Jak Tuggener

"Jakob Tuggeners: Fabrik", published in Erlenbach, Zurich in 1943, is considered to be a milestone in the history of photography books. The series of seventy-two photographs in this Photo Epos of Technology is oriented toward the expressionist aesthetic of the silent movie. It imparts a sceptical view of the destructive potential of unbridled technological progress at the time the Swiss military industry was producing weapons for World War II. Tuggeners uncompromising subjective photography and his critical attitude did not suit his time. "Fabrik" was not a commercial success, the copies were sold at a loss and in part apparently even converted to pulp. Now the work, which has since become a sought-after classic, is being reissued as a reprint with a contemporary afterword.