Dieter Blum: Cowboys, The First Shooting 1992

The Daimler Contemporary is simultaneously holding exhibitions by two artists who both have biographical roots in Esslingen in Baden-Württemberg, and are also known for artworks produced in the USA: Adolf Fleischmann and Dieter Blum.

Dieter Blum, born in Esslingen in 1936, was invited to a first test shoot for Marlboro in the USA in 1992. The pictures from this shoot, which have never previously been exhibited, provided the basis for Blum’s subsequent fame as the most internationally famous photographer working in this context. Dieter Blum was a strong influence not only on the Marlboro campaign, but on the product advertising and documentary photography of the era in general. A short while later, his photographs provided the ‘material’ for the famous cowboy photos by Richard Prince – making his work indirectly relevant to the art context. Blum has been creating commercial and free artistic photography since the 1960s. His photographic series are dedicated to themes such as Africa, Nippon, German landmarks, Dance, Shell, and portraits of artists and musicians. His artwork has been exhibited in numerous German and international galleries and museums. In 2015, Blum received the Médaille Vermeil from the Societé Arts-Sciences-Lettres in Paris for his life’s work – the first photographer, and one of only a very small number of Germans, to do so in the society’s 100-year history.