began in August 1982 and ended in March 2012. During this time I picked up one thousand lost or abandoned photographs from the world’s pavements. The complete work is now available in book form.
Although the collection has been exhibited widely, this is the first time it is printed as a complete set. Published in four volumes, the books present every found photograph or its fragments in their original size and in the chronological order they were discovered. No intervention has taken place except for the inclusion of the date and location where each picture was found. As well as providing a record of my travels, the books document people’s use and abuse of photographs, with almost all the photographs in the collection depicting people and more than half of these being ripped or defaced in some way.

Talk in Bergamo

I am pleased to present my work in a talk at the Festival Internazionale della Cultura in Bergamo on Monday, 23 April at 8.30pm

Steuerfreie Einkünfte (2011–2020)

Steuerfreie Einkünfte (tax-free income) grew directly out of the long-time project Bilder von der Straße. Looking out for abandonded photographs in the streets, it was inevitable that I found other things, too, such as money. Usually, this would be in the form of small coins but occasionally, I would find a banknote. For many years I simply picked all these up and put them in my wallet. In 2011, I began to make annual inventories of the found money after an interesting dispute with the fiscal authorities about tax-deductible expenses and the character of some of my works such as Bilder von der Straße.
The project’s accounting is public. A complete report was published in book form after the ten-year project was completed.

Tax-free income accumulated in
2011: CAD 0.25 + DEM 0.01 + EUR 0.97 + GBP 0.06 + USD 0.20 – Total: EUR 1.37
2012: CAD 0.01 + CHF 1.00 + EUR 4.49 + PLN 0.04 + USD 1.67 – Total: EUR 6.34
2013: EUR 19.30 + GBP 0.28 + MAD 5.00 + PLN 2.02 + USD 0.42 $ – Total: EUR 20.87
2014: CHF 0.05 + DKK 1.00 + EUR 23.63 + GBP 0.01 + MXN 0.10 + USD 3.60 $ – Total: EUR 26.77
2015: BGN 0.01 + CAD 0.05 + CHF 0.05 + DDM 0.20 + DEM 0.01 + EUR 24.51 + TRY 0.10 + USD 5.59 – Total: EUR 29.91
2016: CHF 0.50 + DKK 2.50 + EUR 7.02 + GBP 1.05 + USD 0.58 – Total: EUR 9.53
2017: EUR 9.36 + USD 0.42 – Total: EUR 9.71
2018: CNY 1.20 + CZK 2.00 + EUR 8.72 + GBP 0.05 + THB 0.50 – Total: EUR 9.03
2019: BRL 0.60 + CZK 1.00 + EUR 13.39 + PLN 0.10 – Total: EUR 13.59
2020: EUR 14.39 – Total: EUR 14.39

Total 2011–2020: EUR 141.51
BGN 0,01
BRL 0,60
CAD 0,31
CHF 1,60
CNY 1,20
CZK 3,00
DDM 0,20
DEM 0,02
DKK 3,50
EUR 125,78
GBP 1,45
MAD 5,00
MXN 0,10
PLN 2,16
THB 0,50
TRY 0,10
USD 12,48

Exhibition in Lausanne

Derrière le rideau – L’Esthétique Photomaton
Musée de l’Elysée
Artists: Jean-Michel Alberola, Louis Aragon, Marie-Berthe Aurenche, Richard Avedon, Alain Baczynsky, Jared Bark, Marc Bellini, Jacques-André Boiffard, André Breton, Hansjürg Buchmeier, Anita Cruz-Eberhard, Sabine Delafon, Anne Deleporte, Paul Eluard, Max Ernst, Michael Fent, Michel Folco, Valentine Fournier, Lee Friedlander, Näkki Goranin, Jeff Grostern, Susan Hiller, Dick Jewell , Svetlana Khachaturova, Jürgen Klauke, Jacques-Henri Lartigue, Naomi Leibowitz, Leon Levinstein, Annette Messager, Willy Michel, Daniel Minnick, Suzanne Muzard, Raynal Pellicer, Mathieu Pernot, Steven Pippin, Jacques Prévert, Raymond Queneau, Arnulf Rainer, Timm Rautert, Bruno Richard, Gerhard Richter, Thomas Ruff, Michel Salsmann, Tomoko Sawada, Joachim Schmid, Cindy Sherman, Lorna Simpson, Dimitri Soulas, Yves Tanguy, Amanda Tetrault, Roland Topor, Franco Vaccari, Andy Warhol, Gillian Wearing, Jan Wenzel, David Wojnarowicz and the Fluxus group.
Curated by Clément Cheroux and Sam Stourdzé with Anne Lacoste
Exhibition: 17 February – 20 May 2012
Opening: 16 February at 6 pm

Symposium in Stockholm

On Photography and Collecting
Moderna Museet Stockholm
Lectures by Charlotte Cotton, Peter Galassi and Joachim Schmid, panel with Ingrid Fischer Jonge, Elina Heikka, Ingrid Nilsson, María Karen Sigurðardóttir and Anna Tellgren
Friday, January 27th, 2012

Exhibition in Mannheim

Bilderbuch
Zephyr, Raum für Fotografie
Exhibition: 22 January – 15 April 2012
Opening: 21 January at 7 pm
The artist book Bilderbuch (Picture Book) will be published on the occasion of the exhibition.
Joachim Schmid in conversation with Andrea Holzherr and Thomas Schirmböck on Thursday, March 1st.

ABC Interview

ABC Artists’ Books Cooperative is a network of bookmakers founded in 2009. We are a group of artists making print-on-demand books, we know of and are curious about each others’ work but many of us never met personally. In order to learn more about our individual practices we decided to make a series of interviews with each other. In the first of these conversations, Ljubljana-based artist Tanja Lažetić corresponded with Berlin-based Joachim Schmid over the course of several weeks in December 2011: Attitudes and Approaches is online now.

Exhibition in Berlin

The exhibition Graphic Detour that was originally presented at the Graphic Design Museum Breda is coming to Berlin
Direktorenhaus
Artists: Daniel Eatock, FUEL, Marti Guixé, Tod Hanson, Damien Poulain, Joachim Schmid, Erik Steinbrecher, Koen Taselaar
Curator: Erik Kessels
Exhibition: 16 December, 2011 – 3 February, 2012
Opening with a lecture by Erik Kessels on Thursday, December 15 at 6:15 pm

Offprint Paris

I am pleased to participate in Offprint Paris, a platform dedicated to contemporary photography and image making. A meeting place for artists, photographers, graphic designers, curators, artistic directors e.a. Offprint focuses on high-end and emerging practices, offering a unique selection of artist’s books, magazines, prints and zines.
You’ll find a selection of my books at the stand of the ABC Artists’ Books Cooperative.
November 10–13, 2011

Bilderbuch (2011–2019)


^ Bilderbuch at NRW-Forum Düsseldorf, 2017


^ Bilderbuch at Zephyr Mannheim, 2012

Unique site-specific print installations based on an ongoing collection of printed matter, removed from the original context and presented without any comment.
Pigment ink prints, 40 x 30 cm each

Bilderbuch 1.0, 120 pages, Berlin/Mannheim 2012
Bilderbuch 1.1: 16 pages in Joachim Schmid e le fotografie degli altri (2012)
Bilderbuch 1.2: 23 pages in The Lazlo Reader: The Art of Remaking. Second Chances (2015)
Bilderbuch 2.0, 144 pages, Berlin 2017
Bilderbuch 2.1: 28 pages in Emic Units #39 (2023)

Zwölf Frauen (2011)

Zwölf Frauen is a series of portraits of twelve women united by a status unique only to them.
Twelve pigment ink prints, 40 x 30 cm each, edition of 3 copies + 1 AP
A catalogue is available in the series of white books.

Illustriertes Tierleben (2010)

Illustriertes Tierleben is a collection of images taken from a daily Berlin newspaper, all of which come from the animal related “human interest” articles that run in the “miscellaneous news” section of the paper. The pictures and relating stories illustrate the relationship between modern humans and fauna.
Twenty-four pigment ink prints, 30 x 40 cm each

New York Art Book Fair

Printed Matter presents the sixth annual NY Art Book Fair, from September 30 to October 2, 2011, at MoMA PS1, Long Island City, Queens. A preview will be held on the evening of Thursday, September 29th. Free and open to the public, and featuring more than 200 exhibitors, the NY Art Book Fair is the world’s premier event for artists’ books, contemporary art catalogs and monographs, art periodicals, and artist zines. Exhibitors include international presses, booksellers, antiquarian dealers, artists and independent publishers from twenty-one countries.
You’ll find a selection of my books at the stand of ABC Artists’ Books Cooperative.

