Glasgow in the 1960s: Photographs by Jürgen Schadeberg

Jürgen Schadeberg was born in Berlin in 1931 and trained as an apprentice photographer with a German press agency in Hamburg. In 1950, he emigrated to South Africa, where he became art director and chief photographer at Drum magazine. One of the few European photographers to document the lived realities of Black South Africans under apartheid, Schadeberg produced an enduring body of work that includes portraits of key political figures, among them Nelson Mandela.

The Gorbals

In 1964, Schadeberg left South Africa for the UK, working as a freelance photographer for international magazines while teaching at the Central School of Art and Design in London. During this period, he turned his attention to inner-city working-class communities, producing a substantial and focused body of work. Among these photographs are his records of the final years of the tenements in Glasgow’s Gorbals district, made shortly before their demolition in the 1960s as large-scale redevelopment and tower blocks reshaped the area.

The photographs taken by Schadeberg highlight the daily lives of families as they try to carry on with their lives during the demolition and re-housing phases, despite many of them living in semi-derelict conditions.

"I focused on everyday life, which for me was more interesting and often neglected by the media." - Jürgen Schadeberg.

Jürgen: “I tried to photograph daily life, the ordinary and the mundane, rather than the glitter and glamour. It was a moment when colour magazines were just emerging, and I began working for The Observer Magazine, The Sunday Times Magazine, and The Weekend Telegraph. Although this was the euphoric era of swinging London, I found that side of society uninspiring and superficial. I focused on everyday life, which for me was more interesting and often neglected by the media.”

Alongside the superficial glitz emerged satire, with irreverent shows such as Beyond the Fringe and That Was The Week That Was, which made fun of class, race, social issues, and the conventional British way of life. My work allowed me to cross cultural divides and jump from one social extreme to another. It was a time when personal computers, cell phones, and fax machines didn’t exist, leaving more room for social interaction than today.”

Access, Authenticity, and Changing Ways of Seeing

“It was easier to access people and buildings and therefore take photographs, since there was no need for high-security checks. Photographers today have a greater difficulty taking documentary photographs, which is the reason for the surge in contemporary photography, an artificial medium removed from reality. Viewing these images from a historical perspective will possibly give a clearer idea of lifestyle changes.”

Published
May 24, 2020