“Hauptstraße” (“main street”) is the most commonly assigned street name in Germany – a total of 6,451 streets bear this name. For his photography project, André Lützen traveled through all 16 federal states, capturing only Hauptstraßen.
His images reveal the diversity of these streets – what connects and divides them, the ordinary and the bizarre. They depict not just facades but also the subtle choreography of urban life. Shop windows, street signs, and billboards reflect a multifaceted form of self-presentation – sometimes sober, sometimes extravagant, sometimes unintentionally humorous. Lützen’s photographs go beyond a mere documentary record, offering an artistic perspective on the aesthetics of everyday life and the traces people leave in public spaces.
The project and the exhibition Hauptstraße Deutschland were made possible with the support of the Toepfer Foundation.