Exhibition in Andratx

Bang Bang
Centre Cultural d’Art Contemporani
Artists: Mac Adams, Tina Born, Baptiste Debombourg, Wolfgang Ellenrieder, Philippe Gronon, Crispin Gurholt, Anneè Olofsson, Philippe Perrin, Joachim Schmid, Yves Tremorin, Veronika Veit, Marcelo Viquez, Petra Warrass & Brigitte Zieger
Curated by Andrea Holzherr
Exhibition: 14 July – 1 September 2011
Opening: 14 July, 8 pm

Exhibition in Maastricht

Out of Storage. The collection of FRAC Nord–Pas de Calais
Marres – Centre for Contemporary Culture
Artists: Pawel Althamer, Sol LeWitt, Vito Acconci, Christian Boltanski, Marcel Broodthaers, Maurizio Cattelan, Claire Fontaine, Isa Genzken, Liam Gillick, On Kawara, Gerald van der Kaap, Atelier van Lieshout, Ken Lum, Paul McCarthy, Matt Mullican, Bruce Naumann, Georges Rousse, Joachim Schmid, Hedi Slimane, Barbara Visser, Mark Wallinger, Andy Warhol, Franz West, Christopher Wool, Rémy Zaugg and others.
Curated by Hilde Teerlinck
Exhibition: 25 June – 18 December 2011

More print-on-demand books

I am very pleased to announce that I completed the project Other People’s Photographs with the launch of the last six volumes in this series:

The series Other People‘s Photographs includes these titles: Airline Meals · Airports · Another Self · Apparel · At Work · Bags · Big Fish · Bird’s Eyes · Black Bulls · Blue · Bread · Buddies · Cash · Cheques · Cleavage · Coffee · Collections · Colour · Commodities · Contents · Currywurst · Damage · Digits · Documents · Dogs · Drinks · Encounters · Evidence · Eyes · Faces in Holes · Fauna · Feet · First Shots · Fish · Flashing · Food · Fridge Doors · Gathered Together · Gender · Geology · Hands · Happy Birthday · Hotel Rooms · Images · Impact · In Motion · Indexes · Information · Interaction · Kisses for Me · Lego · Looking · Maps · Mickey · Models · More Things · Mugshots · News · Nothing Wrong · November 5th, 2008 · Objects in Mirror · On the Road · Parking Lots · Pictures · Pizza · Plush · Portraits · Postcards · Purple · Pyramids · Real Estate · Red · Room with a View · Self · Sex · Shadow · Shirts · Shoes · Silvercup · Sites · Size Matters · Space-Time · Statues · Sunset · Surface · Targets · Television · The Other Picture · The Picture · Things · Trophies · Tropic of Capricorn · Various Accidents · Wanted · Writings · You Are Here.
The books are available individually or as a boxed set of 96 volumes (hardcover with dust jacket, 18 x 18 cm, 36 pages each).

Talk in Utrecht

Dutch Doc Days
International Documentary Photography Weekend
Talks by Marcelo Brodsky, Bill Ganzel, Mark Klett, Joachim Schmid
June 11 and 12, 2011

Exhibition in Breda

Graphic Detour
Graphic Design Museum
Artists: Daniel Eatock, Marti Guixé, Tod Hanson, Damien Poulain, Joachim Schmid, Erik Steinbrecher, Koen Taselaar
Curated by Erik Kessels
Exhibition: 11 June – 27 November, 2011
Opening: 11 June, 6 pm

Photobook Festival Kassel

4th International Photobook Festival
Kassel, documenta-Halle
1 – 5 June, 2011
Award, dummy prize, exhibitions, portfolio and photobook reviews, meetings and marketplace
You’ll find a selection of my books at the stand of ABC Artists’ Books Cooperative.
I’ll launch my new book L.A. Women during the festival.

Talk in Zürich

Swiss Photo Award – ewz.selection
ewz-Unterwerk Selnau
Jedem Fotografen sein Fotobuch?
Panel with Winfried Heininger, Thomas Kramer, Julia Ossko, Joachim Schmid
May 27, 8 pm

Amsterdam Art/Book Fair

The first Amsterdam Art/Book Fair will take place on 14 and 15 May, 2011 presenting a high-end international selection of art publications. The fair aims to reflect on the emerging practices and new development in art, through a selection of publishers from 16 countries. Printed matter and digital media edited by independent publishers and artists, magazines and institutions, art schools and graphic design studios are featured in this first edition.
Conferences and talks by keynote speakers, book launches, artist talks and performances will take place during the Amsterdam Art/Book Fair. Guests include Mathieu Copeland, Kenneth Goldsmith, Metahaven, Clive Phillpot, Joachim Schmid, Dan Solbach, Ramaya Tegegne.
You’ll find a selection of my books at the stand of ABC Artists’ Books Cooperative.

The Coach House Project (2011)

I have been living with Marshall McLuhan’s books for more than thirty years, so when I was in Toronto, in the spring of 2010, a visit to McLuhan’s institute was inevitable. McLuhan was the man who anticipated the internet four decades in advance of its inception, the man “who perpetually stated his loathing and contempt for most of the electronic age, yet a man who perversely and ironically is considered its biggest cheerleader” (Douglas Coupland). Mulling over the impact of McLuhan’s writing as well as the impact of the internet on the perception of his ideas, I decided to test the internet and specifically the search engine, that mnemonic slot machine that the modern world relies upon, using McLuhan as an example. The Coach House, McLuhan’s professional home, a tiny building behind a grand old mansion on the university’s campus, served as my object of investigation. On the anniversary of McLuhan’s death, December 31st, 2010 a Google image search for “Coach House” Toronto produced “about 12,100 results.” The search engine presented a selection of 908 “relevant” photographs. All are now printed in The Coach House / An Inventory. Five of these images relate in some way to the coach house in question; two of them show the house itself and a further two show Marshall McLuhan at this coach house.

The Coach House book is a collaboration of Joachim Schmid and NPN Drukkers. The book was produced on the occasion of the exhibition Graphic Detour at the Graphic Design Museum Breda (opening in June).

Nine Errors (2010)

In early 2010 I published Quick Response, a hands-on introduction into the realm of QR code applications. People have to “read” this book by taking photos of each page using a cameraphone. The phone’s QR code reader will then decode the abstract images to reveal that each image is an encoded URL for a photograph hosted on Flickr. The series of photos demonstrates the variety of modern commercial, artistic and subversive QR code applications. In addition, the book demonstrates a new way of appropriating other people’s photographs.
The series Nine Errors was made when Breda Photo Festival invited me to participate in their exhibition Another Street View in September 2010.
Photographs were presented as an online exhibition that was accessible via smartphone. Stickers with QR codes refering to the exhibits were spread around the city of Breda. So the exhibition existed only on the displays of smartphones in the streets of Breda. Instead of providing the expected images for an exhibition in public space that would be accessible exclusively for the owners of smartphones and that would support the idea of turning public space into a machine-readable surface, I decided to subvert the system by introducing (images of) a series of errors.
In the following years I continued pasting my stickers refering to error messages over existing QR codes in various cities.
A catalogue is available in the series of white books.


^ Breda 2010


^ Berlin 2011


^ Bordeaux 2011


^ Salzburg 2011


^ Berlin 2011


^ Paris 2013

2011–2013 in Amsterdam, Bamberg, Barcelona, Bayonne, Berlin, Bilbao, Bordeaux, Breda, Brussels, Cologne, Erlangen, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Kassel, Lausanne, Lisbon, Łódź, London, Mannheim, Marseille, Montpellier, Mulhouse, Naples, New York, Nice, Palermo, Paris, Pau, Rome, Rotterdam, Salzburg, Stockholm, Stuttgart, Utrecht, Venice, Zurich.

Conference in Amsterdam

What’s next? at foam
Speakers: Adam Broomberg & Oliver Chanarin, Tony Chambers, Charlotte Cotton, Constant Dullaart, Lidewij Edelkoort, Lisa Oppenheim, Laurel Ptak, Fred Ritchin, Thomas Ruff, Joachim Schmid.
March 19, 2011

Exhibition in Meymac

Femme Objet / Femme Sujet
Abbaye St André – Centre d’art contemporain
Artists: Shirin Alibadi, Pilar Albarracin, Nobuyoshi Araki, Kader Attia, Madeleine Berkhemer, Anastassia Bordeau, Véronique Boudier, Rebecca Bournigault, Anne Brégeaut, Elina Brotherus, Berlinde de Bruyckere, Hsia-Fei Chang, Emilie Chaumeil, Nina Childress, Liz Cohen, Sophie Dubosc, Marie-Hélène Fabra, Hans-Peter Feldmann, Sylvie Fleury, Lena Goarnisson, Marie-Ange Guilleminot, Oda Jaune, Sarah Jones, Michel Journiac, David Kramer, David Lefebvre, Natacha Lesueur, Isabelle Lévénez, Cristina Lucas, Tracey Moffatt, Olivier Morel, Valérie Mréjen, Marylène Negro, Orlan, Florence Paradeis, Philip Pearlstein, Françoise Pétrovitch, Juliao Sarmento, Joachim Schmid, Laurie Simmons, Steve Tournadre, Rosemarie Trockel, Marc Turlan, Wang Ziwei
Curated by Caroline Bissière, Jean-Paul Blanchet, Eglantine Bélètre
Exhibition: March 13 – June 12, 2011
Opening: March 12, 5 pm

Exhibition in Southend-on-Sea

Anti-Photography
Focal Point Gallery and The Beecroft Art Gallery
Artists: William Anastasi, Walead Beshty, Mel Bochner, Adam Broomberg and Oliver Chanarin, Anne Collier, David Raymond Conroy, Jan Dibbets, Hans-Peter Feldmann, Ceal Floyer, John Hilliard, Sherrie Levine, Sara MacKillop, Dan Rees, Ed Ruscha, Joachim Schmid, John Stezaker, Wolfgang Tillmans, and James Welling
Curated by Duncan Wooldridge
Exhibition: 17 January to 2 April 2011
Openings: Saturday 15 January 2011
Focal Point Gallery 2pm to 4pm
The Beecroft Art Gallery 4pm to 6pm

Conference in Paris

Livre d’artiste: une nouvelle donne?
Le Bal
Speakers include Laurence Vecten, Remi Coignet, 
Nicholas Calcott,
 Joachim Schmid, Sebastian Hau
Friday, January 7th, 2011, 8 pm,

Offprint Paris

Offprint Paris is an artists’ books fair dedicated to photography publications. Focusing on independent publishing companies, Offprint aspires to be a meeting place for artists, photographers, graphic designers, curators, collectors … who deal with printed photography: books, magazines, zines, prints.
You’ll find a selection of my books at the stand of the ABC Artists’ Books Cooperative.
November 10–13, 2011

New York Art Book Fair

Printed Matter presents the fifth annual New York Art Book Fair, November 5–7, 2010 (preview November 4) at PS1 Contemporary Art Center.
Free and open to the public, the fair hosts over 200 international presses, booksellers, antiquarian dealers, artists and publishers from twenty countries, offering the best in contemporary art book publishing.
The NY Art Book Fair includes special project rooms, screenings, book signings, and performances, throughout the weekend. Other events include the third annual Contemporary Artists’ Books Conference, and The Classroom, a curated series of informal conversations between artists, together with readings, workshops and other artist-led events.
You’ll find a selection of my books at the stand of the ABC Artists’ Books Cooperative.

