Henning von Berg (born 10 June 1961) is a former German

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...

who became a portrait

photographer A photographer (the Greek language, Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties and types of photographe ...

. His specialty is character portraits and fine art nudes.

Biography

Henning von Berg was born in

Northern Germany Northern Germany (german: link=no, Norddeutschland) is a linguistic, geographic, socio-cultural and historic region in the northern part of Germany which includes the coastal states of Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Lower Saxony an ...

into a family with a nearly 550-year-old history. He worked as an engineer for thirteen years until the age of 35, when he discovered his calling was to be a photographer. In the summer of 1997, he organized his first group photo shoot. This featured 28 nude men in an abandoned factory in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

, on the river

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

. Afterwards, the exhibition "Factory Boyz" quickly gained attention all around Germany for its bizarre combination of "body & building". Just one year later the image "Stairway" of this series with 13 nude male models was chosen by an American publisher to be included in an international anthology about photography: In Phil Braham's book "Naked Men Exposed - A Celebration of the Male Nude from 90 of the World's Greatest Photographers", the self-taught Berg was listed beside photographer icons like

David Hockney David Hockney (born 9 July 1937) is an English painter, draftsman, printmaker, stage designer, and photographer. As an important contributor to the pop art movement of the 1960s, he is considered one of the most influential British artists o ...

, Horst P. Horst, Harriet Leibowitz,

Robert Mapplethorpe Robert Michael Mapplethorpe (; November 4, 1946 – March 9, 1989) was an American photographer, best known for his black-and-white photographs. His work featured an array of subjects, including celebrity portraits, male and female nudes, self-p ...

Eadweard Muybridge Eadweard Muybridge (; 9 April 1830 – 8 May 1904, born Edward James Muggeridge) was an English photographer known for his pioneering work in photographic studies of motion, and early work in motion-picture projection. He adopted the first ...

Man Ray Man Ray (born Emmanuel Radnitzky; August 27, 1890 – November 18, 1976) was an American visual artist who spent most of his career in Paris. He was a significant contributor to the Dada and Surrealism, Surrealist movements, although his t ...

and

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...

Group of naked women and photographer - Naked Sydney in 2005

In 1999, von Berg claimed more recognition by organizing a whimsical social-political statement on

public nudity Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing. The loss of body hair was one of the physical characteristics that marked the biological evolution of modern humans from their hominin ancestors. Adaptations related to h ...

. With his team he photographed six completely naked men in front of a dozen tourist highlights of Berlin, including the inside of the historical parliament

Reichstag building The Reichstag (, ; officially: – ; en, Parliament) is a historic government building in Berlin which houses the Bundestag, the lower house of Germany's parliament. It was constructed to house the Imperial Diet (german: Reichstag) of the ...

. Thousands of fascinated passers-by applauded the fun happening throughout the city. This series "Naked Berlin" was supposed to be a political comment to show the liberal atmosphere and open-minded politics of the reunified republic. The politically active Berg wanted to document that his home country has learned from the terrible

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

history and that Germany now is a modern democracy with a tolerant spirit and total freedom for the arts. The fun photographs of "Naked Berlin" were published by newspapers around the globe as "Reichstags Rascals". To date, the series "Naked Berlin" remains the world’s first and only-ever male nude photo shoot inside of a

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

building. In 2005, von Berg produced a suitable counterpart by photographing the other gender on the other side of the earth. The scandalous series "Naked Sydney" documented a group of happy naked women in downtown

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

in front of some Australian national symbols, including the famous

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...

. Later both provocative series were presented in exhibitions worldwide. The

Goethe-Institut The Goethe-Institut (, GI, en, Goethe Institute) is a non-profit German cultural association operational worldwide with 159 institutes, promoting the study of the German language abroad and encouraging international cultural exchange and ...

, a German non-profit organization whose mission is to promote German language and culture outside of the German-speaking countries, promoted the exhibit "Naked Berlin - Naked Sydney" internationally and thus far more than 200,000 people have enjoyed the unique exhibitions.

