Emil Heilborn

No one used the stürtzende Linien of Alexandr Rodtjenko or the Bauhaus typography bolder or more consequent in Swedish photography than Emil Heilborn during the 1930s. He was not alone; Arne Wahlberg, Sven Järlås, C G Rosenberg and (later) his son C E Rosenberg dared to tilt their cameras or line up objects in striking patterns.

Heilborn was a schooled engineer, who worked a number of years in Detroit, designing car body parts for Ford Motor Company and in Sweden for General Motors. He turned to photography and never let the dramatic angles distort the clear, precise engineer's view of industrial processes and machines.

He was a small, stubborn man, who always worked alone, and he lived to be 102 (1900-2002). He documented industries as AGA, Bofors, Electrolux, LKAB, Motala, Sandviken and Uddeholm. He did advertising photos for Barnängen, Falu-Ättika and Läkerol, and eventually turned to film making for his traditional customers as well as entering new areas as museum documentation and new projects as documenting the building of the Arlanda airport.

He played the accordion, the xylophone and the saw – with a bow. And he won the 1936 archery world championship.

The 1930's style:

^ Emil Heilborn: Västerbron, Stockholm 1934.