O Campo (2010)

O Campo, or in its translation The Field, is a series of photographs of football fields in Brazilian cities. The images were taken via satellite and they show the rather oddly shaped football pitches that seem to be built wherever possible – the desire for playing the game has clearly surpassed and ignored the limitations of natural topography and FIFA’s laws of the game. According to the official rules and regulations you would not be allowed to play football on any of these fields. However, the careers of many of the world’s best football players began on these very same fields despite their askew angles, odd proportions, mis-shapen border lines and pitch markings. Studying the architectual contexts of these fields we get an idea about the social context where these players come from.
Sixteen pigment ink prints, 30 x 40 cm on 40 x 50 cm paper, edition of 3 copies + 1 AP

Exhibition in Düsseldorf

ANT!FOTO
Kunstraum Düsseldorf
Artists: Aleksandra Domanovic, Beni Bischof/Lasermagazin, Dean Sameshima, Jason Lazarus, Jeffrey Ladd/Books on Books, Joachim Schmid, Manuela Barczewski, Marei Wenzel/Iris Czak, Taiyo Onorato/Nico Krebs, Wassink/Lundgren
Exhibition: June 11 – July 18, 2010
Opening: Thursday, June 10, 7 pm
The Böhm/Kobayashi University: Saturday, June 12, 1 pm

Book Exhibition in London

Self Publish, Be Happy Weekend at The Photographers’ Gallery
This weekend is a showcase of 50 exceptional contemporary DIY photo books, selected by Bruno Ceschel. A talk and signings will provide an opportunity for art book lovers to discuss, admire and buy publications originating from around the world. Featuring work by: Maxwell Anderson, Morten Andersen, Gerry Badger, Tim Barber, Alexander Binder, Lucas Blalock, Ricardo Cases, Luis Castelo, Joshua Deaner, Charlotte Dumas, Jeremie Egry & Nicolas Poillot, Jason Evans, Sam Falls, Gary Fogelson, Stephen Gill, Sebastien Girard, Terence Hannum, Takiura Hideo, Derek Henderson, Asa Johannesson, Erik Kessels, Alexandra Klein, Sjoerd Knibbeler, Marten Lange, Shane Lavalette, Alastair Levy, Jeff Luker, Aubrey Mayer, Heather McDonough, Alex McTigue, Sophie Morner, Lester B. Morrison, Adam Murray & Robert Parkinson, Asher Penn, Karol Radziszewski, Richard Renaldi, Japp Scheeren, Lina Scheynius, Joachim Schmid, David Schoerner, Anne Schwalbe, Victor Sira, Alec Soth, Morten Spaberg, Esther Teichmann, Katrina Umber, Erik Van Der Weijde, Jan von Holleben, Patrick Waugh, Grant Willing, Ofer Wolberger.
5 – 6 June, 2010

Exhibition in Geneva

La revanche de l’archive photographique
Centre de la photographie Genève
Artists: Claudia Andujar, Roy Arden, Ariella Azoulay, Bernd & Hilla Becher, Mabe Bethonico, Ursula Biemann, Christian Boltanski, Marcelo Brodsky, Martin Dammann, Silvie et Chérif Defraoui, Jeremy Deller/Alan Kane, Céline Duval, Dora Garcia, Jochen Gerz, Catherine Gfeller, Lois Hechenblaikner, Edward Hillel, Jacob Holdt, Jean-Jacques Lebel, Armin Linke, Gustav Metzger, Susan Meiselas, Uriel Orlow, Peter Piller, Ricardo Rangel, Rosângela Rennó, Marie Sacconi, Joachim Schmid, Sean Snyder, Larry Sultan & Mike Mandel, Meir Wigoder
Curated by Jörg Bader
Exhibition: June 4 – July 31, 2010
Opening: June 3, 6 pm

Photo Book Festival Kassel

3rd International Photobook Festival
Kassel, documenta-Halle
13 – 16 May, 2010
Lectures by Paul Graham, Rob Hornstra, Rinko Kawauchi, Sybren Kuiper, Joachim Schmid, Lieko Shiga, Alec Soth and Niels Stomps
Award, dummy prize, exhibitions, portfolio and photobook reviews, meetings and marketplace

Exhibition in New York

Use Me, Abuse Me
New York Photo Festival
Use Me, Abuse Me begins with Erik Kessels’ a posteriori observation that easy access to photography tools and software results in quicker, more facile modes of image production, consumption and disposal. Perhaps a condition of this state, a plethora of photographers and image-makers are experimenting with pre-existing images and using them within their own work on an unprecedented scale. Photographs are variously collected, reinterpreted, cut, copied, pasted and generally abused.
Erik Kessels’ show is about how images and image-making technology influence artists and photographers. Use Me, Abuse Me explores several questions, including: Where will image-making take us? Will all existing photography be endlessly recycled? Will we soon see more photographers taking fewer photographs? How far can we stretch the medium of photography?
Artists: Ruth Van Beek, Batia Suter, Paul Kooiker, Lucas Blalock, Linus Bill, Renato Leotta, Gwon Osang, Marcel Gaehler, Eva-Fiore Kovacovsky, Claudia Sola, Asha Schechter, Joachim Schmid, Chantal Rens, Sanja Médic and Thomas Mailaender.
Exhibition: May 12 – 16, 2010

Exhibition and Book Launch in Paris

Perec et l’art contemporain
Galerie du Crous de Paris
Artists: Laurence Aëgerter, Christian Boltanski, Benoit Broisat, Philippe Cazal, Claude Closky, Gérard Collin-Thiébaut, Marie-France Dubromel, Pierre Getzler, Pauline Horovitz, Étienne Lécroart, Edouard Levé, Pierre-Oscar Lévy, François Morellet, Perecofil, Catherine Pomparat et des étudiants des Beaux-arts de Bordeaux, Jean-François Rauzier, Marylin Rolland, Benjamin Rondeau et Stéphane Rousseau, Joachim Schmid.
Exhibition: 7 – 9 May, 2010
Opening: Thursday, May 6, 6.30 pm
Book Launch at 7 pm: Cahiers Georges Perec No. 10, Perec et l’art contemporain

Exhibition in Toronto

The Brothel Without Walls
Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival
University of Toronto Art Centre
In 1964 Marshall McLuhan wrote of the photograph as “the brothel without walls” just one year after creating a center for culture and technology at the University of Toronto, where he was a professor for over 30 years. McLuhan described photographs as “dreams that money can buy” which could be “hugged and thumbed more easily than public prostitutes.” The exhibition The Brothel Without Walls considers McLuhan’s metaphor within today’s global village, where it appears that the illusions images create are often preferable to reality.
Artists: Susan Anderson, Evan Baden, Douglas Coupland, Jessica Dimmock, Marina Gadonneix, Clunie Reid, Stefan Ruiz, Joachim Schmid, Christopher Wahl
Curators: Matthew Brower and Bonnie Rubenstein
Exhibition: April 29 – May 29, 2010
Opening reception: May 1st, 7.30 – 9 pm
Panel discussion: 6 – 7.30 pm

Talk in Belo Horizonte

Semana da Fotografia at the Escola de Belas Artes, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte
Talks by Patricia Azevedo, Joachim Schmid, Alexandre Sequeiro
March 22–24, 2010

Photobook Colloquium in Lausanne

Lasting impressions, or fading impressions? The photobook today and tomorrow
An international colloquium organized by the Musée de l’Élysée in collaboration with the ECAL/University of Art and Design Lausanne
Speakers include Nathalie Bocher-Lenoir, Luc Debraine, Mary Delmonico, Frédérique Destribats, Bernd Detsch, William A. Ewing, Lady Elena Foster, Philippe Garner, Jean Genoud, Winfried Heininger, Françoise Jaunin, Werner Jeker, Pierre Keller, Walter Keller, Michael Mack, Lesley Martin, Gilles Mora, Lars Müller, Thomas Neurath, Neil Palfreyman, Alice Rawsthorn, Markus Schaden, Joachim Schmid, Alec Soth, Gerhard Steidl, Joël Tettamanti.
February 20 – 21, 2010

Conference in Oslo

Norwegian photographers’ association Forbundet Frie Fotografer organizes Flere sider fotografi, a series of talks about photography books in December 2009 and January 2010. International participants are Martin Parr, Markus Schaden, and Joachim Schmid talking on December 17th.

Exhibition in New York

Eye/World
Triple Candie
An antique museum case. 72 glass-topped drawers. 72 ways of visualizing the world. Big picture/tiny space. Artists, musicians, mathematicians, curators, writers, philosophers, others.
Artists: Thomas Allsopp, Pau Atela, Gudjon Bjarnason, Mathieu Borysevicz, Alison Bradley, Helen Brough, Johnson Chang, Alexandra Chang and Matthew Hocknos, Long-Bin Chen, Margaret Cogswell, Lois Conner, Lisa Corrine Davis, Santiago Cucullu, Robin Dash, Julie Evans, Mary Evans, Solange Fabiao, Jane Fine, Richard Gien, Richard Gluckman, Deborah Grant, Joanne Greenbaum, Alex Grey, Wenda Gu, Ingo Günther, Jane Hammond, Julie Hefernan, Betti-Sue Hertz, Jene Highstein, Satch Hoyt, Peter Hristoff, Tom Huhn, David Henry Hwang, Soojung Hyun and Robert Morgan, Richard Jochum, David Judelson, Hoon Jung, Elaine King, Ellen Lanyon, Bing Lee, Nichole Lin and Joe Hill, Sarat Maharaj, Katy Martin, Iris Moon, John Moore, Robert Oxnam, Gary Peterson, Steven Rand, Renee Riccardo and Paul Laster, Lordy Rodriguez, Diane Samuels, Joachim Schmid, Barbara Segal, Varvara Shavrova, Ward Shelly, Eric Shiner, Francesco Siqueiros, Franklin Sirmans, Alan Sondheim, Gary Stephan, Wash SyCip, Elaine Tin Nyo, Jaret Vadera, Richard Vine, Ken Wahl, Sarah Walker, Ryszard Wasko, Lilly Wei, Daniel Weiner, Elga Wimmer, Sally Wu and Christopher Phillips, O Zhang
Curators: Emily Cheng and Michelle Loh
November 23, 2009 – January 17, 2010
Opening: Sunday, November 22, 4-6pm

More print-on-demand books

There’s also a new book in the black series, The Missing Pictures.

