Heimat - Heinz Berggruen  C-Print: 70 x 130 in. (180 x 330 cm)

the emotional landscape of jewish people in berlin

project berlin

the focus

what does it mean to be jewish in berlin?

contemporary jewish life in germany. a taboo? an incomprehensible paradox? it is for some, viewed within the context of german history. yet how do jewish berliners feel, and how do they see themselves and their fellow germans? how does the past weigh on the present?

using emotions generated by words to create images

the philosophy

taking photography off the representational plane by peeling away the surface layers of appearance to reveal an inner meaning. a multidimensional interpretation of an interior emotional landscape.

the words

chosen to elicit frank, thoughtful and emotional responses to this complex issue

identity  identität

 

mother tongue  muttersprache

 

home  heimat

 

facade  fassade

 

assimilation  sich anpassen

 

confrontation  konfrontation

 

radical  radikal

 

hypocritical  scheinheilig

 

opportunist  opportunist

 

freedom  freiheit

 

trust  vertrauen

 

birthright  geburtsrecht

 

patriotism  vaterlandsliebe

 

politically correct  politisch korrekt

 

love  liebe

 

purity  reinheit

 

provocative  provokativ

 

irretrievable lost  unwiederbringlich verloren

 

longing dreams  sehnsucht träume

 

taboo  tabu

 

resting place  ruhestätte

the voices

jewish berliners from both public and private life respond to three words chosen from the list

Expressive black and white portrait of Heinz Berggruen, Berlin, Art-Collector, Art-Dealer

adriana altaras actress, director

 

heinz berggruen art dealer and collector 2007

 

michael blumenthal museum director

 

maxim biller writer, novelist

 

artur brauner film producer † 2019

 

maria brauner humanitarian † 2017

 

dr. alice brauner journalist, film producer

 

leeor engländer university student - managing director

 

chawa kahane high school student

 

alexa karolinski art history student - filmmaker

 

shelly latte medical student - md  emigrated to the USA

 

miriam marcus wife and mother

 

oskar melzer deejay, creative director, interior designer

 

andreas pfeffer bagel wholesaler

 

dr. rafael seligmann writer, journalist

 

tuvia schlesinger police officer

 

prof. dr. julius schoeps historian

 

yehuda teichtal rabbi

 

susanne witting law student - lawyer, emigrated to israel

 

Heinz Berggruen, art dealer and collector

home - heimat, freedom - freiheit, longing - sehnsucht

 

a photographic work about meaning and transformation

the photographs

the voices on the recorded dialogs serve as the impulse for the photographs. emotional and intuitive meaning are extracted and transformed into allegorical or abstract images.

Project Berlin, art photograph of rusty wheelbarrow in the lava mountains of the volcanic island lanzarote by artist Klaus Laubmayer

Irretrievable lost - Unwiederbringlich, 2006-2017, C-Print: 60 x 87 in. (152 x 221 cm)

the platforms

an art exhibition, and a public art installation

the artist

the work will appear as an art exhibition containing narrative elements from the recordings. a public art installation will complete the project.

a creative partnership with the participants

artist and photographer klaus laubmayer

a german-born  photographer, installation and  video  artist has been based in new york city until 2004. his works encompasses theatrical installation, conceptual art, portraiture, beauty and fashion photography and includes the ny times, time magazine, vogue, stern, karl lagerfeld, christian lacroix, comme des garcons, ullstein, rizzolli, simon & schuster, among others.

 

klaus Laubmayer currently lives and works at his birthplace duesseldorf.

personal note

My experience with the 9/11 terror attack in New York City was the turning point for dramatic changes in my life. After working as a recognized fashion and portrait photographer in New York City for more than 20 years, I felt the need to reinvent myself as an artist outside of the fashion world.

 

In 2004, Berlin was the first change of scenery that initiated the hoped-for transformation. I immediately became interested in the Jewish life in Berlin. Shortly afterwards I began a project with the great help of the Jewish community outlined in this document.

 

At the same time, personal questions about growing up in Germany after World War II increased and the project became much more complex than I had ever imagined. At times my emotions got out of hand and I struggled on all sides except within the Jewish Community, where I felt great comfort.

 

After finishing my interviews and the necessary research in Berlin, I came to the conclusion that it is better to finish this project over a longer period. It took me time to figure out how to translate voices into pictures or portraits, which was uncharted territory for me in photography. I also had the feeling that, except within the Jewish community in Germany, there was no willingness to address the issues I heard in my interviews. For instance, the concern of the increased violence against the Jewish Community, or addressing in public the European “Le rapport non publié sur l’antisémitisme en Europe 2002” gave me the feeling of Don Quixote. In order to continue this project, I recognized the need for further research on this subject. Over the years I have traveled extensively and worked regularly in Lanzarote to take photographs for this project.

 

Additional research:

Jewish life in Europe.

Growing up in Germany in the 50s/60s/70s.

Travel for exploratory photographs and research:

Germany, Poland, Spain, Lanzarote, Ireland, England, France, USA.

 

Twenty two hours of sound recordings.

Roughly 450 exploratory photographs.

 

This project became the blueprint for how I create most photographic works today.

 

 

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Project Berlin, a large scale art photograph of a rusty shipwreck on a concrete wall by artist klaus laubmayer
Expressive black and white portrait of Heinz Berggruen, Berlin, Art-Collector, Art-Dealer
Project Berlin, art photograph of rusty wheelbarrow in the lava mountains of the volcanic island lanzarote by artist Klaus Laubmayer
Project Berlin, a large scale art photograph of a rusty shipwreck on a concrete wall by artist klaus laubmayer

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Expressive black and white portrait of Heinz Berggruen, Berlin, Art-Collector, Art-Dealer
Project Berlin, art photograph of rusty wheelbarrow in the lava mountains of the volcanic island lanzarote by artist Klaus Laubmayer
Project Berlin, a large scale art photograph of a rusty shipwreck on a concrete wall by artist klaus laubmayer

Expressive black and white portrait of Heinz Berggruen, Berlin, Art-Collector, Art-Dealer
Project Berlin, art photograph of rusty wheelbarrow in the lava mountains of the volcanic island lanzarote by artist Klaus Laubmayer

Project Berlin, a large scale art photograph of a rusty shipwreck on a concrete wall by artist klaus laubmayer
Expressive black and white portrait of Heinz Berggruen, Berlin, Art-Collector, Art-Dealer

Project Berlin, art photograph of rusty wheelbarrow in the lava mountains of the volcanic island lanzarote by artist Klaus Laubmayer
Project Berlin, a large scale art photograph of a rusty shipwreck on a concrete wall by artist klaus laubmayer
Expressive black and white portrait of Heinz Berggruen, Berlin, Art-Collector, Art-Dealer
Project Berlin, art photograph of rusty wheelbarrow in the lava mountains of the volcanic island lanzarote by artist Klaus Laubmayer
Project Berlin, a large scale art photograph of a rusty shipwreck on a concrete wall by artist klaus laubmayer
Expressive black and white portrait of Heinz Berggruen, Berlin, Art-Collector, Art-Dealer
Project Berlin, art photograph of rusty wheelbarrow in the lava mountains of the volcanic island lanzarote by artist Klaus Laubmayer