RUTH ORKIN – WOMEN
Discover the fascinating photographic legacy of Ruth Orkin with previously undiscovered and never before shown (color) photographs in the new photo book Ruth Orkin - Women! Sensational negatives and slides from her archive have emerged and reveal a hitherto little-known side of this extraordinary photographer. Ruth Orkin, one of the formative photographers of the 1940s and 1950s, is illuminated anew by these unique finds as a sensitive, interested, witty and humorous chronicler of the world of women.
Ruth Orkin, Lilli Palmer and Rex Harrison, Set of Main Street to Broadway, New York, 1953 © Orkin/ Engel Film und Photo Archive und VG Bild-Kunst Bonn, 2023
She documented the lively goings-on in beauty salons, at cocktail parties, at dog shows and on film sets in Hollywood. Celebrities such as Lauren Bacall, Jane Russell, Joan Taylor and Doris Day are represented, as are waitresses, stewardesses and soldiers.
From December 8, 2023 to February 18, 2024, Orkin's fascinating photographs can be viewed live at f³ - freiraum für fotografie as part of a carefully curated exhibition. In addition to the exhibition opening, in the presence of many contributors, we would also like to draw your attention to various guided tours.
Exhibition opening
Thursday, December 7, 2023
7 p.m.
Speaking at the introduction: Katharina Mouratidi (Artistic Director f³ - freiraum für fotografie and curator of the exhibition), Nadine Barth (curator and publicist) and Mary Engel (Ruth Orkin Archive)
Photo tours
Sunday, January 7 and Februar 4, 2024; each at 11 a.m.
Wednesday, January 24 and February 14, 2024; each at 7 p.m.
The entrance fee for the guided tours is €8/€5 (reduced).
Pre-registration is requested.
f³ – freiraum für fotografie
Waldemarstraße 17
10179 Berlin
Ruth Orkin, El Al Airline Stewardess, Tel Aviv, Israel, 1951 © Orkin/ Engel Film und Photo Archive und VG Bild-Kunst Bonn, 2023
What manifests itself in these unique images is an impressive picture of women on the move. Women who are beginning to shed the conventions imposed on them and go their own way - confident, stylish and smart.
Ruth Orkin, born in 1921 as the daughter of a silent film actress in Hollywood, was a trailblazer. As one of the first women to study photojournalism at Los Angeles City College, she moved to New York in 1943. There she established herself as a freelance photographer and photojournalist for renowned publications such as The New York Times, LIFE, Look and Ladies' Home Journal. Her progressive work, which was honored by Hatje Cantz in 2021 in the illustrated book A Photo Spirit, was widely recognized in numerous exhibitions on the occasion of her 100th birthday.
Header Image: Ruth Orkin, Nanette Fabray, Set of The Band Wagon, Hollywood, 1952 © Orkin/ Engel Film und Photo Archive und VG Bild-Kunst Bonn, 2023