I’ll be presenting my books at the New York Art Book Fair this year. The fair will be held at PS1 Contemporary Art Center from October 2–4 with a preview on October 1st.

Exhibition in Grenoble

Animated
Centre d’Art Bastille
Artists: Thomas Bayrle, Anna and Bernhard Blume, Antoine Coquard, David Evrard, Simon Faithfull, Pierric Favret, Maïder Fortuné, Gilbert Garcin, Brion Gysin, William Kentridge, Haruka Kishi, Céline Martinet, Jean-Luc Ménétrier, Timo Nasseri, Tony Oursler, Jean-Gabriel Périot, Elisa Pône, Philippe Ramette, Hugues Reip, Sam Rousseau, Mira Sanders, Joachim Schmid, Franck Scurti, David Shrigley, Stéphanie Solinas, Pierric Sorin
June 12 – September 6, 2009
Opening: Friday, June 12, 6.30 pm

Black Books and White Books

I would like to introduce two more collections of books that follow on from my recent work Other People’s Photographs. The project began in 2008 and continues to the present day. It is published as a series of books with grey covers, printed on demand, numbered and signed. These grey books are obtained only through my website. The second and third collections of books will have either black or white covers and focus on my past works as well as new compilations of other people’s images.
The white books feature artworks I have made over the course of my career. They are catalogues of projects that have not previously been available as books or are new versions of out of print books.
The first four white books are now available: Arcana, Cyberspaces, Faits divers, and Reload.
Similar to the series Other People’s Photographs, the black books are concerned with finding patterns within the behaviour of photography. Here, though I have begun focusing on the repetition of word, rather than the repetition of image. These are books about photography but from a more “light-hearted” perspective.
The first book of this series is now available: When Boredom Strikes. In stark contrast to the title this book isn’t boring at all, but very revealing and often hilarious.
Both the white books and the black books are printed on demand. They are neither numbered nor signed.

Article in Art on Paper

An eight-page article “Books, Photographs, and Personal Histories. Susan Meiselas and Joachim Schmid in conversation with Geoffrey Batchen” was published in the January/February 2009 issue of Art on Paper (Vol.13, No.3).

Workshop in Mons

Formatting Utopia – from Paul Otlet to the Internet
Mundaneum
Monday 17 Nov, 1–8 pm

“The way information is organised and presented is influential for the way we perceive and understand the world. The internet gathers information and creates networks for interactive encyclopediae (Wikipedia), ‘Folksonomic’ categorisations (Flickr) and through ‘Social Tagging’. Our workshop deals with the hierarchies that mark the way we use and access information and with the potentials and pitfalls of the internet concerning knowledge organisation.
The Mundaneum is based on Paul Otlet’s (1868–1944) utopian project to foster pacifism. His archives of the world’s knowledge, represented by all the books published until the beginning of the 20th century, was ordered by a universal objective system (CDU) and his ideas to diffuse this knowledge anticipate the internet.
How is the actual internet influenced by ideologies, censorship, commercial interests? How do current projects from the arts and design realise the utopian potentials of the internet? After a guided tour through the Mundaneum’s archives, these questions will be discussed with Stéphanie Manfroid (Mundaneum, Mons), Metahaven, (design, Amsterdam), De Geuzen (art/design collective, Rotterdam/Brussels), Joachim Schmid (artist, Berlin), and Sabine Niederer (curator and researcher of Network Cultures, University of Amsterdam).
Formatting Utopia is a collaboration of artist Marjolijn Dijkman (Enough Rooms for Space, Rotterdam) and Annette Schemmel, curator, in the framework of the curatorial research project decollecting (H+F Curatorial Grant at the FRAC Nord-Pas de Calais, Dunkerque, France), with the Mundaneum (Mons), the Conseil Régional Nord-Pas de Calais, the Ifa and the Mondriaan Foundation.”

Conference in New York

Historical Materials and Methods in Contemporary Artists Books.
A Conversation with Geoffrey Batchen, Susan Meiselas, and Joachim Schmid. Moderator: Jennifer Tobias
MoMA Titus II Auditorium
Friday 24 Oct 2–3.30 pm
“In collaboration with Printed Matter’s NY Art Book Fair, the Art Libraries Society of New York announces a conference on contemporary artists’ books. The program will include speakers, panels, artists’ presentations, institutional tours, and receptions. The conference focuses on recent developments in artists’ books, a period of increasing diversity in the field. The conference will present a rare opportunity to explore the contemporary scene, promising a thought-provoking opportunity for discourse among scholars, collectors, artists, and librarians.”

Print-on-demand books

A new series of books are now available, printed on demand and only obtainable through this website. Each book is produced for the individual buyer. The editions are unlimited, but each book will be numbered and signed. The books are priced at 1 € per page and range from 24 to 240 pages. The following books are available to order now. More titles will be added throughout 2008 and in coming years.
Other People’s Photographs is a virtually all-encompassing series of books exploring the realm of amateur photography in the age of online photo hosting. The first five titles are now available, many more will follow. Each book contains 32 photographs focussing on one particular subject. The series will eventually form an encyclopedic library of digital photography. Hardcover with dust jacket, 18 x 18 cm, 36 pages, 32 photographs each.
The Showbag Book is composed of snapshots found on the many sites of the world’s ever-growing online picture pool. Each book is customised for the individual buyer, containing 24 to 240 pages. There are no two identical copies of The Showbag Book. Please specify the desired number of pages when ordering your copy. Hardcover with dust jacket, 18 x 18 cm, 24 – 240 pages, 20 – 236 photographs.

Exhibition in Antwerp

De orde der dingen
Museum van Hedendaagse Kunst Antwerpen
Artists: Roy Arden, Sarah Charlesworth, Marjolijn Dijkman, Hans Eijkelboom, Douglas Huebler, Sanja Ivekovic, Luis Jacob, Cameron Jamie, Arthur Lipsett, Tine Melzer, Marc Nagtzaam, Cady Noland, Peter Piller, Sigmar Polke, Richard Prince, Robert Rauschenberg, ROMA Publications (Mark Manders & Roger Willems), Julian Rosefeldt, Thomas Ruff, Joachim Schmid, Steven Shearer, Nancy Spero, Batia Suter, Els Van den Meersch, Andy Warhol, Christopher Williams.
Curator: Dieter Roelstraete
September 12, 2008 – January 4, 2009
Opening: Thursday, September 11, 7 – 11 pm, with a talk by Joachim Schmid

Exhibitions in Arles

Bilder von der Straße (Pictures from the Street)
Les Rencontres d’Arles
Atelier de Mécanique, Parc des Ateliers
July 8 – September 14, 2008
(Due to substantial damages by a thunderstorm and by vandalism this exhibition was closed on 12 July)

Invasion/In-vision ou le Palais Rose
Musée Réattu
May 17 – October 31, 2008
Curator: Christian Lacroix

Symposium in Madrid

¿Soñarán los androides con cámaras fotográficas? – Do Androids Dream with Photographic Cameras?
Photo España June 5 – 7, 2008
Speakers include AES+F, Álvaro des los Ángeles, Antonio Ansón, Geoffrey Batchen, Daniel Canogar, Clément Chéroux, Marta Dahó, Timothy Druckrey, Joan Fontcuberta, Eric Galve, Claudia Gianetti, Boris Groys, Pedro Meyer, Tanit Plana, Gervasio Sánchez, Joachim Schmid, Radu Stern, Naief Yehya.

Exhibition and Talk in New York

The Ubiquitous Image
New York Photo Festival
May 14 – 18, 2008
Artists: Claudia Angelmaier, Robert Bowen, Marco Breuer, Natalie Czech, Harrell Fletcher, Curtis Mann, Peter Piller, Joachim Schmid, Penelope Umbrico, and Useful Photography
Curator: Lesley A. Martin

The Secret Life of Images, panel featuring Lesley Martin, Joachim Schmid and Penelope Umbrico
Saturday, May 17th, 5 pm

Featured artist talk: Joachim Schmid
Sunday, May 18th, 3 pm

Meetings (2003/2007)

The series Meetings was originally made for the book A meeting on holiday. Based on imagery provided by international holiday resort operators, the images take you to Postcardland where happy couples gather under a perfectly blue sky and enjoy the beach, the pool, a cocktail, a dinner, a sunset, and a hotel room
Twelve pigment ink prints, 30 x 40 cm on 40 x 50 cm paper, edition of 3 copies + 1 AP
A catalogue is available in the series of white books.

Netzerscheinungen (2006–2007)

Three multi-channel digital photo installations that are based on imagery found on the internet:
Menschen und Dinge (People and Things), 2006, 57 min. loop
Orte und Zeichen (Places and Signs), 2007, 46 min. loop
Waren und Träume (Commodities and Dreams), 2007, 52 min. loop
A three volume catalogue is available in the series of white books.


^ Menschen und Dinge. 853 Bilder für das 21. Jahrhundert at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco 2007

Waren und Träume (2007)

Waren und Träume. 781 Bilder für das 21. Jahrhundert
(Commodities and Dreams. 781 Pictures for the 21st Century)
Multichannel digital photo installation, 52 min. loop

Orte und Zeichen (2007)

Orte und Zeichen. 629 Bilder für das 21. Jahrhundert
(Places and Signs. 629 Pictures for the 21st Century)
Multichannel digital photo installation, 46 min. loop

Article in Art on Paper

A two-page article The Accidental Predator. Joachim Schmid makes art from other people’s photographs by Sarah Andress was published in the November/December 2007 issue of Art on Paper (Vol.12, No.2).

