Café Lehmitz
Old and still new, new yet unchanged - that's the story of Café Lehmitz. Presenting 40 prints from the photographer's archive, the show takes place to celebrate the recent re-issue of Anders Petersen's impressive and infamous documentary classic, first published in 1978 and long out of print.
Café Lehmitz was located near the Reeperbahn in Hamburg, Germany. Open for most of 24 hours, it was frequented by sailors and stokers from all corners of the world. By merchants, dockers and cabdrivers. By prostitutes, striptease dancers and pimps. By poets, small time criminals and other night-revellers. One thing they had in common: they were given the cold shoulder by ‘respectable society’.Swedish photographer Anders Petersen came across the place at the end of the Sixties and for nearly three years would spend most of his days and nights near the tables, benches and dance floor where life was lived to the full. His debut book Café Lehmitz – as dark, wild and rugged as the place itself – was published in 1978. It instantly made his name as a passionated chronicler of unruly daily life. The cover-image of the book would in 1985 be used by Tom Waits for his LP Rain Dogs.
Since then Anders Petersen (1944) has published numerous books. He is one of Scandinavia’s most influential documentary photographers and has received international acclaim. In 2003 he was awarded the prestigious Prix du Photographe at the Arles Photofestival.
Together with Antoine d’Agata, Ken Schles, John Davies and Adrienne van Eekelen, Petersen was one of the participants in Promised Land, the sequel of commissions organized by Noorderlicht between 2001 and 2004.His photographs for this project are featured in the exhibition Promised Land which will be the opening exibition of the new Noorderlicht gallery in the Spring of 2005.
Café Lehmitz, new edition, is published by Schirmer & Mosel. Price: eur 29,80.See www.schaden.com or www.schirmer-mosel.de