Günter Rössler – the outrageous genius of erotic photography in the GDR
When people talk about Günter Rössler, they conjure something indecent to the point of genius. He's been called Germany's Helmut Newton, but his work is more likely a cross between Newton and the adult films of the early 1980s. Incidentally, the photographer himself never liked being compared to his legendary colleague. Rössler is inimitable. He was a pioneer of the erotic genre in East Germany, and for a long time, his work required not only talent but also a certain courage. (Caution: Nudity.)
Günther Rössler was born in 1926 in Leipzig. The war did not spare him, and in 1944, the very young Günther was drafted into the army. However, his service was short-lived. During an assault on a fortified hill, Rössler was seriously wounded. He was captured by the Red Army, where he spent over a year. After the war, he returned home and in 1946 found work as a salesman in a photography shop in Bad Nauheim.
In 1947, Ressler enrolled at the University of Graphic and Book Design in Leipzig. After graduating in 1951, he worked as a staff photographer for various East German magazines. Until the early 1990s, the photographer was known only in his home country, where Ressler's name first became famous in 1979, when he organized a daring exhibition of erotic photographs in the town of Grimme.
The event was even favorably received by the authorities, after which the photographer, emboldened, began organizing exhibitions throughout East Germany. Critics deemed his work "non-offensive," and even schoolchildren were allowed to attend. Naturally, the artist carefully selected his photographs, displaying the most modest ones.
In 1984, Günter Rössler found himself in a curious situation. His photo was published in West Germany by Playboy. The series in the "bourgeois" magazine was titled "Girls from the GDR." It seemed the photographer had gotten himself into trouble. But he got away with it. However, Rössler only received 15 percent of the 10,000 West German marks he was paid—the rest was legally confiscated by his socialist homeland.
By the time the Berlin Wall fell, Rössler was the most renowned erotic photographer in East Germany. In the early 1990s, Günter became the subject of yet another scandal. After his wife's death in 1991, Rössler married his model, Kirsten Schlegel, who was 43 years his junior.
The master later admitted that the relationship began while his wife was still alive. Kirsten was only 14 years old at the time. After their wedding, they founded the modeling agency VOILÀ!. In 2003, Kirsten gave birth to Ressler's daughter. The couple worked together for many years, and after the photographer's death in December 2012, Schlegel continued his work.
Günther Rössler left behind a complex legacy: on the one hand, a bold innovator who changed attitudes toward eroticism in art; on the other, a man whose life raises questions and debates. So where, in your opinion, is the line drawn between art, freedom of expression, and moral norms?