Article in Mousse

Simone Menegoi’s four-page article I am not a photographer was published in Mousse contemporary art magazine (issue 10, Milano, September 2007). PDF available on the magazine’s website.

Untitled Portraits (2007)

Pixelated and decontextualized portraits of politicians altered in such a way as to test the treshold of recognition.
21 pigment ink prints, 50 x 66,7 cm on 80 x 60 cm paper
A catalogue is available in the series of white books.

Exhibition in San Francisco

Joachim Schmid, Selected Photoworks 1982–2007
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
July 28 – October 14, 2007
Opening Party: Friday, July 27, 8–11 pm

“A self-described professional looker, Berlin-based artist Joachim Schmid has scoured archives, flea markets, the streets, and internet webcams for the raw materials out of which he creates his wry, sardonic, yet revealing works of found photography. He invites us to re-see photographic history, questioning the nature of authorship and the role of the photographer. This mid-career survey includes Schmid’s 25-year signature series, Bilder von der Straße (Pictures from the Street), as well as new multi-channel digital photo pieces. Exhibition accompanied by a monograph.
Organized by the Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, New York, and The Photographers’ Gallery, London”

Talk in London

Joachim Schmid in conversation with Stephen Bull
The Photographers‘ Gallery
Joachim Schmid will discuss the projects included in his current exhibition Selected Photoworks 1982—2007 and his 25 year interest using found images to produce works that challenge prevailing ideas of art photography. In conversation will be Stephen Bull, contributing essayist to the newly published monograph Joachim Schmid Photoworks 1982—2007.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007, 7 pm

Interview on Dazed Digital

Inside Art: Joachim Schmid now on Dazed Digital
“At last, a retrospective for the German photographer whose career started as a freelance critic. In 1982, he found his first photograph that would begin a twenty-five year ongoing series called Bilder von der Straße (Pictures from the Street). Unfortunately it is not to be seen in its entirety (there are still 900 images), but there is a nice addition to the series, as the last image was found on the street outside The Photographers’ Gallery just days before the show opened. Collected in many cities from Berlin, Padua, Luxor to Edinburgh, these discarded ‘pictorial histories’ become an intriguing glimpse into the lives of strangers.
To accommodate his vast demand for images, in 1990 he set up The Institute for the Reprocessing of Used Photographs. People were asked to send in their unwanted photographs that have become an endless source for his work; there are unknown Brazilian faces in Belo Horizonte, Praça Rio Branco and morphed portraits from a Bavarian Studio Photographer in Photogenetic Drafts. But don’t confuse Schmid for an anthropologist or scientist as he vehemently wants nothing to do with such labels, he is merely someone who likes doing things! Be sure not to miss the sound photographs Tausend Himmel (Thousand Skies or Thousand Heavens), an extremely personal exploration also a move into the inevitable field of the digital era.”
Interview by Freire Barnes, filming and editing by Roland de Villiers, produced by Rod Stanley

Exhibition in London

Joachim Schmid Selected Photoworks 1982—2007
The Photographers‘ Gallery
April 20 — June 7, 2007
Private View: April 19, 6.30—8.30 pm

“For the last 25 years Joachim Schmid (b. 1955) has challenged the traditional and prevailing idea of ‘art photography‘. Instead, he has championed the importance of photographs that are produced and seen everyday; ranging from passport photos, to high street studio portraits, ID cards and, more recently, the Internet.
In Bilder von der Strasse (Pictures from the Street, ongoing since 1982) Schmid has collected discarded photographs from around the world, revealing the bizarre in the ordinary and overlooked. The exhibition also includes Photogenetic Drafts (1991). Using negatives a studio photographer had cut in half to prevent their further use, Schmid has created ironic and unsettling photo-collages that play on the predictability of the commercial studio portrait. The exhibition will premier two multi-channel digital photo installations, Tausend Himmel (Thousand Skies, 2005) and Menschen und Dinge (People and Things, 2006).
Schmid‘s interest in collecting and archiving photographs reflects a concern with photography as an all-encompassing discourse that runs throughout the public and private spheres of our lives.
The exhibition has been organized in collaboration with the Tang Museum at Skidmore College (Saratoga Springs, New York).
Two publications have been produced to coincide with the exhibition and are available from the Gallery Bookshop. Tausend Himmel, published by The Photographers‘ Gallery, is a full colour 64-page artist booklet featuring images from the project of the same title; and a monograph, Joachim Schmid Photoworks 1982—2007, published by Photoworks (UK), Tang Museum (USA) and Steidl (Germany), with support from The Photographers‘ Gallery and the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.”

Exhibition in Saratoga Springs

Joachim Schmid, Photoworks 1982–2007
The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College
Organized by the Tang Museum, Skidmore College, curated by John Weber. Touring to the Nederlands Fotomuseum Rotterdam (September 2007) and Bild Museet Umeå (2008), in association with Joachim Schmid, Selected Photoworks 1982–2007 at The Photographers’ Gallery, London (19 April to 17 June 2007).
February 3 – April 29, 2007
Opening reception: February 3, 6:30 pm

Published soon by Photoworks and Steidl in association with Tang Museum: Joachim Schmid, Photoworks 1982–2007, a major monograph with essays by Stephen Bull, Joan Fontcuberta, Frits Gierstberg, Jan-Erik Lundström, John S Weber and Val Williams, edited by Gordon MacDonald and John S Weber.

Talk in Brighton

Contemporary Photography: Professional Practice and Contexts
Photoworks and the MA photography course at the University of Brighton present a series of talks and discussions by artists, writers and curators working with contemporary photography.
Joachim Schmid in conversation with Stephen Bull
Sussex Arts Club, 7 Ship Street, Brighton
Wednesday, October 18, 2006, 6.30–8 pm

Exhibition in Kassel

Poetische Positionen II
Kasseler Kunstverein, Fridericianum
Artists: Jens Carstensen, Max Christian Graeff, Bernard Heidsieck, Yoko Ono, Bernd Salfner, Joachim Schmid, W. Mark Sutherland
Curator: Jürgen O. Olbrich
Exhibition: September 1 – October 8, 2006
Opening: August 31, 7pm


^ Untitled drawings, 2002 (indian ink and color pencil on paper, 50 x 40 cm each)

Exhibition in Paris

Mickey dans tous ses états
Hôtel Dassault, 7 Rond-Point des Champs Elysées, 75008 Paris
Artists: Kenneth Anger, Eduardo Arroyo, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Pol Bury, Lionel Pierre Cartiser, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, Robert Combas, George Condo, Dalek, Mark Dion, Anthony Earnshaw, Gudmundur Errò, Mick Finch, Steve Galloway, Keith Haring, Philippe Huart, Interduck, Jean-Pierre Khazem, Rachid Khimoune, Serge Kliaving, Pascale Lafay, Bertrand Lavier, Mickael McMillen, François Mendras, Takashi Murakami, Nadin Ospina, Pavlos, Jean-Yves Pennec, Joyce Pensato, Bernhard Pras, Bernard Rancillac, Hughes Reip, Xian Fan Ru, Peter Saul, Joachim Schmid, Sara Schmidt, Arthur Shallit, David Spiller, Li Tianbing, Patrick van Caeckenbergh, Gé-Karel van der Sterren, Ultra Violet, Kimiko Yoshida, Wang Ziwei
Curators: Jessy Mansuy-Leydier, Nathalie Zaquin-Boulakia
Exhibition: July 7 – September 17, 2006
Opening: July 6, 6 pm

Exhibition in Geneva

Photo-Trafic
bac (bâtiment d’art contemporain), 28, rue des Bains, 1205 Genève
Centre d’Art Contemporain Genève, 10, rue des Vieux-Grenadiers, 1205 Genève
Artists: Ant Farm, Daniel Berset, Claude Closky, Silvie Defraoui, Christoph Draeger, Enrique Fontanilles/Lukas Mettler, Rainer Gahnal, G.R.A.M., Peter Kennard, Elke Krystufek, David Larnelas, Yaron Leshem, Zbigniew Libera, Nicolas Lieber, Ute Lindner/Patrick Huber, Rogelio Lopez Cuenca, Bjørn Melhus, Otto Mittmannsgruber, Ernst Mitzka, Gianni Motti, Marco Poloni, Thomas Ruff, Karin Sander, Michael Schaefer, Manuel Schmalstieg, Joachim Schmid, Sean Snyder, Klaus Staeck, Thierry Verbeke, Kelley Walker, Wang Du, Patrick Weidmann, Serge Wolkonski
Curators: Joerg Bader, Manuella Denogent
Organized by Centre de la Photographie Genève
Exhibition: June 7 – August 13, 2006
Opening: June 8, 6pm

Symposium in Leiden

The Masters in Photographic Studies at the University of Leiden (Holland) is organising the symposium Artists’ Strategies, Photography and Archives on April 25. The symposium will focus on the changes in contemporary photographic practice: from image maker to visual historian. Keynote speakers are Elizabeth Edwards, Jacqueline Hassink, Susan Meiselas and Joachim Schmid.
For additional information and registration click here.

