Happy at 100: Emotive Portraits of Centenarians
“Why do people talk of the horrors of old age? It’s great. I feel like a fine old car with the parts gradually wearing out, but I’m not complaining,… Those who find growing old terrible are people who haven’t done what they wanted with their lives.”
– Martha Gellhorn
Growing old is part of life; it is just the way things are. Some people are scared of it, some people welcome it. But either way, it is unavoidable.
Personally, I do not think growing old is scary at all.
Like most things in life, it comes with its ups and downs, but the way I see it, the pros definitely outweigh the cons. After all, reaching a respectable age is a sure fire way of becoming a happier person.
Today, we will be taking a look at a project done by photographer Karsten Thormaehlen, that explores old age via the faces of people that have lived through what is one of -if not the most- eventful centuries in human history.
Karsten studied photography and communication before becoming an art director and creative director. He has worked in New York, Hamburg, Paris, and Berlin, producing advertisement campaigns for luxury brands, but it is his artistic projects that got him the most attention.
He has published over 30 books, art calendars, and art catalogs, and today we will be looking at one of his most recent books, Happy at 100.
The book is a continuation of Thor’s 2009 project Jahrhundertmensch, and its German title -Mit hundert hat man noch Träume- translates to At One Hundred One Still Dreams (literally “with”, not “at”, but we are translating for context here), which I think sounds so much better than the official Happy at 100.
It is a collection of photos of centenarians smiling and showing content and happiness. It is also complemented by writers, such as the 102 year old Elfride Brüning, who add autobiographical, scientific, and philosophical texts to the images.
The collection did not go by unnoticed by critics, and it received several awards. To name but a few of them, we have: the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize, a British Rose Media Award, and a senior journalism prize from the Meyer-Hentschel Institute.
In an interview for Kinfolk, Karsten was asked how he got the idea to photograph centenarians, he had this to say:
“I’d never met a centenarian before. In 2006, I saw one in a local newspaper and thought the photograph could’ve been done better, so I photographed the centenarian grandmother of a former colleague. It was very interesting to take a deep look into eyes that have seen 100 years of history: almost the complete 20th century. The following year a famous hotel in Berlin celebrated its 100th birthday by inviting a hundred 100-year-old people. I found most of my models from the first series there, and now I’ve photographed more than 70 centenarians. There are apparently more than 17,000 centenarians currently alive in Germany.”
The 17,000 people means that there are currently 500 times more centenarians in Germany than there were 50 years ago; an absolutely gargantuan increase, that statistically translates into the fact that every second newborn has a 100 year life expectancy.
Kinfolk also asked how the subjects’ attitudes change once they reached the ripe old age of 100. The photographer’s answer is truly humbling:
“What can they say? They have outlived all of their friends—even their children sometimes. They have no idea why it happened to them. Although they come from completely different cultures, there are many similarities in the ways these very old people live: They live a modest life, never changed their residence and are helpful to the community. They feel needed.”
Well, I think that is enough backstory for now. Time I show you a few of these heartwarming photos.
1. Erika E. (1910)
Erika shows such grace and nobility. Everything from the lady-like pose, the disarming and discreet smile, to the way she looks at us -like there is no possible way that we can hide something from here- says that this woman most certainly has not outstayed her welcome on this world.
2. Erwin H. (born 1909)
Erwin could well be the post child of happiness at old age (yes, pun intended). His smile is natural and heartfelt, and it is the kind of smile that comes with the confidence of having lived a good life – for yourself, and for the people around you. His face seems to say “age is nothing but time that has gone by”, and it is time yet to come that really matters.
3. Margarethe D. (1911)
Margarethe’s smile is a rather cheeky one. To me, it looks like she was suppressing a good, hard laugh in this picture, and that does not just make her look young, it makes her look childish, and I mean that in the good way. She shows child-like vitality, making me think that she would certainly not look out of place playing a game of hide-and-seek (or even a quick capture the flag in Team Fortress 2).
4. Gustav W. (1910)
As far as smiles go, they do not get much more infectious than Gustav’s. If Margarethe looks as if she is trying to hold back from laughing, then Gustav looks like he is having a pleasant grandfatherly chuckle – the kind that comes when you tell him that your dad will not let you stay out later than midnight.
5. Hildegard G. (1911 – 2011)
Hildegard looks like she is thinking about days gone by and saying “Good times, good times…”. She has the kind of smile one has when seeing serene beauty, and she also projects that beauty for everyone to see.
6. Erna K. (1908)
Erna (together with Margarete, who you will be seeing later) is the oldest centenarian on this list, but once you hit a certain age, that hardly seems to matter. She has an unabashed smile, showing off her beautiful pearly-whites.
7. Werner H. (1911)
Happiness is not just a question of smiling, and we can clearly see this in Werner. He has the look of a wise man about him, looking at the past and analyzing it – not with regret, but with a certain “matter-of-factness” that comes with accepting that you cannot change it.
8. Margarete L. (1908)
The second centenarian born in 1908 on this list is Margarete, and you can pretty much sum up her expression to two words: “Not bad.”
9. Kaetchen E. (1909)
While looking at Kaetchen’s photo, thinking of what to say about it, I suddenly found myself smiling. So, rather than risking to over- (or under-) analyze it, I figured that maybe this is the best thing I could say about it. I don’t what it is about her smile that makes it infections, I just know that it is.
10. Walter W. (1909)
Walter’s piercing stare is one of attention. Although he could be forgiven for just being content with what he has already learned in his long life, he still wants to learn more, to find out more things, and it is your that could be the source of that “newness”.
That wraps up my article on Karsten’s Happy at 100. I hope you enjoyed my presentation. I know I certainly loved reading up on it, and I think it is a totally awesome project. If you want to get the collection, or just check out a few more of Thormaehlen’s projects, be sure to go and check out his website here.
Also, don’t forget to tell me what you think about it, and my article, in the comment section below.
Some moment never end .Thank you so much a beautiful post.
I enjoyed this article.