FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE LOS ANGELES: April 22, 2014 Contact Information: Gerd Ludwig +1 323.882.6999 [email protected] http://www.gerdludwig.com GERD LUDWIG RECEIVES THE 2014 DR. ERICH SALOMON AWARD German-born photographer Gerd Ludwig is the recipient of the 2014 Dr. Erich- Salomon Award, the lifetime achievement award of the German Photographic Association. In previous years, publications and respected photographers like Paolo Pellegrin, Silvia Plachy, Sebastião Salgado, Martin Parr, Mary Ellen Mark and Robert Frank have received the honor for outstanding contributions to the field of photojournalism. The awards ceremony will take place on September 20th at the photokina trade fair in Cologne, Germany, and will be accompanied by an exhibition of Gerd Ludwig’s work in the Leica exhibition hall. Peter-Matthias Gaede, editor in chief of German Geo Magazine, will deliver the laudatory speech. ABOUT GERD LUDWIG – One of the few internationally recognized German professionals in the field, Gerd Ludwig’s ongoing coverage of the environmental issues and social changes following the breakup of the Soviet Union has garnered him the distinction as being the world’s foremost color photographer documenting the region. Drawing from the tradition of narrative photography, Gerd Ludwig’s work focuses on the fate of the individual, capturing images that broaden the mind and touch the soul. Reuel Golden, author and former editor in chief of the British Journal of Photography, lauds Gerd Ludwig’s work in his book Witness – The World’s Greatest News Photographers: “Yet despite these harsh realities, Ludwig’s photographs are imbued with an infectious optimism. Many photojournalists succumb to a slightly clichéd view of Russia and photograph the country in stark monochrome. Ludwig takes a more bold and colorful approach, which makes his subjects appear more human and less one-dimensional. He has a marvelous eye for the surreal juxtaposition of subject matter and a sure touch in the way he composes and crops his images.” Gerd Ludwig was born in Alsfeld, Germany, in 1947. Initially, he enrolled in German literature, sports, and political science at university. However, in 1968 he interrupted his studies and traveled throughout the USA and Scandinavia while working odd jobs as a bricklayer, seaman, and dishwasher. Upon his return, he started studying photography at Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen with renowned professor Dr. Otto Steinert. Upon graduation in 1974, Gerd Ludwig founded VISUM agency with André Gelpke and Rudi Meisel. As the first German photographers’ agency it was modeled on MAGNUM and intends to showcase the individuals’ work. Subsequently, his work took him around the world photographing for renowned German magazines SPIEGEL, Stern, Geo, Zeit Magazine, Merian, and Art. In 1984, Gerd Ludwig moved to New York and started working for National Geographic Magazine in 1989. Ever since, he has been a regular contributor with a focus on Europe and the former USSR. In 2001, Gerd published a retrospective of his documentation of the social, economic, and political shifts in the former Soviet Union in his book Broken Empire: After the Fall of the USSR. His engaged reporting on the nuclear catastrophe in Chernobyl is considered a milestone in modern photojournalism. On assignment for National Geographic Magazine, Gerd Ludwig took on the story of environmental pollution in the former USSR in 1993, bringing him to the destroyed Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant among many other places in the region. The feature, Lethal Legacy, spanned 47 pages in the magazine. In 2005, he returned to the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone and those areas in Ukraine and Belarus affected by the nuclear fallout. The easing of bureaucratic barriers in Ukraine allowed him to venture deeper into the reactor than any western still photographer before. The resulting feature ran as a cover story in April 2006 on the 20th anniversary of the disaster. In 2011 and 2013, Gerd Ludwig returned to document the reactor and its surroundings again to focus on the changes in the Zone. In May 2014, the culmination of his long-term coverage, his trilingual 20-year retrospective photo book The Long Shadow of Chernobyl is being published by Edition Lammerhuber in Baden, Austria with an essay by Mikhail Gorbachev. In financing his projects, Ludwig has also explored new paths. When traditional media outlets were not interested in covering Chernobyl on the 25th anniversary of the nuclear catastrophe, he was one of the first internationally renowned documentary photographers to create a Kickstarter campaign to crowd-fund his own project. He succeeded in collecting more than $23,000 – nearly 200% of his initial funding goal for another journey to