Eric Bachmann

Eric Bachmann (6 March 1940 – 20 February 2019 ) was a Swiss photographer and photojournalist. He made portraits of Muhammad Ali, Clint Eastwood, Karl Lagerfeld and Patti Smith. In his book Leutschenbach Karambuli Bachmann documented more than 30 years of Swiss television history.

Life and work Eric Bachmann began his career in photography with an apprenticeship at Johannes Meiner's studio. From 1959 onwards, Eric Bachmann was involved in setting up the photography department of the Swiss television DRS. In 1962 he became self-employed. As a freelance photographer, he supplied magazines, magazines and newspapers with images about politics and culture for more than 50 years.

Eric Bachmann was not yet 30 when Zurich's cultural tensions erupted in 1968. The young freelance photographer had just returned from an assignment in Venice when he arrived at Zurich Main Station and heard the megaphones. He unpacked his camera instead of going home and spent the night photographing the events, even attracting police attention.

His most striking image, taken on Bahnhofbrücke, shows the opposing sides: law-and-order defenders facing rebellious youth. The photo appeared in the National-Zeitung and Vorwärts. In 2024, the Eric Bachmann Fotoarchiv commissioned a new print for publication, and a copy was added to the Swiss National Museum.

Bachmann was living in Kaiserstuhl, Aargau, he died on 20 February 2019, aged 78.

Early travels included

1959 – England: Bournemouth, London, Portsmouth, Southampton 1963 – Iran: Tehran · Thailand: Bangkok, South Thailand, Chiang Mai, North Thailand · Burma: Inle Lake, Rangoon · Cambodia: Angkor · Malaysia: Singapore, Kuala Lumpur · Vietnam 1964 – Nepal: Kathmandu · India: Calcutta, New Delhi · Lebanon: Beirut 1965 – Gabon: Lambaréné 1966 – Red Sea Expedition · Czechoslovakia 1967 – Yugoslavia · Cyprus · Italy (Malta) · Albania: Berat, Durrës, Shkodër, Tirana 1968 – Czechoslovakia 1969 – Israel 1970 – USA: New York, Florida · Haiti · Jamaica · Barbados · Bahamas · Guadeloupe · Dominican Republic 1971 – Spain · Morocco · Tunisia 1972 – South Africa: Durban, Johannesburg, Ximba · Botswana · Uruguay · Argentina · Chile 1973 – Peru · Paraguay · Bolivia: La Paz · Brazil 1975 – Yugoslavia

Archive and association His archive with an estimated 200,000 negatives and slides was given to his nephew Dominik Bachmann, who is actively administrating and promoting it. Being himself a graphic designer he publishes regularly books with pictures of Eric Bachmann.

Since 2025 the work in the archive is supported by an association which carries the name of the defunt photographer: Eric Bachmann Association.

Individual Publications 1986: So ischs gsi ...: Geschichten aus Kaiserstuhl. Kaiserstuhl: Parterre Amtshaus, 1986; 2002. Text by Heidi Schmid. ISBN 978-3-908013-01-3. 2001: Leutschenbach Karambuli: Perlen aus dem Archiv eines Fernsehfotografen. Zürich: Edition Patrick Frey. Text by Walter Bretscher. ISBN 978-3-905509-35-9. 2014: Muhammad Ali, Zürich, 26.12.1971. Zürich: Edition Patrick Frey. Text by Peter Hartmann. ISBN 978-3-905929-65-2. Zürich: Edition Patrick Frey. English-language version. ISBN 978-3-905929-64-5. 2016: Casa Verdi. Zürich: Edition Patrick Frey. Texts by various authors, English and German. ISBN 978-3-906803-25-8. thumb In spring 1969, photographer Eric Bachmann stepped into the line of a water cannon at the cantonal police yard in Wädenswil. Wearing a neoprene suit and using an underwater camera, he photographed Ringier editor-in-chief Robert Naef. The series was published in 2023 in the photo book The one-man water cannon test. 2023: The one-man water cannon test, everyedition. ISBN 978-3-907384-06-0. 2025: Patti Smith Group, Live in Zurich, October 1976. everyedition. ISBN 978-3-907384-19-0.

Exhibitions

1978: Rhein-Brücken, Amtshaus, Kaiserstuhl 1986: So ischs gsi. Geschichten aus Kaiserstuhl, Amtshaus, Kaiserstuhl 1992: Shetland and Leningrad im Winter, Globus, Zürich 1996: Gränichen Wald, Chornhuus, Gränichen 2014: L'Homme dans le monde – Der Mensch in der Welt, Photobastei et al., Zürich; Lausanne; Gex 2018: Now You See Me! – Muhammad Ali (1942–2016), Bildhalle, Zürich 2019: Canvetto Cultura, Fondazione Diamante, Lugano 2023: The one-man water cannon test, BBA Gallery, Berlin 2024: The one-man water cannon test, Architektur Forum Ostschweiz, St. Gallen 2024: Wild Card 20 – dieses buch ist gratis, Strauhof Literaturmuseum, Zürich 2024: Politik der Strasse and other projects, Die Diele, Zürich