Hannes Schmid’s most famous subject, the Marlboro and American Cowboy is the overarching topic for the category VISIONS.
From 1993 to 2003 he worked hard to produce the pictures. The cowboy, the symbol of the cigarette brand since the fifties, represents the dream of freedom and adventure. Schmid’s pictures invoke an image that already existed in literature and film. Other photographers produced advertising pictures for the industry before him too. His creative productions and the new colours reflected in the landscape and clothing redefined the dream.
The series on display here was never used for marketing purposes. Schmid believes that if you remove the writing from advertising, then only the longing remains — as you can see here.