Portrait of a Swiss company. A photo series by Barbara Davatz
In 1972 the photographer Barbara Davatz placed the entire workforce of Firma H. Walser, a textile printing and thread manufacturing company in Zürchersmühle (AR), in front of the camera. In this way, she portrayed 38 men and women, noting the name, birth date, nationality and trade or area of activity of each employee. The result is a multi-layered photographic work which in its calm, unsentimental objectivity bears witness to social commitment, openness and a sense of attentiveness. While the series can be interpreted as a reaction to the so-called Schwarzenbach Initiative, the portraits represent something much more than a snapshot: […]