Martin Schoeller’s close ups and portraits of famous people in art and politics have made him famous. He also photographed Trump before he decided to become a politician. But that’s not what Josephine Links’ WE ALL BLEED RED is about. She is the half sister of the Munich-born artist who has lived in New York for 30 years and so has a special, intimate perspective on him. Links shows what’s important to him, what he uses his reputation and his money from popular magazines on. She watches him at work with those who aren’t rich (but not necessarily happy).

The celebrities aren’t important to him, those on the margins of society are. The homeless, drug addicts, men and women who have to prostitute themselves. People who have been left behind yet still have dreams, though they have no illusions about the state of the world. Schoeller wants that to change. The first scene shows him working on the street, in a mobile photo studio. He also uses a plate camera for the portraits of the outcasts, which requires time—time to talk to them. In the second and third scenes, you see him shopping and cooking for the Salvation Army. The line of hungry people wanting a warm meal is very long. Schoeller’s most important social project is the fight against the death penalty. The best argument are the stories of those who were wrongfully convicted and only rehabilitated after a long period of imprisonment. These are stories that a photograph can’t tell, says Martin Schoeller, which is why he uses moving portraits, as in short videos, for them.

Elisabeth Bauschmid

Translation: Elinor Lewy