Heinz Emigholz initially trained as a draftsman and photographic retouch artist. He subsequently studied philosophy and literary studies in Hamburg. In 1972, he began directing avant-garde and experimental films, which, as Emigholz stated in a monograph, “demonstrate a complex interaction between abstract temporal compositions—or filmic movements, respectively-- and selected urban and natural landscapes.” In Demon (1977) he began to examine words for the first time in his films. His visual composition and framing is striking for its absence of conventional perpendicularity and the central perspective. This construction of space plays an important role in Emigholz’s photographic works.

In 1974, he began his encyclopedic drawing series Die Basis of Make-up. His works have been exhibited in numerous international museums and galleries. In 1978, Emigholz founded the production company Pym Films. For several years he exclusively directed experimental films with a length of 16 to 30 minutes, in 1982, however, he shot his first full-length feature film, Normalsatz (1978-82), which focused on artists and was awarded the Preis der deutschen Filmkritik as Best Fiction Film. In 1993, Emigholz began work on Photographie und jenseits, which he describes as: “a collection of freely combinable films that deal with products of human design.”

He has also participated in numerous group exhibitions and art shows including: the documenta 6 in Kassel (1977); the Venice Architecture Biennale (2008); and the exhibition “Utopia Gesamtkunstwerk” in the 2er Haus in Vienna (2012). In the Short Film Festival Oberhausen 201 he won the MuVi Award for the best German music video for “Moth Race” by Kreidler.

From 1993-2013, Heinz Emigholz held the Chair for Experimental Film Design at the UdK in Berlin. He was co-founder of the Institute for time-based media and of the program Art and Media. Emigholz became a member of the Academy of Arts in Berlin in 2012.