Miscellaneous other works (1982–ongoing)



^ CMYK, 2012


^ 2011


^ Caught, 2007



^ Erpresserbriefe im Zeitalter der Digitalfotografie, 2005


^ Zwölf einfache Zeichnungen, 2003


^ Vierzig einfache Zeichnungen, 2002


^ Computer-Dialoge, 2002


^ Lebensmittelchemie, 2002
left: Currywurst, right: Pommes mit Mayo



^ Schwierigkeiten beim Herstellen des Regenbogens, 2003



^ Manuelle Datenverarbeitung, 2002
top: Schwarz, rot, gelb und grau, bottom: Rot für Mädels und blau für Jungs


^ Neunzig-Minuten-Zeichnung (Hertha BSC – FC Aberdeen 1:0), 2002


^ Neunzig-Minuten-Diagramme, 2001–2005


^ Porträts, 2001


^ 2001


^ Farbenlehre, 1999–2006


^ Fotogeschichte für alle, 1987


^ Self-portrait, 1987


^ Ceci n’est pas une peinture, 1986


^ In Kodak Veritas, 1985/86


^ Traumfrau sucht Traummann, 1985

Schemen (2005)

A series of prints that are based on drawings that are based on photographs, taken from a Berlin tabloid newspaper.
Five pigment ink prints, 50 x 40 cm each, edition of 3 copies + 1 AP

Tausend Himmel (2005)

The pictures in Tausend Himmel (Thousand Skies or Thousand Heavens) are a small selection from a vast collection. At first glance they appear to be photographs of clouds, of the sky, and of helicopters. In fact, they are photographs of sounds – the sounds of helicopters. I took them to help me deal with a hearing condition called hyperacusis. After more than a year and two thousand photographs later, I had nearly stopped noticing why I started taking them. I guess, in this way, the exercise could be considered a complete success.
JS, March 2007
Multichannel digital photo installation, 75 min. loop

Cyberspaces (2004)

Die Serie Cyberspaces entstand, nachdem ich bemerkt hatte, daß ich zuviel Zeit im Internet verbringe. Vor dem Computer sitzend stellte sich mir beim Aufenthalt im Virtuellen die Frage nach dem Authentischen. Ich beschloß, dieser Frage an einem konkreten Beispiel nachzugehen, und suchte Bilder von der Beschäftigung, die ich gerade ausübte: Sitzen. Um im Sitzen Bilder vom Sitzen zu machen, begab ich mich im Internet auf die Suche nach Menschen, die vor Computern sitzen. Das Thema meiner Arbeit habe ich also nicht mit den Augen oder dem Gehirn gefunden, sondern mit meinem Hintern.
Während ich vor dem Computer sitze, sitzen Millionen von Menschen rund um den Globus ebenfalls vor ihren Computern. Dieses massenhafte Sitzen ist eine Tätigkeit, die in der Vereinzelung ausgeübt und deswegen wenig gesehen wird. Preiswerte Technik und globale Vernetzung machen einen Teil der Sitzenden sichtbar. Eine kleine, über dem Monitor angebrachte Kamera liefert uns in bescheidener Qualität Bilder der Menschen, die sich vor dem Computer aufhalten. Die für Überwachungszwecke entwickelte Technik wird in Chatrooms genutzt und findet ihre kommerzielle Anwendung im Sexgeschäft.
Der Computer-Monitor wird zum Schaufenster eines globalen Bordells, die Kreditkarte öffnet die Tür. Kommuniziert wird wie in jedem anderen internationalen Geschäftszweig über die Tastatur in schlechtem Englisch. Anbieter und Abnehmer sind an keinen Ort gebunden, der Betrieb ist 24 Stunden am Tag geöffnet. Ich habe mich als Kunde registriert und meinen temporären Geschäftspartnerinnen meine Wünsche übermittelt. Meine Anweisungen waren einfach und leicht verständlich: aufstehen, rausgehen. Die Kreditkarte gibt Weisungsbefugnis – wer zahlt, bestimmt was vor der Kamera passiert. Die Kreditkarte ist eine Erweiterung der Kamera, sie dient als ihr digitaler Fernauslöser. Ich habe den Auslöser betätigt, sobald nur noch der unbelebte Raum zu sehen war.
Das Resultat sind Bilder verlassener Räume, in denen Sitzgelegenheiten stehen. Es gibt in diesen Bildern Indizien, die auf die Nutzung der abgebildeten Räume schließen lassen. Die Räume sind Teil der realen Welt, doch nur im Cyberspace sind sie zugänglich. Wir dürfen allerdings nicht vergessen, daß wir es auf dem Bildschirm nicht mit animierten Figuren, sondern mit lebenden Menschen zu tun haben. Auf den Stühlen, Sesseln und Sofas sitzen Frauen, die das tun, was ihre zahlenden Kunden zu sehen wünschen. Das ist gemeint, wenn von der neuen Dienstleistungsgesellschaft im Zeitalter der Globalisierung die Rede ist. Es geht hier um eine große Menge von Arbeitsplätzen in Ost-Europa und Süd-Ost-Asien. Hinter jeder Kamera steht eine Ich-AG. Die Geschäftsidee ist die Entsorgung von überflüssigem Sperma in den reicheren Ländern. Die Produktion von Bildern spielt dabei eine zentrale Rolle.
In meiner Variation dieser Bilder sehen wir die Bühne, auf der die Dienstleister ihre Haut zu Markte tragen. Die abgebildeten Kulissen und Requisiten haben erzählerisches Potential. Doch die Erzählung findet nicht in den Bildern statt. Die Bilder sind Auslöser und Projektionsflächen der Imagination. Ich habe beim Herstellen dieser Bilder eher beiläufig ziemlich viel über Prostitution gelernt. Dieses Wissen ist in den Bildern aufgehoben. Ich weiß allerdings nicht, wieviel von dem, was ich über Prostitution im Cyberspace weiß, aus den Bildern stammt. Ich weiß ebenfalls nicht, wieviel und was die Betrachter meinen Bilder entnehmen.
JS, Berlin, Oktober 2005

The images were derived from footage of commercial online sexcams.
36 Lambda prints, 36 x 48 cm each on 50 x 60 cm paper, edition of 3 copies + 1 AP
A catalogue is available in the series of white books.

Retratos decisivos (2004)

Retratos decisivos was a temporary public art project commissioned by and realized in collaboration with PhotoEspaña in Madrid in June 2004 on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of D-Day. The project consisted of both an extensive installation in Madrid’s metro station Nuevos Ministerios and a brochure that was distributed for free among the users of the Madrid metro. The work is based on the series Decisive Portraits.

Belo Horizonte, Praça Rui Barbosa (2002)





^ foam Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam, 2003

When I made my first trip to Brazil in 1992 I arrived in Belo Horizonte, a city as big as Berlin that most people have never heard of outside Brazil. In a public square in the center of this city I found a series of black-and-white portrait negatives. The photographers who made these portraits worked in the square using extremely simple equipment: a wooden box that served both as a camera and a darkroom. In front of a simple backdrop, photographs were taken with that box and developed inside it. The clients got their portraits after few minutes. The negatives were discarded. I collected these negatives and printed them. The title of that work is Belo Horizonte, Praça Rio Branco. In 1993 I made a similar work, Belo Horizonte, Parque Municipal.
Originally these portraits were taken for various administrative purposes, ID cards, driving licenses, and so on. People who are well off get their portraits taken in studios, and people who cannot afford studio portraits go to the square. The photographers do not give directions to the people depicted. They take plain, frontal, straightforward portraits.
When I returned to Belo Horizonte this year the photographers had moved to another square. And they had abandoned their primitive technique. They work in colour now using 35 mm cameras. After the photographs are taken they run to the nearest lab to get the strip of film developed and printed. The clients pick up their portraits about half an hour after they were taken. Negatives are still discarded. During my stay in Belo Horizonte I got up very early every morning before the street cleaners start to work, walked to the square and collected all the negatives I found. The result is Belo Horizonte, Praça Rui Barbosa.
JS, Berlin, September 2002

Photo-based installation consisting of 240 portraits, 24 x 18 cm each.
Ten selected portraits are available as c-prints (30 x 20 cm each on 42 x 30 cm paper, edition of 3 copies + 1 AP).

A selection of portraits was published in the book Belo Horizonte, Praça Rui Barbosa (2004).
Another selection is included in the book Lambe Lambe (2014).

Masterpieces of Photography. The Source Collection

A card game developed in collaboration with the editors of Source magazine consisting of 24 cards featuring well-known photographers. The cards were printed on the reverse side of the magazine’s subscription form and delivered as a magazine supplement in six instalments (2002/2003).

The Joachim Schmid Collection at the Pitt Rivers Museum (2000)

The Joachim Schmid Collection at the Pitt Rivers Museum was a temporary intervention at the Pitt Rivers Museum Oxford, 25 March 2000 to 8 September 2002 (for more information about this project see Elizabeth Edwards’ essay in Transformations: The Art of Recycling, catalogue published by the Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford.)

The Face in the Desert (1999)

The Face in the Desert was a public art project commissioned by and realized in collaboration with the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television, Bradford. The project consisted of both an installation in Bradford city center and a newspaper. The images used for this project were found in the museum’s vast Daily Herald newspaper archive.

Sinterklaas ziet alles (1998)

Sinterklaas ziet alles was realized as part of PhotoWork(s) in Progress II/Constructing Identity, commissioned by Mondriaan Stichting and Nederlands Foto Instituut Rotterdam. The project consists of 180 stacks of index cards (offset print) in postcard racks.
The complete set of 180 index cards is available as a boxed set.

Decisive Portraits (1998)


^ Tang Museum, Saratoga Springs 2007

They came from the United States of America.
Evans, Garrett, Private in 9th Army Air Corps. Coley, Chapman and a Master Sgt., 23rd Apr. 1944
They gathered in the south of England.
Pattiford – Goodlet, Johnson – Hovington, 9th Army Air Corps, April 1944
They prepared for the day of decision.
Bradley – Bailey – Booth – Van Reed, 9th U.S. Army Air Corps, April 1944
They made no decisions themselves.
Basden. Mils. Liggans, U.S.A., May 1944
They imagined their lives after the battle.
Dulin. Slade. Johnson. Roebuck, U.S. Army, May 1944
They had their portraits taken before leaving.
Andrews, Pte. Powell, Sgt. Montgomery, Sgt. Montague, U.S. Air Force, May 1944
They left on the morning of June 6th.
Jones U.S.A., Nolan U.S.A., Scott U.S.A., Miles U.S.A., May 1944
Their portraits remained.
Bishop, Dailey, Bradley, Ferguson, U.S. Army, 1944

Decisive Portraits is derived from portraits taken by George Garland in April and May 1944 in Petworth, Sussex (see Very Miscellaneous).
Based on these portraits, Retratos decisivos was a temporary public art project, commissioned by and realized in collaboration with PhotoEspaña in Madrid in 2004.
Eight b/w photographs and a text panel, 38 x 28 cm each, edition of 2 copies
A catalogue is available in the series of white books.

