Kerstin Meincke, Petra Steinhardt (Hrsg.): Germaine Krull: CHIEN FOU, MACK Books London/Berlin 2025
Paperback
Design: Helmut Völter
17 x 24 cm
320 pages with 95 illustrations
ISBN 978-1-917651-21-9 [English]
ISBN 978-1-917651-22-6 [Francais]
ISBN 978-1-917651-23-3 [Deutsch]
Germaine Krull is widely known for her outstanding photographic work of the 1920s and 1930s. Alongside this artistic practice, she also produced an immensive body of autobiographical and autofictional writings, reportage, political commentary, and literary narratives, positioning herself as a chronicler of the twentieth century. These texts trace how external circumstances — most notably the Second World War — shaped her life and work, and how Krull ultimately made a conscious break with Europe in order to establish new centres of life in Thailand and India.
The exhibition »Germaine Krull: CHIEN FOU« at Museum Folkwang brought texts and photographs into direct dialogue for the first time, making visible Krull’s self-conception and self-confidence as artist, thinker, and woman. The accompanying publication presents a selection of her writings, ranging from artistic manifestos and political essays to autobiographical recollections, accompanied by Krull’s photographs and archival materials that have until now received little public attention. This collection not only offers a fresh perspective on Krull’s photographic practice but also introduces her as a distinctive literary voice.