In the four episodes of this podcast the culture journalist Anne Waak explores the life, work and personality of one of Germany’s best-known photographers: Sibylle Bergemann.
Anne Waak talks to friends and people who shared her journey, people who were close to her, lived with her, loved her, partied or worked with her. And she visits the places that played an important role in her biography.
An English transcript of all the episodes (which are in German) is available on this website via a subtitled video slideshow.
How a single mother and secretary in the East Berlin of the 1960s and 70s became an established photographer
“Sibylle” looks at Sibylle Bergemann’s everyday life and describes how she began her career in photography and her work for the fashion magazine “Sibylle”
The fashion spread with Katharina Thalbach in the GDR fashion and culture magazine "Sibylle"
Now and then there was trouble but once it was printed, it was printed. Then there was trouble but so what?
Where she and her friends and colleagues ate, drank and debated
Sibylle Bergemann, Hoppenrade, 1975
© Estate Sibylle Bergemann/OSTKREUZ. Courtesy Loock Galerie, Berlin“Oases” examines Bergemann’s social life. The photographer as a wife and mother, as a friend and as the host of numerous parties.
compiled by Lily and Frieda von Wild
Legendary parties at Hoppenrade
A recipe by Sibylle Bergemann that is still cooked today by her daughter and granddaughter. Here written down by Frieda von Wild:
What distinguished the private person Sibylle Bergemann and her pictures, how she worked and what it was like to stand in front of her camera
Sibylle Bergemann, Self-portrait, Schiffbauerdamm, Berlin 1986 (detail)
© Estate Sibylle Bergemann/OSTKREUZ. Courtesy Loock Galerie, Berlin“Emma” delves deeper into Sibylle Bergemann’s photography: What were her working principles? What was it like to be photographed by Bergemann? What kind of a person was she on the job? What was it like to stand in front of her camera?
She had exactly the right presence for a photographer.
Images of women are crucial to Bergemann’s oeuvre. Many are actors, artists, writers and fashion models, portrayed by the photographer from her own female perspective.
Sibylle Bergemann in front of the camera
MDR, Director and Producer: Pamela Meyer-Arndt
How did she respond to other places – in GDR times and later, when the world literally opened up to her?
“Travel” follows Bergemann’s travels, explaining how the photographer managed to visit (non-socialist) countries in the GDR years and asking what personal significance travelling had for Bergemann
In 1979, Sibylle Bergemann visited Paris for the first time. In 1982, a second time. Here, Bergemann photographs people on the street, in parks and in cafés.
MDR, Director and Producer: Pamela Meyer-Arndt
I didn't want to die until I was in New York.
Dakar, Senegal
In Dakar, Sibylle Bergemann photographed a fashion spread featuring the clothes of Senegalese designer Oumou Sy for GEO instead of the classical reportage which was originally planned.
Concept, research and moderation: Anne Waak
Recording: Olga Siemons, Art/Beats
Productiom: Art/Beats
Design and technical implementation of the website: 3pc GmbH Neue Kommunikation
Concept and project management: Linus Lütcke, Berlinische Galerie
Assistance: Carolin Wagner and Paulina Weiß, Berlinische Galerie
This project was made possible by the Friends of the Berlinische Galerie.
Anne Waak (*1982) is a journalist and writer. She contributes articles about cultural and social issues, including to Zeit Online, Süddeutsche Zeitung and Monopol. She recently published the photography book “Aus einem Land vor unserer Zeit – Die Kinder von Kleinwelka” (with Janne Gärtner, berlinartbooks, 2022). “Sibylle Bergemann: The Woman Behind the Pictures” is her first podcast. Anne Waak lives in Berlin.
