Jörg M. Colberg (born 15 February 1968)[1] is a German writer, educator and photographer,[2] living in Northampton, Massachusetts, USA.[3] He is the founder and editor of Conscientious, a blog dedicated to contemporary fine-art photography.[4][5] He worked as a research scientist in astronomy[6] and has been a professor of photography at the Hartford Art School.[7]

This biographical article is written like a résumé. (January 2018)

Life and work

Colberg studied physics and astronomy at the University of Bonn; he earned a Ph.D. in physics (theoretical cosmology)^{[citation needed]} 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.^{[citation needed]} Colberg returned as a postdoc at the University of Pittsburgh.[8]

He discusses and dissects contemporary fine art photography on his blog, Conscientious, started in 2002.[4][9][10] In 2009 Source included Conscientious in its list of ten recommended photography blogs;[9] in 2010 Wired said that "Joerg Colberg is a pioneer in photography blogging, and his blog Conscientious maintains a tight editorial voice";[11] and in 2012 Sean O'Hagan included it among his few most recommended online photography websites and publications.[4]

In 2006 American Photo named Colberg one of their Photography Innovators.[12]

Colberg is the author of Understanding Photobooks: The Form and Content of the Photographic Book (2016), a guide to making photobooks. He has contributed essays to photography publications, including Foam Magazine,[13]^{[better source needed]} British Journal of Photography,[14] and Creative Review.[15][16][17] He has written introductory essays for photography monographs,[18] guest-edited photography exhibitions^{[citation needed]} and photobooks.^{[citation needed]}

Along with Andrés Marroquín Winkelmann, he was a founder of the short-lived photobook publishing company Meier & Müller.[19]

From 2010, Colberg was a faculty member of the Hartford Art School.[7][20] As of 2021^[update] he was living in Northampton, Massachusetts.[3]

In the photobook Vaterland (2020), Colberg reflects on the rise of anti-immigrant racism and xenophobia in Germany, "which he believes is not being taken seriously enough",[3] with right-wing ideology having become normalised.[21] It was described in the British Journal of Photography that Colberg achieves this through "an atmosphere of uneasiness. [. . .] There is little contrast between black and white. [. . .] Each picture frames a lingering uncertainty; something out of place. [. . .] The images work together to create a mood of angst." He made the images in Berlin, Hamburg and Warsaw.[3]

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.[22]
• Understanding Photobooks: the Form and Content of the Photographic Book. London: Focal, 2016. Hardback, ISBN 978-1138892712; paperback, ISBN 978-1138892699.
• Photography's Neoliberal Realism. Discourse 4. London: Mack, 2020. ISBN 978-1-913620-16-5.[10]
• Vaterland. Bielefeld, Germany: Kerber, 2020. ISBN 978-3-7356-0709-6. Text in English, German and Polish.[2][3]

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.[23]
• 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.[24]

References

External links

• Official website
• Conscientious Photography Magazine
• "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