Jörg Colberg Explained

Jörg M. Colberg (born 15 February 1968)[1] is a German writer, educator and photographer,[2] living in Northampton, Massachusetts, USA.[3] He is the founder and editor of Conscientious, a blog dedicated to contemporary fine-art photography.[4] [5] He worked as a research scientist in astronomy[6] and has been a professor of photography at the Hartford Art School.[7]

Life and work

Colberg studied physics and astronomy at the University of Bonn; he earned a Ph.D. in physics (theoretical cosmology) at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics. He moved to the United States in 2000. After a short and unsatisfying experience in the computer programming industry. Colberg returned as a postdoc at the University of Pittsburgh.[8]

He discusses and dissects contemporary fine art photography on his blog, Conscientious, started in 2002.[4] [9] [10] In 2009, Source included Conscientious in its list of ten recommended photography blogs; in 2010 Wired said that "Joerg Colberg is a pioneer in photography blogging, and his blog Conscientious maintains a tight editorial voice";[11] and in 2012 Sean O'Hagan included it among his few most recommended online photography websites and publications.

In 2006, American Photo named Colberg one of their Photography Innovators.[12]

Colberg is the author of Understanding Photobooks: The Form and Content of the Photographic Book (2016), a guide to making photobooks. He has contributed essays to photography publications, including Foam Magazine,[13] British Journal of Photography,[14] and Creative Review.[15] [16] [17] He has written introductory essays for photography monographs,[18] guest-edited photography exhibitions and photobooks.

Along with Andrés Marroquín Winkelmann, he was a founder of the short-lived photobook publishing company Meier & Müller.[19]

From 2010, Colberg was a faculty member of the Hartford Art School.[20] he was living in Northampton, Massachusetts.[3]

In the photobook Vaterland (2020), Colberg reflects on the rise of anti-immigrant racism and xenophobia in Germany, "which he believes is not being taken seriously enough",[3] with right-wing ideology having become normalised.[21] It was described in the British Journal of Photography that Colberg achieves this through "an atmosphere of uneasiness. [. . .] There is little contrast between black and white. [. . .] Each picture frames a lingering uncertainty; something out of place. [. . .] The images work together to create a mood of angst." He made the images in Berlin, Hamburg and Warsaw.[3]

Publications

Publications by Colberg

Publications with contributions by Colberg

Awards

External links

Notes and References

  1. https://web.archive.org/web/20040803024716/http://lahmu.phyast.pitt.edu/~colberg/biography.htm Biography page
  2. News: Kenneth. Dickerman. 2021-03-15. In Sight: Perspective: This book was born from the photographer's unease with the far right's influence in Germany. Washington Post. 15 March 2021. 0190-8286.
  3. Web site: 2021-03-14. As the radical far-right in Germany gathers support, Jörg Colberg warns of the danger it poses. British Journal of Photography.
  4. News: The best photography websites, publications and galleries. 16 November 2012 . 4 July 2016 . Sean . O'Hagan . Sean O'Hagan (journalist) . . London .
  5. Web site: Joerg Colberg: Founder and Editor, Conscientious. 1 January 2015 . . 14 June 2012 .
  6. "Postdocs and visitors", Department of Physics, Carnegie Mellon University. As archived by the Wayback Machine on February 12, 2006.
  7. Web site: Jörg Colberg . Hartford Art School. https://web.archive.org/web/20190422215546/http://www.hartfordphotomfa.org/content/dr-j%C3%B6rg-m-colberg . 2019-04-22 . As archived by the Wayback Machine on April 22, 2019.
  8. See for example the note specifying academic affiliation attached to his name as coauthor of "Simulations of the formation, evolution and clustering of galaxies and quasars", Nature 435 (2005), pp. 629–636.
  9. Web site: 10 Photography-Related Blogs You Should Read. 2009 . 4 July 2015 . .
  10. Web site: 2021-04-11. Do Blue-Chip Photographers Prop up Global Capitalism?. 29 March 2021. Aperture.
  11. Web site: Get to Know Our Favorite Photobloggers. 11 October 2010 . 1 January 2015 . Pete . Brook . .
  12. "Photography Innovators of 2006", American Photo, popphoto.com, 16 December 2008 [sic]. Accessed 6 January 2015.
  13. Web site: Issue #23 / City Life / Reinier Gerritsen . 1 January 2015 . . Foam Magazine . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120106140230/http://www.life.com/gallery/57551/lifecoms-2011-photo-blog-awards . January 6, 2012 .
  14. 2012 . Jörg . Colberg. Better by Design . . 159 . 7797 . 62–67 . Incisive Financial Publishing Limited . https://web.archive.org/web/20120324005854/http://www.bjp-online.com/british-journal-of-photography/report/2139689/design-role-design-modern-photobooks . 2012-03-24 .
  15. "Crit: What we ask from a photograph", Creative Review. Accessed 1 January 2015.
  16. "Crit: Brodovitch at the ballet", Creative Review. Accessed 1 January 2015.
  17. "Crit: (Top) secret America: Hidden in plain sight", Creative Review. Accessed 1 January 2015.
  18. Tim Richmond: Last Best Hiding Place, ; Hellen van Meene: Tout va disparaître, ; etc.
  19. "Meier & Müller About Page", Accessed 1 January 2015.
  20. "Biographies: Jörg Colberg"; p. 78 within "Exhibition talks/panels", European Month of Photography, 2016. Available "here at silo.tips. Accessed 12 September 2020.
  21. Web site: Brad. Feuerhelm. 2021-01-30. Jörg Colberg Vaterland As Then, Now. 30 January 2021. American Suburb X.
  22. Book: At the Edge of the Known World. 7 July 2016 . . 22 March 2014 .
  23. Book: . Observed : = Observados. 927603042.
  24. Web site: Life.com's 2011 Photo Blog Awards. https://web.archive.org/web/20120106140230/http://www.life.com/gallery/57551/lifecoms-2011-photo-blog-awards . 6 January 2012 . 4 July 2016 . . Life.com . The citation reads:

    Perhaps it's the earnest - and rather cryptic - name. Maybe it's the formal, intense headshot of the blog's creator, Joerg Colberg, that suggests a seriously intellectual undertaking. And indeed, Conscientious is seriously intellectual; luckily, though, Colberg's is a refreshing, bracing intellect, one fueled by a genuine curiosity about - and love of - photography. This is one of the longest-running photo blogs out there, and since its founding in 2002 has offered countless profiles of photographers and their work: Aaron Ruell's marvelous environmental portraits and Alex te Napel's moving and unsettling "Faces of Alzheimer's" portraits, to name just two. And the blog is packed: Readers will also find in-depth interviews, news and commentary on exhibitions, and book reviews, as well as Colberg's rigorous and wide-ranging musings on matters large (one post: "What makes great photography?") and small. There's not an ounce of fluff here, which is why Conscientious is rightly seen and lauded as one of the very few essential photography destinations on the Web.

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