Recent work

Henning von Berg is specialized in character portraits of seniors (his oldest model so far is a 108-year-old woman) and fine art nudes of mostly amateurs models. Von Berg prefers shooting in natural light conditions and likes to integrate panoramic landscapes and monumental buildings into his art. For his various art projects, he likes to break traditional rules. He works with young and old people, men and women, aristocrats and prostitutes, athletes and disabled people, common folks and celebrities (e.g.,

Julius Shulman Julius Shulman (October 10, 1910 – July 15, 2009) was an American architectural photographer best known for his photograph " Case Study House #22, Los Angeles, 1960. Pierre Koenig, Architect." The house is also known as the Stahl House. Shulman ...

Tim Curry Timothy James Curry (born 19 April 1946) is an English actor and singer. He rose to prominence for his portrayal of Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the film ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' (1975), reprising the role he had originated in the 1973 London ...

Kurt Kreuger Kurt Kreuger (July 23, 1916 – July 12, 2006) was a Swiss-reared German actor. Kreuger once was the third-most-requested male actor at 20th Century Fox. He starred with, among others, Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart. Life and career Kreuger w ...

Derrick Davenport Derrick Davenport (born January 14, 1978) is an American porn male model, best known for being ''Playgirls 2006 Man of the Year.''Playgirl''. June 2006. Front Cover. Filmography Bibliography (selection) *Anthology, Henning von Berg ''(Un)D ...

and

Don Bachardy Donald Jess Bachardy (born May 18, 1934) is an American portrait artist. He resides in Santa Monica, California. Bachardy was the partner of Christopher Isherwood for over 30 years. Early life Born in Los Angeles, California, Bachardy studi ...

). In autumn of 2006, the international non-profit art organization

Tom of Finland Touko Valio Laaksonen (8 May 1920 – 7 November 1991), pseudonym Tom of Finland, was a Finnish artist who made stylized highly masculinized homoerotic art, and influenced late 20th-century gay culture. He has been called the "most influential ...

Foundation in Los Angeles asked von Berg to become a "Foundation Liaison" to Germany/Europe. At the same time, a well-known Australian publishing house appointed him as a "Correspondent" for the high-profile photography magazines " ot onlyBlue" and " ot onlyBlack+White". To date, his work has appeared in more than 540 international publications and 47 exhibitions in museums and galleries on four continents.

Exhibitions (selection)

* Goethe Institut

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

"Naked Berlin , The Liberal Capital" * Advocate Gallery in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

"City Of Angels Gates Of Hell" * Kunstforum

Köln Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 million ...

"Colognia , California" * Feitico Gallery in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

"Angels" * Auction House Villa Grisebach in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

"Reichstagslümmel" * Art Foundation ToF-Foundation in

"Erotic Art Fair" * Galleries in

Münster Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state distr ...

Dortmund Dortmund (; Westphalian nds, Düörpm ; la, Tremonia) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the eighth-largest city of Germany, with a population of 588,250 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the la ...

Bielefeld Bielefeld () is a city in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Region in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population of 341,755, it is also the most populous city in the administrative region (''Regierungsbezirk'') of Detmold and the ...

"Factory Boyz" * Catherine Beatty Gallery in

"Naked Berlin , The Liberal Capital" * Park Hotel Hyatt-Levantehaus in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

"Art Meets Charity" * Plaza Hotel in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

"M.A.L. 2000" * Leather Archives & Museum in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

"Stairway" * Flinders Hotel in

"Universal" * Gallery Kunst(B)handlung in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

"Subversiv" * Highway's Gallery in

Venice Beach Venice is a neighborhood of the city of Los Angeles within the Westside region of Los Angeles County, California. Venice was founded by Abbot Kinney in 1905 as a seaside resort town. It was an independent city until 1926, when it was annexed by ...

"GWM" * Gallery Deja Design in

"QATB Universal" * Festival Divers/City, Parc Emilie-Gamelin in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

"Naked Berlin , Naked Sydney" * Gallery Tristesse Deluxe in

with

Nan Goldin Nancy Goldin (born September 12, 1953) is an American photographer and activist. Her work often explores LGBT subcultures, moments of intimacy, the HIV/AIDS crisis, and the opioid epidemic. Her most notable work is '' The Ballad of Sexual Depe ...

and others * Gallery Camen de la Guerra in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

"La Mirada G" * Salon SIGL International, Carrousel du Louvres (Pyramid) in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

"Alpha Males" * Gallery Dennis Dean in

Fort Lauderdale A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

"Retrospective 1997-2010"

