Timm Rautert | New Book 'Timm Rautert and the Lives of Photography'

Timm Rautert, Koordinate 2 / Coordinate 2, 1998.

Timm Rautert and the Lives of Photography by Timm Rautert published by Steidl and co-published with Museum Folkwang, Essen is out now. The collection of works by one of Germany’s outstanding contemporary photographers releases just in time to celebrate his 80th birthday.

The highly-anticipated book depicts work from the past 80 years of Rautert’s life—from his time as a student under German photographer Otto Steinert to his experimental work as an adult. In the past, Rautert has photographed notable individuals like Andy Warhol, Franz Erhard Walther, and Walter de Maria as well as documenting the lives of migrant workers, the homeless, and the automobile and computer industries.

The photographer is also known for having a knack for artist’s portraits and capturing not only the individual, but their surroundings in hope of encapsulating their identity.

Timm Rautert, Series of Variations, Semester assignment, 1967.

Timm Rautert, Gehäuse des Unsichtbaren / Houses of the Invisible, 1992.

Rautert has an extensive oeuvre of books that portray his passion as a visual storyteller under his belt, including: When We Don’t See You, You Don’t See Us Either (2007), No Photographing (2011), Josef Sudek, Prague 1967 (2016), Vintage (2017), Germans in Uniform (2018), Anfang/Beginnings (2019) and Bildanalytische Photographie / Image-Analytical Photography, 1968–1974 (2020).

Published by Steidl, Rautert’s newest book offers an inside look at the trendsetter and visionary of photography through his most comprehensive project featuring unpublished photos, an annotated biography, and six essays.

Timm Rautert, Porsche, Zuffenhausen, 1968.