Following the successful show »Ruth Orkin – A Photo Spirit in 2021«, f³ – freiraum für fotografie now presents newly discovered and previously unpublished images by American photographer Ruth Orkin.

Ruth Orkin was one of the professional women photographers of the 1940s and 1950s. Although she published in numerous newspapers and magazines such as the New York Times, Life or Look, and her photographs were part of the legendary exhibition The Family of Man at MoMA, her work, which is on a par with that of the great photographers of her time, is still little known internationally. One of her most important photographs is »American Girl in Italy« from 1951, which became a symbol of the women’s movement of the 1960s and 1970s. The street scene shows a young woman striding through a line of whistling men.

Tracing the photographer’s footsteps, Nadine Barth, curator and publicist @barthouseprojects, and Katharina Mouratidi, Artistic Director f³ – freiraum für fotografie, came across a largely unpublished, multi-layered and unique body of work that reveals a little-known side of Ruth Orkin: That of a sensitive, interested, witty, and funny chronicler of American women of the 1940s and 1950s.

With biting humor, the photographer devised reportages such as »Who Works Harder«, which compares the life of a housewife and mother with that of a career woman, documented women in beauty salons, at cocktail parties, at dog shows and on the film set in Hollywood. In the footage we encounter Lauren Bacall, Jane Russell, Joan Taylor, and Doris Day, but also waitresses, stewardesses, soldiers, and best friends.

What Ruth Orkin’s subtle but radically subversive shots capture are images of women on the move who are beginning to shed the conventions imposed on them and go their own way: self-confident, stylish, smart and far ahead of their time.

Ruth Orkin (1921–1985) began taking photographs at the age of ten. In 1939 she studied photojournalism at Los Angeles City College, the same year she produced her first major photographic work. At the age of 17, she crossed the United States by bicycle and camera on her way to the World’s Fair, once from Los Angeles to New York. As a freelance photographer, she worked for Life, Look and Ladies Home Journal, among other magazines. On the occasion of her 100th birthday in 2021, her work was rediscovered and shown for the first time in a solo exhibition in Germany at f³ – freiraum für fotografie.

The exhibition was curated by Nadine Barth and Katharina Mouratidi.

Accompanying the exhibition is the photo book »Ruth Orkin – Women« bei Hatje Cantz. It is available at f³ – freiraum für fotografie. Edited by Nadine Barth and Katharina Mouratidi. 2023, 144 pages, 100 illustrations, hardcover 26,5 x 26,5 cm, 38 €.

Thursday, December 7, 2023, 7 pm
Opening reception
Speakers: Katharina Mouratidi (Artistic Director f³ – freiraum für fotografie), Nadine Barth (Curator and Publicist @barthouseprojects), Mary Engel (Archive Ruth Orkin). Free Admission!

Monday, Dec 11, 2023, 7 pm
SALON REVUE: COLLECTIVE GAPS IN THE GAZE
With philosopher Mara Recklies, photographer Julius Matuschik and photographer Shirin Abedi. Admission: 8/5 €.
Online Ticket

Sunday, Jan 7 & Feb 4, 2024, 11 am
Guided tour (de):
Every first Sunday of the month we guide through the exhibition. Admission: 8/5 €.
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Wednesday, Jan 10 & Feb 7, 2024, 7 pm
FOTO-FILM: THE WOMEN
Filmscreening of an elegantly staged comedy with humour, bitter irony and cynicism about the lives of upper-class women in Manhattan, with an all-female cast.
Admission: 8/5 €.
Online Ticket

Wednesday, Jan 24 & Feb 14, 2024, 7 pm
Guided tour & drinks (de):
Exhibition curators Nadine Barth & Katharina Mouratidi provide insights into the work of photographer Ruth Orkin. Admission: 15/10 €.
Online Ticket

Wednesday, Jan 24 & Feb 14, 2024, 7 pm
Guided tour & drinks (de):
Exhibition curators Nadine Barth & Katharina Mouratidi provide insights into the work of photographer Ruth Orkin. Admission: 15/10 €.
Online Ticket

Sunday, Feb 18, 2024, 11 am
Curator’s guided tour
At the end of the exhibition, Katharina Mouratidi will guide you through the exhibition one last time and provide you with background information on the individual exhibits and the development of the project. Admission 8/5 €.
Online Ticket