Back to the Berlin scans. One of my goals while in Berlin was to get a good photograph of the Holocaust Memorial designed by Peter Eisenman. I spent several hours there–a somewhat blustery day with more cloud than sun. The obvious “photographer’s” view of the monument is to emphasize the abstraction of the black slabs. Telephoto lenses nicely compress the space and flatten it out, if you like that kind of thing. The picture I am most satisfied with is almost identical to the digital camera image I posted earlier.

It’s a simple view from the southwest corner of the site. At first it seems to contain a ramdom sprinkling of objects and colors. But after looking at the image awhile I noticed a centrally located diamond shape formed by the lines of the pavement and the tree branches. Just off center a couple holds hands and directly in the middle a group of people behind some trees poses for a camera. The walls of buildings in the rear reinforce the spatial geometry of the picture. The sky vaguely mirrors the slabs of the memorial.

Holocaust Memorial (4×5 film)

The memorial is clearly popular, situated conveniently between the Brandenburg Gate and Potsdamer Platz. It is also located at the heart of what was once the Nazi government quarter, and in the cleared swath of the death strip of the Berlin Wall. The somberness of the dark slabs is lost on the children who run pell mell through the gridded maze. Tourists stand or sit on the slabs posing for snapshots, digital cameras held high at arms length.

Along the east side of the memorial a row of souvenir shops and fast food restaurants has recently been built. The stores sit on a raised wooden veranda with postcard racks and tables and chairs in front. Dunkin’ Donuts and the Monument to the Murdered Jews of Europe.

Holocaust Memorial and postcard racks (4×5 film)