Arne Wesenberg

»One must be thankful in life«, the centenarian master baker Walter Gräper explains. He is one of the over 200 »UnRuheständler« (UnRetired or Restless People), who Arne Wesenberg (b. 1974) portrayed with his analogue, large-format camera over a period of more than seven years. What they all have in common is that, despite their old age, they remain in the heart of the community and their professional lives: craftsmen, artists, and actors well past the age of retirement. Arne Wesenberg photographed these unretired people across Germany and posed the questions: How does a society develop, in which people become increasingly older? What comes after a long professional life? The answers provided by the unretired people are extremely varied – just like their portraits. The reason behind their restlessness is different for each of them. Some need the money, while others search for personal fulfillment or simply feel the need to serve the community. Brief biographical texts provide additional information about the individual »UnRuheständler«.