Born in Munich in 1936, Thomas Hoepker ranks among the most influential German photojournalists of the late 20th century. As such, he not only witnessed but helped shape what is often referred to as the second golden age of photojournalism, following the 1920s and 1930s. Hoepker has made photographic history not only with his contributions to magazines such as Stern, Geo, Kristall and the Münchner Illustrierte, but also as an art director, writer and filmmaker. Many of his black-and-white photo essays are considered classics of their genre.
In 1964, working as a reporter for Stern, Hoepker had the opportunity to portray boxing legend Muhammad Ali, and continued to photograph Ali at regular intervals over the course of a decade. In 1966, Hoepker and his then-wife, Stern journalist Eva Windmöller, joined the boxing legend in London and Chicago and in 1970, he was present with his camera when Ali, who had been out of the ring for some time, was preparing for the “fight of the century” against Joe Frazier. Hoepker met up with Ali again years later when the latter was already debilitated by Parkinson’s. Many of these images have become iconic and were exhibited in major museums and included in renowned collections around the world.
In 1976, Hoepker moved to New York as a correspondent for Stern and, until 1981, he was director of the American edition of GEO. From 1987 to 1989, he was Art Director of Stern in Hamburg. In 1989, Hoepker became the first German national to be accepted by Magnum as a full member, later serving as its president from 2003 to 2006. Diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2017, he set out to fulfill a long-held dream: to travel across the United States one last time, retracing the journey he made in the early 1960s for his renowned "Heartland" project. A film team accompanied him and his wife, filmmaker Christine Kruchen, resulting in “Dear Memories”, a visually powerful and touching documentary about a photographer who has spent a lifetime capturing cultural and historical memories and for whom these images now function as a kind of “outsourced” memory.
Thomas Hoepker passed away peacefully on July 10, 2024, surrounded by his family. Over the past decade, Bildhalle was closely associated with Thomas Hoepker and presented his iconic images in multiple solo exhibitions in Zurich and Amsterdam.
"Thomas Hoepker's pictures are characterized by exuberant liveliness. However, he does not turn a blind eye to the misery of the world and has never succumbed to the temptation of exploiting the horrors of the afflicted locations to which he has been sent. He contradicts the cynical observation that it is often the reporter's good fortune to record the misfortune of others, instead demonstrating in his pictures that the misfortunes of others necessarily apply to everyone. He has never failed to treat his camera as a weapon in the fight for justice.
In the final analysis, it has always been the people with all their worries, quirks and idiosyncrasies, who play the most important role. Hoepker's unusual flair for composition invariably goes hand in hand with a profoundly humanist sensibility."
Freddy Langer