Jörg Colberg
Jörg M. Colberg (born 15 February 1968) writes about contemporary photography, and is an educator. He was born in Germany and now lives in the United States. He is the founder and editor of Conscientious, a blog dedicated to contemporary fine-art photography.[1][2] He worked as a research scientist in astronomy from 2002 until 2010 and is now a professor of photography at the Hartford Art School.[3]
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.
He discusses and dissects contemporary fine art photography on his blog, Conscientious,[1] started in 2002.[4] In 2009 Source included Conscientious in its list of ten recommended photography blogs;[4] in 2010 Wired said that "Joerg Colberg is a pioneer in photography blogging, and his blog Conscientious maintains a tight editorial voice";[5] and in 2012 Sean O'Hagan included it among his few most recommended online photography websites and publications.[1]
In 2006 American Photo named Colberg one of their Photography Innovators.[6]
Colberg is the author of Understanding Photobooks: The Form and Content of the Photographic Book (2016), a guide to making photo-books. He has contributed essays to photography publications, including Foam Magazine,[7] British Journal of Photography,[8] and Creative Review.[9][10][11] He has written introductory essays for photography monographs,[12] guest-edited photography exhibitions and photobooks.
Along with Andrés Marroquín Winkelmann, Colberg is a founder of the photobook publishing company Meier & Müller.[13]
Publications
Publications by Colberg
- Linking cluster formation to large scale structure. Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, 1997. OCLC 60144166.
- Peculiar velocities of galaxy clusters. Munich: Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, 1998. OCLC 75873003.
- At the Edge of the Known World (According to Google Street View). Self-published.[14]
- Understanding Photobooks: the Form and Content of the Photographic Book. London: Focal, 2016. Hardback, ISBN 978-1138892712; paperback, ISBN 978-1138892699.
Publications with contributions by Colberg
- Image Makers, Image Takers: the essential guide to photography by those in the know. New York: Thames & Hudson, 2010. By Anne-Celine Jaeger. ISBN 9780500288924. Second expanded edition.
- Conditions by Andrés Marroquín Winkelmann, Meier & Müller, 2010. Edition of 300 copies. Edited by Adam Barto. Co-published and with an introductory essay by Colberg.
- Observed. London: Ivorypress, 2013. ISBN 978-8494053559. Sixth volume of C Photo. Guest edited by Colberg.[15]
- 2013 project. Caf́é Royal, 2013. ISBN 978-0957586703. Includes texts by Colberg, Craig Atkinson, Sarah Bodman and Lawrence Zeegen.
- Ostkreuz 25 Jahre. Ostfildern, Germany: Hatje Cantz, 2015. Edited by "Ostkreuz" (photo agency). ISBN 978-3-7757-4062-3. With a foreword by Wolfgang Kil and essays by Colberg and Laura Benz. Text in German, English and French.
- Tim Richmond: Last Best Hiding Place. Heidelberg: Kehrer, 2015. Edited by Tim Richmond and Lee C. Wallick. ISBN 9783868286038. With an essay by Colberg.
Awards
- 2011: Life.com picked Conscientious for its Photo Blog Awards.[16]
References
- O'Hagan, Sean (16 November 2012). "The best photography websites, publications and galleries". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
- "Joerg Colberg: Founder and Editor, Conscientious". Prix Pictet. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
- "Jörg Colberg". Hartford Art School. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
- "10 Photography-Related Blogs You Should Read". Source (photography magazine). 2009. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
- Brook, Pete (11 October 2010). "Get to Know Our Favorite Photobloggers". Wired. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
- "Photography Innovators of 2006", American Photo, popphoto.com, 16 December 2008 [sic]. Accessed 6 January 2015.
- "Issue #23 / City Life / Reinier Gerritsen". Foam Magazine. Foam Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam. Archived from the original on January 6, 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
- Colberg, Jörg (2012). "Better by Design". British Journal of Photography. Incisive Financial Publishing Limited. 159 (7797): 62–67. Archived from the original on 2012-03-24.
- "Crit: What we ask from a photograph", Creative Review. Accessed 1 January 2015.
- "Crit: Brodovitch at the ballet", Creative Review. Accessed 1 January 2015.
- "Crit: (Top) secret America: Hidden in plain sight", Creative Review. Accessed 1 January 2015.
- Tim Richmond: Last Best Hiding Place, ISBN 9783868286038; Hellen van Meene: Tout va disparaître, ISBN 9789055449323; etc.
- "Meier & Müller About Page", Accessed 1 January 2015.
- "At the Edge of the Known World". Blurb, Inc. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
- Observed : = Observados. WorldCat. OCLC 927603042.
- "Life.com's 2011 Photo Blog Awards". Life.com. Life. Archived from the original on 6 January 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2016. 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.
External links
- Official website
- Conscientious Photography Magazine
- Profile at Hartford Art School
- "Masters Series: Jörg M. Colberg, Krakow Photomonth 2016" (video) – Colberg giving a presentation, "Photography Online in 2016: What does any of it mean?", on the importance of understanding photographs because photographs play an important role for communication on the Internet