Sonja and Tim
Sonja and Tim met in the winter of 2017 at a concert in Cologne. They started talking to one another and Tim told her about his idea to do a road trip across the United States to interview people about why they believe Donald Trump was elected president. When Sonja told him she was a photographer, he pointed out that the project would be much more interesting with a photographer on the trip. Even though she just met him, Sonja immediately said, “Well, then I'll come along.” Since that day, the two have been working together. However, they both obviously each had a prior history and a set of experiences that they brought into this project. You find more on that below.
Sonja Niemeier has been a professional photographer since 2004. She has a degree in communication design with a focus on photography and illustration from the University of Applied Sciences in Duesseldorf. As a concert photographer for the German and British radio stations 1Live, WDR 2, BFBS (British Forces Broadcasting Service), BBC 6 Music, Sonja has photographed artists, such as The Police, Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam, and David Bowie. With the help of The Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, Sonja also had an exhibition in Manchester’s famous Night & Day Café. Amongst other things, she is currently working on her art project “6 Questions about Music,” where she portrays musicians, such as Peter Hook (New Order/Joy Division), Paul Weller (The Jam) and Skin (Skunk Anansie), and asks them to answer six questions about music in their own handwriting and drawing. The photos and answers will be published in a book.
Tim Luecke has spent much of his life thinking and writing about politics and social life in general. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Chicago and his Ph.D. in Political Science with a focus on International Relations from The Ohio State University. His dissertation was about political generations and how they change the world. During this time, he conducted in-depth interviews with German politicians, including Hans-Dietrich Genscher, the former foreign minister of Germany. During and after his Ph.D. studies, he also managed “International Theory: A Journal of International Politics, Law and Philosophy,” published by Cambridge University Press. After 15 years in the United States, he has returned to his hometown Cologne, Germany, and is currently working on a generational history of Germany, told through an autobiography and a biography of his grandfather Paul Lücke, who was minister of housing and the interior for the conservative party (CDU) in post-war Germany.