the Exclusion Zone. This allowed him to publish a digital photo book, The Long Shadow of Chernobyl, as an interactive, multimedia iPad App. In 2014, another crowdfunding campaign supported the printing costs of his Chernobyl book project, raising over $45,000 – over 200% of his initial goal. Now based in Los Angeles, Gerd Ludwig is represented by INSTITUTE for Artist Management. While he continues to work for National Geographic Magazine, he photographs personal projects; exhibits his photographs in museums, galleries and festivals; lectures at universities; and conducts workshops internationally. Gerd is a veteran of the renowned A Day in the Life book series, occasionally shoots advertising, and has won numerous photographic awards, including the IPA’s 2006 Lucie Award for International Photographer of the Year. FOR MORE INFORMATION: http://www.gerdludwig.com ABOUT THE DR. ERICH SALOMON AWARD – The Dr. Erich Salomon Award (Dr.- Erich-Salomon-Preis) is a lifetime achievement award for photojournalists given by the German Society of Photography (Deutschen Gesellschaft für Photographie). It is dedicated to Erich Salomon, a pioneering German photojournalist of the Weimar era who is best known for his candid photographs of statesmen and celebrities. While hiding in the Netherlands, Salomon was betrayed by a Dutch Nazi and sent to the concentration camp in Auschwitz in 1994, where he died. FOR MORE INFORMATION: http://www.dgph.de/preise/salomon ABOUT THE DGPh – Set up in 1951, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Photographie (DGPh) brings together leading and outstanding personalities in the photographic world for the promotion of photography and its artistic and scientific applications. Its activities predominantly concern the cultural interests of photography and related imaging media. These include both the conventional process of photography and its many different fields of application in art, science, education, journalism, industry and politics, as well as the non-conventional methods and new forms of imaging media. Members are elected in recognition of their services to photography in the widest sense. FOR MORE INFORMATION: http://www.dgph.de GERD LUDWIG CURRICULUM VITAE Solo Exhibitions 2014 “The Long Shadow of Chernboyl“ Natural History Museum: Vienna, Austria 2013 “The Long Shadow of Chernboyl“ Velodrome, German Green Party Convention: Berlin, Germany 2012 “Joseph Beuys: A Journey Through the Lower Rhine” Museum Kurhaus Kleve: Kleve, Germany “The Long Shadow of Chernobyl” Kunst Haus, Nuremberg, Germany 2011 “The Long Shadow of Chernobyl” Marinekomplex: Zingst, Germany “The Long Shadow of Chernobyl” Headquarters of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development: London, UK 2010 “Peace on Earth or Earth to Pieces” Galerie Villa Ruh: Zingst, Germany “Russland – Eine Weltmacht im Wandel” Stadtmuseum Schleswig: Schleswig, Germany “Moscow Never Sleeps” FREELENS Galerie: Hamburg, Germany 2007 “Russia – A World Power In Change” Volkshochschule Chemnitz: Chemnitz, Germany “International Photography Awards 2006 Lucie Awards Winners” Farmani Gallery: Beverly Hills, California USA 2006 “Chernobyl – Living with Disaster” Festival Internazionale della Fotografia Digitale: Lucca, Italy “The Long Shadow of Chernobyl” Visa pour l’Image, Perpignan, France 2005 “National Geographic: Russland- Eine Weltmacht im Wandel.” Volksbank: Lahr, Germany “Se la Terra diventa l’Inferno – When Earth becomes Hell” Obiettivo Uomo Ambiente/International Biennial of photojournalism: Viterbo, Italy 2004 “National Geographic: Russland. Eine Weltmacht im Wandel.” Museum Haus Löwenberg: Gengenbach, Germany 2003 “Russland. Eine Weltmacht im Wandel.” VHS photogalerie: Stuttgart, Germany “Russland. Eine Weltmacht im Wandel.” Lichthof im Landeshaus des Landschaftsverbandes Westfalen-Lippe: Münster, Germany “Russland. Eine Weltmacht im Wandel.” Museum der Stadt Berleburg: Berleburg, Germany 2002 “Broken Empire: After the Fall of the Former Soviet Union” Visa pour l’Image: Perpignan, France “Broken Empire: After the Fall of the Former Soviet Union” Stephen Cohen Gallery: Los Angeles, California, USA “Russland. Eine Weltmacht im Wandel” Haus der Presse: Dresden, Germany 2001 “Russland. Eine Weltmacht im Wandel” Willy-Brandt-Haus: Berlin, and Gruner+Jahr Pressehaus: Hamburg, Germany “Fotografien: Russland – Nach dem Ende der Sowjetunion/ Auf den Spuren der Brüder Grimm” Hohaus Museum: Lauterbach, Germany 2000 “Tödliche Erblast – Zerstörte Umwelt in der ehemligen Sowjetunion,” and “Auf den Spuren der Brüder Grimm” Albert-Schweitzer Gymnasium: Alsfeld, Germany 1999 “Soviet Pollution” NIKON Galerie, Düsseldorf, Germany “Soviet Pollution” Galerie in der Musikschule/Kunststiftung Poll: Berlin-Mitte, Germany 1998 “Soviet Pollution” Washington Center for Photography: Washington, D.C., USA 1996