Very Miscellaneous (1996)


^ Fabrica, Brighton, 11 October to 1 November 1997


^ Hasselblad Center, Konstmuseet Göteborg 1999


^ Tang Museum, Saratoga Springs 2007

Very Miscellaneous is based on the George Garland Collection and the archive of newspapers at the West Sussex Record Office. The work was commissioned by PhotoWorks as part of the Country Life series, curated by Val Williams.
Variable cluster of seventy b/w photographs, appr. 20 x 30 cm each.
Six portraits and six texts are available as diptychs (one portrait and one text in any combination; b/w prints, 36 x 24 cm each, edition of 3 copies + 1 AP).

Photographic Garbage Survey Project (1996–1997)


^ From Photographic Garbage Survey Project, Report No.2


^ Goethe-Institut, Galerie Condé, Paris 1996

For nearly fifteen years I’ve been collecting all photographs I’m finding in the street. Each photograph becomes part of the ongoing project Pictures from the Street. In the beginning, collecting this garbage was a casual activity, however, it slowly turned into an obsession. The longer I’ve been doing it and the more photographs I’ve been finding the more my way of perception changed. Now I don’t find photographs any more, I look for them – just like a truffle pig. Indeed I think that the nearly 400 photographs I have found so far are a treasure. Some of them are extremely fascinating images (mankind would have lost them irretrievably without my intervention) and the entire group forms a unique compendium of photographic garbage, an anti-museum. While museums collect and preserve those pictures which according to our society’s consensus are important samples of our present culture and should be kept for the future, I’m specialising in those images which obviously are considered so unsuitable and irritating that their makers and owners think they should not have any future at all. These images represent the other half of our culture.
In 1996 I started the Photographic Garbage Survey Project in order to collect and preserve thrown away photographs systematically. I travel to selected cities all over the world and stay there for some days or weeks. Every day I go for an erratic walk through another part of the city in order to collect all abandoned photographs. The result of these inspection tours is a report for each city consisting of the found photographs, a list of discovery sites, maps with the inspected streets marked, and a statistical evaluation. Altogether these reports form an international compendium of photographic pollution in modern cities. The project started in Vigo (May 1996). Subsequent cities include Paris (June 1996), Berlin (August 1996), Zurich (September 1996), São Paulo (November 1996), San Francisco (February 1997), and Rotterdam (July 1997).
JS, Berlin, August 1996
(Statement for the catalogue of the VII Fotobienal, Vigo 1996)

Arcana (1985–2004)


^ Berlin, April 1986


^ Madrid, February 1992


^ Cambridge, March 1992


^ Lisbon, March 1993

Prints made from found negatives.
20 b/w photographs, 34 x 39 cm on 40 x 45 cm paper, printed in 1996
45 b/w pigment ink prints, 20 x 23 cm on 23 x 27 cm paper, printed in 2008, edition of 3 copies + 1 AP
10 b/w pigment ink prints, 34 x 39 cm on 40 x 45 cm paper, printed in 2014, edition of 3 copies + 1 AP

A catalogue is available in the series of white books.

Statics (1995–2003)


^ Statics (invitation cards for art exhibitions), 1996, 60 x 70 cm


^ Statics (baseball cards 2), 1996, 40 x 50 cm


^ Statics (Walter Benjamin, Das Kunstwerk im Zeitalter seiner technischen Reproduzierbarkeit), 1997, 40 x 50 cm


^ Statics (pinup postcards), 1998, 50 x 60 cm


^ Statics (men’s fashion catalogue), 1999, 60 x 80 cm


^ Statics (women’s fashion catalogue), 1999, 60 x 80 cm


^ Statics (postcards of sunsets 2), 2003, 50 x 60 cm


^ Statics (Marlboro billboard), 2002, 235 x 315 cm, Foto Biënnale Rotterdam 2003


^ The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY 2007

Statics is a series of 81 pictures made from shredded photographs and printed matter.
Shredded photographs and printed matter mounted on archival board, unique works, various sizes.
A catalogue is available in the series of white books.

Photogenetic Drafts (1991)

This series of 32 photographs is based on the archive of a commercial photographer who donated the negatives he didn’t need any more to The Institute for the Reprocessing of Used Photographs. The photographer cut his negatives to prevent their future use. This attempt to preclude new prints triggered the creation of photographs that would not exist without the attempted destruction. Consistent point of view, consistent light, and consistent poses allowed the combination of two negatives into one single image. The resulting photographs are portraits of non-existing persons. They are based on the genetic pool of the population of a small town in Bavaria. Like in genetic engineering, existing information was dismantled and spliced to create formerly unknown mutations, playing with genetic inheritance, age, gender, and personality.
Cluster of portraits (178 x 314 cm) consisting of thirty-two b/w prints (37 x 28 cm each)
Photogenetic Drafts #s 4, 7, 8, 10, 15, 20, 24, 32 were reprinted in 2001 (48 x 34 cm each, edition of 3 copies + 1 AP)

A catalogue is available in the series of white books.

Erste allgemeine Altfotosammlung (1990)

First General Collection of Used Photographs
Year in and year out an unimaginable number of photographs are produced worldwide. Virtually every day each of us enlarges this gigantic mountain of photographs, without giving the consequences a second thought. But while photography seems a harmless leisure pursuit, the chemicals contained in all photographs pose enormous dangers to our health. What‘s more, photographs in such quantities increase visual pollution and undermine our thinking power—to say nothing of the moral dangers they pose for our children.
In these conditions it would be best if we stopped making photographs altogether—but in many cases this is hardly possible. Therefore, it is essential to professionally dispose of all photographs once they are no longer needed. Experts from East and West have warned us for decades about the impending, catastrophic consequences of the photo boom, but their pleas have fallen on deaf ears among those responsible in industry and politics. Today billions of used photographs are stored improperly in homes and businesses, waiting for desparately needed recycling facilities.
The Institute for the Reprocessing of Used Photographs, privately founded in 1990, offers a clear path out of this seemingly inescapable situation. The Institute maintains all facilities necessary to professionally reprocess photos of all kinds—or, in hopeless cases, dispose of them ecologically. We collect used, abandoned and unfashionable photographs in black and white or color, including instant photographs, photobooth strips, entire photo albums, contact sheets, test strips, negatives and slides, as well as damaged and shredded items, in both small and large quantities.
Remember, used photographs do not belong in the household garbage—they need special disposal. Many photographs can serve a new and useful purpose after reprocessing. For the sake of our environment, send your used photographs to the Institute for the Reprocessing of Used Photographs.
Participation in this recycling program is guaranteed free of charge!


^
Torn-up studio portraits mounted on archival board, 50 x 40 cm each

Meisterwerke der Fotokunst (1989)

Meisterwerke der Fotokunst. Die Sammlung Fricke und Schmid. Zwanzig Originalreproduktionen unbekannter Werke bekannter Fotografen
Masterpieces of Photography. The Fricke and Schmid Collection. Twenty original reproductions of unknown works by well-known photographers
This collectors’ edition is an ironic comment on the accidential nature of photography. It consists of twenty “original reproductions” of anonymous photographs that were selected from a vast collection of fleamarket snapshots because of their striking resemblance to the works of well-known photographers. The photos’ titles and dates match the respective photographers’ œuvre. A short introduction attributed to photo historian Helmut Gernsheim corroborates the standing of the collection. The work was launched on the occasion of photography’s 150th anniversary (collaboration with Adib Fricke).
Photographs by Adolphe de Meyer, Edward Steichen, E.J. Bellocq, Hannah Höch, Eugène Atget, August Sander, Berenice Abbot, Man Ray, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, René Magritte, Ralph Gibson, Robert Frank, Ansel Adams, Gisèle Freund, Harry Callahan, David Hockney, Duane Michals, William Wegman, Helmut Newton, Cindy Sherman.
Twenty matted photographs in a slipcase, 25.5 x 20.5 x 4.5 cm, edition of 20 + V copies

Faits divers (1988/2006)



Faits divers is a series of prints based on factual news photographs that unfold an unintentional poetic character in combination with their deadpan captions.
Twelve b/w photographs, 30 x 40 cm each. The series was reprinted in 2006 (pigment ink prints, 40 x 50 cm each, edition of 3 copies + 1 AP).
A catalogue is available in the series of white books.

Originalfoto (1987/2019)

Ten portraits published in the mid 1980s in lonely hearts ads in a Berlin tabloid.
The series was originally made in 1987 and reconstructed in 2019 (pigment ink prints, 24 x 30 cm each)

Zur Theorie der Fotografie (1986)

For the series On the Theory of Photography I re-photographed the reverse sides of selected fleamarket snapshots with inscriptions by their former owners. In these short phrases we can catch a glimpse of popular understanding of photography and its forms of use in society. We can consider these naive descriptions and observations as the raw material for a theory of popular photography that has yet to be written.
Installation with 36 framed b/w photographs

April 1986 (1986/2016)

Something was coming upon us. You couldn’t see it, you couldn’t hear it, you couldn’t taste it, you couldn’t smell it. Yet anyone following the news could feel the end of the world moving closer. Feeling helpless, I tried to produce an image of the imperceptible. I photographed the grey sky over Berlin, full of threat. In view to the east, the uncanny, something no wall could stop. But I was a bit careless in developing the film. So in the images you can see what you couldn’t see in the sky. One mistake made the other one visible.
Four pigment ink prints, 30 x 40 cm each, edition of 3 copies + 1 AP
(Originally made as a one-of-a-kind artist book the work was revised and completed with a new text on the occasion of the incident’s thirtieth anniversary.)

