Masters of Abstraction



Photo Exhibition

The photo exhibition "Masters of Abstraction" is a collection of portraits taken by the Berlin photographer Peter Badge where he captured recipients of the most esteemed awards in mathematics and computer science. In this series, Badge provides insight into the personality of these outstanding scientists. Anyone curious to know more about the laureates will find plenty of exciting information about their personal and scientific backgrounds on the touch panel - in German and in English.

Peter Badge, born 1974 in Hamburg, started his career as a freelance artist and photographer in 1993. In 1995 he moved to Berlin to study art history, where he has lived and worked ever since. Initially, he worked for various magazines, but soon began to develop his own independent concepts and projects. Portraits are the focus of his work. Badge focuses on well-known personalities such as scientists and politicians, artists and actors, musicians and photographers.

In 2000, Badge initiated a comprehensive photo series of the Nobel Prize recipients, with his partners the Board of Trustees for the Nobel Laureates' Meetings in Lindau and the Lindau Nobel Laureates' Conference Foundation. The project was commissioned by several renowned organizations: the Deutsches Museum in Bonn, the Smithsonian Institution, the National Museum of American History and the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. The Klaus Tschira Foundation provides the financial support for what has become long-term and ongoing endeavor that has taken Badge around the world to capture images of all living Nobel Laureates. Since 2012, Badge has been photographing all winners of the Abel Prize, the ACM A.M. Turing Award, the ACM Prize in Computing (since 2016), the Fields Medal, IMU Abacus Medal and the Nevanlinna Prize on behalf of the Klaus Tschira Foundation and the Heidelberg Laureate Forum Foundation (in cooperation with the awarding institutions).

Guided tours of the MAINS at 3 p.m., registration is not required.

  • Further information

    Venue: MAINS (Mathematics Informatics Station)
    Kurfürstenanlage 52
    69115 Heidelberg
    Phone: +49 6221 533-382
    Dates: October 12, 2023 to January 31, 2025
    (closed June 20, 2024, September 2 to 30, 2024, December 23, 2024 to January 1, 2025)
    Opening hours: Thursday and Friday 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.; Saturday, Sunday and holidays 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
    Admission: free
    Guided tours of the MAINS: 3 p.m.
    Language: German/English
    Host: Heidelberg Laureate Forum Foundation