The Monument brings together for the first time the complete photographic series by Sibylle Bergemann documenting the creation of the Marx-Engels Monument, which was erected on the initiative of the GDR government in 1986, not far from Alexanderplatz in Berlin. This publication presents numerous previously unpublished photographs and opens up a new perspective on one of the photographer's most important groups of works. Bergemann's long-term documentary projectcreated between 1975 and 1986is not only presented as an impressive photographic narrative, through the accompanying essays, is also contextualised in historical, socio-political and photographic theory terms. The Monument thus offers comprehensive insights into the creative process behind the series and at the same time makes an important contribution to the critical reassessment of its significance and reception in the area of tension between art and ideology.
9 Introduction
11 The Theatres of Sibylle Bergemann
Sonia Voss
20 Archives
Sibylle Bergemann
31 Dismantling a Monument Before It Is Erected: On the Reception of Sibylle
Bergemanns Work Series Das Denkmal in East and West Germany
Lily von Wild
39 The Monument
Sibylle Bergemann
67 In Suspense
Sibylle Bergemanns Photographic Monuments
Steffen Siegel
73 Ein Gespenst Verlässt Europa
Heiner Müller
97 Translation to come
Christian Joschke
102 Archives
Sibylle Bergemann
113 Eleven years.
Frieda von Wild
118 Biography
Sibylle Bergemann was one of the most important German photographers of her time. She began photographing in the 1960s as an autodidact and initially worked for the magazine Das Magazin. She later became a freelance photographer for various publications, including Sibylle, Geo and Die Zeit. Her work includes portraits, fashion, reportage and urban photography, whereby she was particularly interested in social fringe zones and poetic image compositions. One of her best-known series documents the creation of the Marx-Engels monument in Berlin (1975-1986). In 1990 she co-founded the OSTKREUZ agency and became a member of the Akademie der Künste in 1994. Her works can be found in international collections, including the MoMA New York, Tate London, the Städel Museum and the Berlinische Galerie.