Selected bibliography

*Henning von Berg, ''Men Pure – Retrospective 1997-2007 he First 10 Years', Lifetime Photographs, Seattle, 2010, *Henning von Berg, ''Alpha Males'', Bruno Gmuender Verlag, Berlin, 2007, *Anthology ''Nude Bible'', Udyat & Tectum Publishers, Barcelona and Brussels, 2007, *Henning von Berg, Kingdome 19, ''Universal 2'', Bruno Gmuender Verlag, Berlin, 2008, *Anthology ''Nude Bible - mini'', Tectum Publishers, Brussels, 2008, *Robert Vescio, ''(un)Dressed To Thrill'', Studio Publications, Sydney, 2006, *Henning von Berg, Kingdome 19, ''Universal – Handcrafted Uniques'', Bruno Gmuender Verlag, Berlin, 2004, *Anthology, ''Naked - Female and Male Nudes'', Feierabend Verlag, Köln-Berlin, 2005, *James Spada, ''The Romantic Male Nude'', Abrams Publishering, New York, 2006, *Claus Kiessling, ''Visions – Contemporary Photography'', Bruno Gmuender Verlag, Berlin, 2006, *John Rechy, ''Numerados - Numbers'', Editorial Egales, Barcelona, 2005, *Sandra Morrow, ''The Power Of Commerce'', Exhibition Industry Inc, Las Vegas, *Anthology, ''Lovers'', Studio Publications, Sydney, 2005, *Rinaldo Hopf, Axel Schock, ''Mein Auge 3'', Konkursbuch Verlag, Tuebingen, 2006, *Anthology, ''Deep Blue”, Studio Publications, Sydney, 2004, *Robert Vescio, ''Dreamboys III'', Studio Publications, Sydney, 2003, *Anthology ''Male Nudes IndeXX'', Peter Feierabend Verlag, Köln-Berlin, 2005, *Anthology ''Fetish Fantasies'', Peter Feierabend Verlag, Köln-Berlin, 2008, *Anthology ''International Nudes Photography, vol. 3'', Peter Feierabend Verlag, Köln-Berlin, 2008, *Rinaldo Hopf, Axel Schock, ''Mein Auge 14'', Konkursbuch Verlag, Tuebingen, 2018, *Anthology, ''Blue Muse'', Studio Publication, Sydney, 2005, *Henning von Berg, David Vance, Rick Day ''Beauty of Men, collection 4'', Bruno Gmuender Verlag, Berlin, 2013, *Robert Vescio, ''Dreamboys II'', Studio Publications, Sydney, 2000, *Volker Janssen, ''American Black Beauty – Volume 2''
Janssen Publishers
Cape Town, 2001, *Greg Day, ''Metamorphose'', Janssen Publishers, Cape Town, 1998, *Dr Dietmar Kreutzer, ''Maennermodels Pur'', Verlag Bauwesen, Berlin, 2000, *Robert Vescio, ''Dreamboys'', Studio Publications, Sydney, 1999,

Bibliography (books about Henning von Berg, selection)

*Phil Braham (Hrsg), ''Exposed: A Celebration of the Male Nude from 90 of the World's Greatest Photographers'', Thunder's Mouth Press, London, 2000, *Reed Massengill, ''Self-Exposure - The Male Nude Self Portrait'', Universe Publishing/Rizzoli, New York, 2006, *David Leddick, ''Male Nude Now - Contemporary Photography'', Universe Publishing/Rizzoli, New York, 2001, *Kriss Rudolph, ''Paaroli'', Bruno Gmuender Verlag, Berlin, 2005, *Bernd Lasdin ''Jeder Mensch ist ein Mensch'', Verlag Seffen, Berlin, 2004, *Barbara Cardy, ''Mammoth Book of Gorgeous Guys'', Constabler Robinson, New York, 2016, *Phil Braham, ''Naked Men: Neunzig weltberühmte Fotografen'', Umschau/Braus, Frankfurt/Main, 2000,

Notes

Amendment for reference Nude photo shoot inside Germany's parliament building: http://www.reichstagsluemmel.de/en

External links

*
Official Homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berg, Henning 1961 births Living people Photographers from Lower Saxony People from Hanover Nude photography