FixFoto (1986)

The print was made from a color negative strip that I found at the spot where the photographs were made and processed, in front of Berlin’s first one-hour lab. A closed circuit of making, processing, discarding, and finding a photograph.
B/W print mounted on aluminum 128 x 28.5 cm, edition of 3 copies + 1 AP

Archiv (1986–1999)


^ Archiv #1, 1986


^ Archiv #74, 1988


^ Archiv #103, 1990


^ Archiv #190, 1992


^ Archiv #227, 1992


^ Archiv #248, 1992


^ Archiv #253, 1992


^ Archiv #266, 1992


^ Archiv #317, 1993


^ Archiv #606, 1994


^ Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery,
Saratoga Springs 2007

Archiv is an analytical survey of international vernacular photography through the course of 20th century consisting of assortments of images – snapshots, studio photos, postcards, commercial photos, photos of missing people, newspaper images – grouped and classified according to their similarity on panels. The panels highlight the mechanical uniformity and conformity of image production, the collective patterns and rituals of popular photographic representations. The project is a history, a commentary, and a celebration of the mundane weirdness of commonplace photography.
The project consists of 726 panels, 40 x 50 cm each.
146 panels were in the traveling exhibition ⟩Knipsen⟨. Private Fotografie in Deutschland von 1900 bis heute (Taking Snapshots. Amateur Photography in Germany from 1900 to the Present). They are now in the archive of Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen, Stuttgart.
580 panels are in the collection of The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY.
A catalogue is available in the series of white books.

Security Check (1985–1987)

Before airports were equipped with X-ray devices, security staff checked carry-on bags manually. Travellers carrying a camera were requested to release the shutter once to prove the camera was not explosive. I carried a point-and-shoot camera on me only to make photographs in this duel situation. The security staff were obliged to look at the camera while they simultaneously tried to avoid being photographed. Eight times I managed to get at least a part of a person into the frame.
Eight b/w prints, 13 x 18 cm each, edition of 3 copies + 1 AP

Bilder von der Straße (1982–2012)


^ No.5, Berlin, April 1983


^ No.37, Berlin, August 1987


^ No.74, Barcelona, April 1990


^ No.75, Berlin, May 1990


^ No.83, Berlin, July 1990


^ No.140, Belo Horizonte, August 1992


^ No.187, São Paulo, September 1993


^ No.216, San Francisco, March 1994


^ No.217, Los Angeles, March 1994


^ No.246, Paris, October 1994


^ No.309, Paris, August 1995


^ No.344, Berlin, December 1995


^ No.379, New York, March 1996


^ No.409, Berlin, June 1996


^ No.414, Paris, July 1996


^ No.460, Rio de Janeiro, December 1996


^ No.629, Berlin, November 1999


^ No.714, Chicago, August 2001


^ No.744, Recife, April 2002


^ No.830, Madrid, February 2004


^ No.885, New York, February 2007


^ The Photographers’ Gallery, London 2007

The series Bilder von der Straße (Pictures from the Street) started in 1982 and came to an end in 2012 with the 1000th finding.
One thousand A4 panels of found photographs mounted on board, 29.7 x 21 cm each.
A complete documentation of the work is available as a four-volume book.

Artist Books

Find links to individual books with detailed information about the respective titles on the Printed Matter page. For purchasing books please go to the Shop.

A meeting on holiday, Neroc’VGM in collaboration with KesselsKramer, Amsterdam 2003
American Photographs, self-published, Berlin 2011
Are you searching for me?, self-published, Berlin 2012/2015
Around the World in Eighty Minutes, self-published, Berlin 2011/2015
Art Addicts Anonymous, Edition Fricke & Schmid, Berlin 1993
Art Peace China Daily, self-published, Berlin 2018
Awesome Errors, Dreadful Glitches, self-published, Berlin 2012
Belo Horizonte, Praça Rui Barbosa, self-published, Berlin 2004
Bilder von der Straße, Edition Fricke & Schmid, Berlin 1994
Bilderbuch, self-published in cooperation with Zephyr, Berlin/Mannheim 2012
Bilderbuch 2.0, self-published, Berlin 2017
Blätterbuch, self-published, Zerpenschleuse 2020
Borrowed, self-published, Berlin 2012
But Is It Art?, self-published, Berlin 2010/2012
Cool Pictures, Cool Stuff, self-published, Berlin 2009/2012
Das Bild des Fotografen, Edition Fricke & Schmid, Berlin 1988
Der Leser hat das Bild, Edition Fricke & Schmid, Berlin 1988
E-Book, self-published, Berlin 2016
Errata, Edition Fricke & Schmid, Berlin 1989
Erste allgemeine Altfotosammlung, Edition Fricke & Schmid, Berlin 1991
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Photography, self-published, Berlin 2012
Faits divers, Edition Fricke & Schmid, Berlin 1989
Fifteen Minutes on Broadway, self-published, Berlin 2014
Fotobuch, self-published, Berlin 2018
Found on Flickr, self-published, Berlin 2013
Gesucht wird …, self-published, Berlin 2018
History Lessons, self-published, Berlin 2015
Ikea Sucks, self-published, Berlin 2015
Il Mare, self-published, Zerpenschleuse 2019
Illustriertes Tierleben, self-published, Berlin 2010
In Dialogue, self-published, Berlin 2009
Joachim Schmid Is Martin Parr · Martin Parr Is Joachim Schmid, self-published, Berlin 2009
Kunst gegen Essen, Edition Fricke & Schmid, Berlin 1996
Kunstgeschichte für alle, self-published, Berlin 2013
L.A. Women, self-published, Berlin 2011
Lambe Lambe, Editorial RM, Barcelona/Mexico City 2014
Little Portraits, self-published, Zerpenschleuse 2019
Lost Memories, self-published, Berlin 2010/2012
Main Street, self-published, Berlin 2015
Menschen des 20. Jahrhunderts, self-published, Berlin 2013
Naked Lunch Remix, self-published, Zerpenschleuse 2022
O Campo, self-published, Berlin 2010
Ohne Worte, self-published, Berlin 2013
On Photography, self-published, Zerpenschleuse 2021
One Day in May, self-published, Berlin 2014
One Hundred Things to Remember, self-published, Berlin 2018
Other People’s Photographs (96 vol.), self-published, Berlin 2008–2011
Other People’s Photographs (2 vol.), self-published, Berlin 2012
Phantome, Edition Fricke & Schmid, Berlin 1992
Porträts, Edition Fricke & Schmid, Berlin 1989
Quick Response, self-published, Berlin 2010/2012
Replicated, self-published, Berlin 2012
Retratos decisivos, PhotoEspaña, Madrid 2004
Road Trip USA, self-published, Zerpenschleuse 2020
Seventy-Five Are Better Than Thirty-Two, self-published, Berlin 2011
sind wir dumm – Ein Lexikon der Suchvorschläge, self-published, Berlin 2017
Sinterklaas ziet alles, Nederlands Foto Instituut, Rotterdam 1998
Sixty-Eight Minutes on the Sunset Strip, self-published, Berlin 2014
Sorry. A Book of Errors, self-published, Berlin 2016
Souvenirs, self-published, Berlin 2010/2015
Tausend Himmel, The Photographers’ Gallery, London 2007
The ABC of Popular Desire, self-published, Berlin 2013
The Coach House / An Inventory, self-published in cooperation with Graphic Design Museum, Berlin/Breda 2011
The Face in the Desert, National Museum of Photography, Bradford 1999
The Missing Pictures, self-published, 2009/2012
The Showbag Book, self-published, Berlin 2008
The Watch, self-published, Zerpenschleuse 2020
Twentysix Gasoline Stations, Every Building on the Sunset Strip, Thirtyfour Parking Lots, Nine Swimming Pools, A Few Palm Trees, No Small Fires, self-published, Berlin 2009
Two Hundred Alternative Facts about Mr T, self-published, Berlin 2017
Unfortunate Selfies, self-published, Berlin 2016
Very Miscellaneous, PhotoWorks, Maidstone 1997
Viaggio in Italia, P420 Arte Contemporanea, Bologna 2015
Vom Gehen, self-published, Berlin 2017
Von eigener Hand, self-published, Berlin 2013
When Boredom Strikes, self-published, Berlin 2009/2012
X Marks the Spot, self-published, Berlin 2013
¥€$, self-published, Leerdam 2016

My books are in the following collections:
Alfred R. Goldstein Library, Ringling College of Art and Design, Sarasota
Arquipélago – Centro de Artes Contemporâneas, Ribeira Grande
Art Gallery of York University, Toronto
Bower Ashton Library, University of the West of England, Bristol
Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, München
Berlinische Galerie, Berlin
Biblioteca da Escola de Belas Artes da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte
Bibliothèque Kandinsky, Musée National d’Art Moderne Centre Pompidou, Paris
Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris
Booklet Library, Tokyo
Columbia University, New York
Fondation Jan Michalski, Montricher
Fonds Régional d’Art Contemporain Nord–Pas de Calais, Dunkerque
Fonds Régional d’Art Contemporain Normandie, Rouen
Fotohof, Salzburg
Freie Universität Berlin
Hasselblad Center, Gothenburg
Ingalls Library, The Cleveland Museum of Art
International Center of Photography, New York
John M. Flaxman Library, School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Koninklijke Bibliotheek, Nationale Bibliotheek von Nederland, The Hague
Kunst- und Museumsbibliothek der Stadt Köln
Kunstbibliothek, Berlin
Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz · Max-Planck-Institut
Les arts au mur / Artothèque de Pessac
Museo de arte contemporáneo de Vigo
Museo di Fotografia Contemporanea, Cinisello-Balsamo
Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona
Museum Folkwang, Essen
Museum of Modern Art, New York
National Art Library, Victoria & Albert Museum, London
Nederlands Fotomuseum, Rotterdam
New York Public Library
Paul D. Fleck Library and Archives, The Banff Centre
Rijksmuseum Research Library, Amsterdam
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam
Tate Library and Archive, London
Thomas J. Watson Library, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
University of California, Los Angeles
University of the West of England, Bristol
Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven