Dresden: The Final Adventure

For the past four years, Wet Plate Collodion photography has taken me east to Budapest, Hungary, west to Glasgow, Scotland, north to Gothenburg, Sweden and south to Barcelona, Spain; plus many other cities in between.Some of the places I've traveled to teach, exhibit and make photographs.

I just returned from Dresden, Germany. It was probably the last Wet Plate Collodion adventure for me in Europe; at least until I return to Paris in a couple of years.

Like so many places in Europe, Dresden is a beautiful city with a lot of interesting history. I especially like the photographic history of these places. Dresden was the largest manufacturer of albumen paper in the 19^th century. Albumen means “egg white”. The albumen printing process was invented by Louis Désiré Blanquart-Evrard in 1850. He was from Lille, France.

The Dresdener Albuminfabriken AG (The Dresden Albumen Manufacturing Company)
They produced 18,674 reams of albumen paper in 1888. Each ream consisted of 480 sheets 46 cm x 58 cm (~18” x ~23”) in size. To coat a ream of paper required 9 liters of albumen solution, obtained from 324 eggs; only the whites, separated by hand. All of the paper was made by women – all by hand. In 1888, this one factory consumed over six million eggs – that’s about 16,500 eggs per day! There were a lot of bakeries around making custards and other pies/pastries with all of the egg yolks, too. Can you imagine what Dresden’s collective cholesterol level was in the late 19^th century? Women in Dresden making Albumen paper.

The Dresden Museum Wet Plate Collodion Performative Lecture
I was invited by the Dresden Museum to do a Wet Plate Collodion performative lecture in conjunction with the August Kotzsch exhibition. Kotzsch was a German photographer working from the 1860s to the 1880s in Dresden/Loschwitz, Germany. He lived in that area his entire life. He mainly photographed rural German life, but wanted to be graphic artist. The exhibit shows his early drawings from the 1840s – he was quite good. He did a lot of still life work, too. His albumen prints are amazing. One of the city historians told me that Kotzsch made his own albumen paper – how strange is that and, moreover, why would he do that in Dresden?

The Dresden museum is beautiful and the Kotzsch exhibition was nothing short of that. It was an honor for me to be there talking about Kotzsch’s process and showing the people how he made his photographs.

The space they had arranged for me was perfect; large (non-UV) windows and even a sink close by. The museum is in the center of the city. People were walking by watching me turning back the hands of time with the Wet Plate Collodion process through the large windows of the museum.

There were about 25 people in the audience; the perfect size. Ernst Hirsch was one of the attendees. Ernst is a filmmaker and photographer. He is well-known and admired. I asked him to sit for the demonstration. I later learned that he made a book about Kotzsch and his work. After the lecture, he presented me with a copy of the book (August Kotzsch 1836 - 1910. Von den Anfängen der Photographie in Loschwitz bei Dresden) and a print from one of Kotzsch’s negatives. It was a very nice addition to my book collection of 19^th Century photographers. Ernst owns several hundred original prints of Kotzsch’s and knows his great-great-grandson – who, by the way is a successful fine art photographer today.

I ended up making a few portraits. I had a very nice time. The trip was a great way to end the Wet Plate Collodion adventure in Europe, at least for now.

I want to thank my wife, Jeanne for taking all of the great photos, Richard for translating all of my stories and jokes during the lecture, Ernst and Cornelia for the book and print, Jan for making the trek to Dresden from Berlin, and Frank for the DVD/prints and the long conversation at the hotel about communism and photography. I learned a lot about the former East Germany and the communists.

We miss you, Summer XOXOXO

A Dresden egg. I should’ve brought some home for paper!

Quinn doing his thing in Dresden, Germany
"Is that Chuck Close?" someone asked. No, it’s the museum’s curator, Fredrich. 
Practicing on Ernst – the sitters need to practice before we expose the plate. 
Can someone get a photo of this? Please! 

The afternoon produced these images.

The afternoon produced these images.
Frank

Richard, my translator and museum coordinator for the lecture.

Richard (negative) – so he can print on modern paper.

Herr Kotzsch und Herr Jacobson, standing on the shoulders of giants…

Inspect Your Worst, I Mean Wurst

German "platform toilet" - inspect your WurstPlatform toilets. These are toilets that allow you to inspect your "Wurst" (Sausage) - translation: your shite. Germans are infatuated with them. I first saw them in Berlin. I thought, "Wow, this is weird, I'm shatting on a porcelain platform." It reminded me of seeing a pile of dog shite on the sidewalk, just completely out of place!

This is from Portnoy Stammtisch on the topic of "poo platforms". It was "World Toilet Day" on November 19. No kidding.

To most newcomers to this fine country, the contraption is an enigma. Who would want a shelf, just inches from your backside, that collects your business while allowing you to revel in your own stench? Not even a mercy flush is much help with this thing. And, to make matters worse, it's almost impossible to get rid of what you want to get rid of without the manual assistance of a toilet brush.

Germans, perhaps tired of having to defend this terrible device to perplexed outsiders, usually just shrug if you bring it up.

It wasn’t until I’d lived here for several years that I finally found one who I believed would give me a straight answer. In a newsroom of mixed nationalities, we were blessed with a German colleague of questionably fervent patriotism (let’s not use the adjective “brown” in this context, okay?) with an amazing knowledge and love of Teutonic culture. I would never have managed to squeeze out a question about the platform on my own but emboldened by my other English-tongued colleagues, I let it fly.

"It’s so you can inspect your poo. You can tell if you’re eating right," he told us in all seriousness. Rolf (name changed) was über-German – I've only ever met Dutch or Swiss who can speak with less irony. Actually, I’m being too kind. What he really said was: “It’s so you can inspect your Wurst.”

German Town Nixes Kristallnacht Ceremony

The German town of Görlitz is refusing to allow its Jewish community to hold its own ceremony marking Kristallnacht.

After Kristallnacht. Instead, the only ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the Kristallnacht pogrom will be held by the local Protestant church, which has traditionally focused on all victims of the Third Reich.

The small Jewish community had planned to bring a Torah scroll from Dresden into a newly renovated synagogue, which dates from 1909. It is the only synagogue to have survived Kristallnacht in the state of Saxony.

But the city insists that ceremonies must be secular and inclusive. The former synagogue was deconsecrated after the 1938 pogrom. Following its six-year renovation, the structure now has room for 230 guests.

"The city has canceled the entire event planned by the Jewish community and the Society for the Promotion of the Synagogue," which was to include several performances and speeches,  Alex Jacobowitz, cantor and chairman of the town's tiny Jewish community, told JTA.

He insisted that the Jewish community's program would be inclusive.

The Society for the Promotion of the Synagogue is a secular group authorized to hold ecumenical events in the building. It cooperates with the Jewish community. Now, only the ceremony run by the local Protestant church is still scheduled to take place in the building.

The city bought the synagogue from the remnant Dresden Jewish community in 1963, and then formally purchased it again from the Claims Conference after German unification, according to Jacobowitz, a musician who came from New York to Germany in 1991.

The approximately 30-member Jewish community has held services in a small sanctuary within the building for about a year, Jacobowitz said.

Story from JTA - http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/breaking/110844.html

"We're Cleaning Up In Hessen"

This says, "We're Cleaning Up"

It's disturbing, and scary, when I see these kinds of blatant displays of hate and racism in a country like this.

It's from a political party here called "National Democratic Party". One poll cites that the majority of the population in Germany considers the NPD to be undemocratic and damaging to the image of the country. The NPD is viewed by its opponents and the mainstream media as a de facto neo-Nazi organization. The party opposes the increasing number of non-whites, Jews, and Muslims living in Germany. Don't misunderstand me, I think they should have the right to speak and express themselves. What I worry about is the fragility of this culture and inciting the people here. This is a very fragile place that way.

This poster says, "We're Cleaning Up" and the other one says, "We're Cleaning Up In Hessen". We live in Hessen. Think about the metaphor of cleaning up as it relates to this history. And the sheep! Wow! I suppose they know their demographic.

I'm not saying that if I lived in the United States, my neighbors would be tolerant and peaceful. However, I wonder if I drove down the street in Littletown, USA if I would see something like this?

"We're Cleaning Up In Hessen!"

Art Is The Enemy Of The Routine

"Adoph Hitler Strasse" - Viernheim, Germany In my (ongoing and lifelong) pursuit of defining the meaning and  purpose of art, I've come across a lot of insightful and powerful quotes. Simon Schama said something so simple and brilliant that I felt compelled to share it with you here. He said, ""Art is the enemy of the routine, the mechanical and the hum drum. It stops us in our tracks with a high voltage jolt of disturbance; it reminds us of what humanity can do beyond the daily grind. It takes us places we had never dreamed of going; it makes us look again at what we had taken for granted."

Of course, this isn't definitive (in defining art), but for me, it defines an aspect of what good art can do and some of the purpose involved in making art.

There is something to be said for being "present" in your daily life. Present to the good and to the not so good. I believe artists are highly perceptive and extremely "present" in their daily lives (sometimes too present as they go mad or sink into depression). The subtle, unnoticed details are what tell the story. Artists are very good at picking up on those and sharing their opinions or views about them. If you think about all of the mundane and superficial information we are subjected to on a daily basis, few things are really valuable. Artists have an important voice in the world, I wish more people listened.

Some Things That I Can’t Stop Thinking About… Plus A New Portrait

Call It Whatever You Want, Just Make Sure You Lead By Example
There are a couple of things that have really been bothering me lately. Those things that roll around in your head and come back to bug you two or three times a day... you know? Things that make you angry, things that make you want to yell, "What the hell is wrong with you? Don't you get it!?!" really loud.

The first is in reference to understanding art. I will agree (completely) that there is no definitive definition of art. I believe there are all kinds of "art" commercial art, fine art, outsider art, arts and crafts art, etc. And I also believe there's a lot of bad art, loads of mediocre art and very little good art. With that said, there has to be some kind of guideline, something that allows one to distinguish between good, bad and mediocre art (in my mind it's all art if a human being created it). This is where I have a strong opinion about how to do that.

"Art for art's sake" is dead to me. I've made enough pretty pictures for no reason other than to have people say those are pretty, that's cool, can I buy one? Making pretty pictures or emulating someone like Ansel Adams, is a waste of time. It's a waste of the photographer's time and the viewer's time. Why? It's artistic masturbation. It may feel good, but it means nothing. What disturbs me the most, is that this stuff sells. When something sells, it's immediately seen as "successful". You cannot get farther from the truth, but we all believe it.

This type of art is  usually confused with fine art. It's not,  it's called commercial art.

COMMERCIAL ARTIST:

• If you make pictures to sell them (you know, make money/profit), you are a commercial artist.


• If your pictures have no context (other than sales/ego), you're a commercial artist .


• If your pictures have no intention (other than sales/ego), you're a commercial artist.


• If your pictures have no intellectual value (you've done no intellectual work - historical, social, political, etc.), you're a commercial artist.


• If you, "do nudes", you're most likely a commercial artist - porn, erotica, etc. (or something like it).


• If you can't talk about your work, dare I say "defend" your work, you're a commercial artist.


• If you're using a large format camera or using an "alt" process without context or intention, you're probably a comerical aritst (and craftsman if the images are technically sound).

This is not an argument for the title of "artist", this is an argument about distinguishing what kind of art you are looking at (or making) and if it's good, bad or mediocre. I'm ranting about this because it makes it difficult for me to break down the walls of what my work is "supposed" to look like or be. And if it doesn't fit into that "knowable, familar commercial box", I get no time with the viewer. It saddens me that most of the masses can't, or won't, invest the time and energy to "get" my work and the "art world" thinks it's shallow and pedantic (or at least that's the vibe I get).

The other day I received an email from LensWork publishing. They send out podcasts of Brooks Jensen ranting about all things photography. Some of them are okay. Most are painfully shallow and pedantic (snap!), but I still listen. The one that was sent out the other day was called, "Idea and Artifact'. He spoke like this was a new concept to him in photography. In other words, he was saying, "Does your work just look good or does it have meaning beyond the superficial - do you ever think about what you're photographing in profound ways?" Concept and craft, syntax and vocabulary, etc. etc. This spun me up big time. Another paraphrase, "Hey, we might want to think about what we photograph in a meaningful way". He mentions Kendrick's Tintypes and how gorgeous they are to see in real life (this is an example of 'Artifact')  - he has no clue about why artist's, such as myself, choose the craft and it goes way beyond the "beauty" of the image. It's not a balance of idea and artifact Brook, it's a transparent blending of the two. If you lack artifact, you're a theorist, if you lack theory, concept, or as you call it, idea, you're a commercial artist. Do your projects have intellectual meaning? Do you have statements, or can you give context (beyond the technical, modernist babble) about your projects? Because what I see out there today makes me want to yell at the top of my lungs, "What the hell is wrong with you? Don't you get it!?!"

Germany 1933 - 1945: What About the Ordinary Germans?
The other thing that has really been gnawing on me (which is nothing new) is the silence and indifference of history as it relates to the reality of where I live.

I occasionally pickup Daniel Johan Goldhagen's book, "Hitler's Willing Executioners  Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust" and read parts of it. I read the book about 18 months ago, but it's loaded with information and it's easy to forget the details. The details are what Goldhagen talks about, the overlooked or rarely addressed details. The point of view that says, "Hey, what about the ordinary Germans, what were they doing during all of this?" - a great question. And, after moving to Germany over two years ago, there is rarely a day that goes by where I don't ask that question myself.

I've devoted my artistic life to making work about this topic. The project is loosely based on "Kristallnacht" only because that was the "green light" for the Germans to carry out the Holocaust. I'm amazed at the level of hate and anger that the Germans felt toward their own people (other than they were Jewish). It's like chopping off your own hands or even your head! I can't understand it in any context and that's what people that I talk to here want me to do. They want me to understand that the ordinary German people were "brainwashed" and that their own lives were on the line if they didn't hate and shun the Jews. Really? What about the towns and villages boasting that they were "judenrein" (free of Jews). Or the thousands, or tens of thousands, of ordinary Germans that particiapted in "Kristallnacht"? Or the story about the Jewish woman in Stuttgart trying to get a ride on the bus? (read the book - page 103). I'm dubious that 60-70 million Germans were all brainwashed into doing these kinds of things. I agree with the premise of Goldhagen's book; a lot of ordinary Germans wanted to do those things. Why can't we have that discussion?

The silence is what bothers me. The indifference is palpable and painful here. I can't "turn it off", I'm aware, or present to it every time I see a smoke stack or watch a German insolently ignore another human being. The words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. were never so true. He said, "We will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."

Here's a portrait that I made Friday evening - August 1, 2008. Her name is Beatrice. She is from (near) Dresden, Germany. Her great-grandfather was a hardcore Nazi party member (officer).  It was an interesting experience to talk with her and make her portrait.

Beatrice Wank - August 1, 2008 Viernheim, Germany

Considering Creativity

What does it mean to be creative? Does it mean you are witty, fun and different? Or that you can make tiny flowers from pieces of bread? Play cover songs in a band? How about writing an incredible document like Thomas Jefferson did? How do you define it? What are the qualities and how do you recognize them?

I've been spending a lot of time traveling and teaching wet plate collodion workshops all over Europe. In between the technical and the fun, I've had my ear, my mind and my heart bent toward the creative spirits I've met along the way. I'm not saying that I gave a lecture or an artist's talk and requested feedback, but rather that I've quietly observed and listened to the words and ideas behind the people in my travels. It's difficult to explain, but there are a lot of passionate people making art out there. We rarely get to see it, it's rarely in galleries and it's never the latest craze (which sickens me anyway). It's usually found in unknown, unpretentious artists that are honest and authentic. Not perfect in anyway, but at least accessible and real. This is the kind of thing that excites me. Knowing that there are people like me, driven to make art and asking questions about ourselves and one another. It's all about narrative for me. Making art that is generative and allows the viewer, if they are present, to wander to explore and ask their own questions – it’s open to reverie.

The poet/writer C.K. Williams said that the poet (artist) has, "the right to vacillate, to wobble, to shillyshally, be indecisive in one's labors, and still not suffer from a sense of being irresponsible, indolent, or weak." It feels good to read that. It's one of my greatest weaknesses, I'm rather insecure as an artist (all artists are, if they are honest). I've done a bit of that "shillyshallying" lately.

My work has taken a nice turn recently. At least I think it's nice. After considering that the Kristallnacht project is almost impossible (read: almost) to complete (time, money and cooperation), I decided that I wanted to blend it with my personal interests and make it less pedantic and more authentic and, in my opinion, interesting. So, I'm blending Kristallnacht, Portraiture Work and both historical and contemporary theories of difference into my images.

My latest incarnations:

Carmen the Putzfrau and Heidelberg Brown Shirt Street

Heildelberg Synagogue Arc (Memorial) and German Man With An Axe

Kristallnacht Lecture: Mannheim High School

On Monday, April 28, I was invited (by Summer's teacher) to be a guest speaker in two honor history classes. Summer had told her about my project. I was happy to oblige. If you know me, you know that I rarely turn down an opportunity to have people listen to what I say and look at what I make. Needless to say, I accepted.

The classes, one with about 10 students and the other with about 18, just started reading Elie Wiesel’s, “Night”.  This is a powerful and disturbing account of the Wiesel family’s torture and suffering in the concentration camps of Germany and Poland. Although my project is directly related to the Holocaust, it’s (Kristallnacht) more obscure and less known.

I started by asking definition of words like “anti-Semitism” and “pogrom”. I talked about what I believe caused the world to turn against the Jews and to allow the near annihilation of them. For me, it was important to stress that living in Germany and understanding this history changed how I viewed the world. How living here made an abstract idea, a real life “concrete” event for me.

I quoted Martin Luther King, Jr., "In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." I talked about "indifference" and silence - or turning your head when bad things are happening to other people. I referenced this poem by Pastor Martin Niemöller too.

------------------
When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I wasn't a Jew.When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.
-------------------

I showed a 6 minute presentation I put together of my work so far and then took questions. It was very rewarding and I look forward to doing it again.

"Ich bin ein Berliner?"

My first impressions of Berlin were, "Ummm, this is Berlin?" In other words, I wasn't that impressed. It's a large city, some 3 - 4 million people. It's spread out and takes forever to get anywhere (by foot). The U-Bahn is good, but again, somewhat inconvenient. However, I think the biggest let down was the "industrial" feel of the place. I'm not going to kvetch about the entire trip or city, because there are some very good things in Berlin to experience.

 Suckin' the espresso!
The Jewish Museum Berlin: This is an amazing place. Moreover, we got to see an exhibit called, "Typisch - Klichees von Juden und Anderen" ("Stereotypes - Cliches of Jews and Others"). The show consists of common stereotypes about groups of people as well as out right racial and ethnicity issues. It's frightening when I think about all of the subtle racial and ethnic beliefs we all have. There were a couple of very moving/interesting pieces in the show. The first was "49 Jewish Noses" from Dennis Kardon. It was interesting to find the "nose" of Nan Goldin in this piece. She's a photographer that I like (and met once). When I met her, I was challenging her on her view, and what she had said about the work of Donna Ferrato. She said I was "belligerent". I thought that it was uncalled for at the time, but I my passion sometimes translates as aggression. Another piece that stood out was called, "You Don't Have To Be Jewish To Love Levy's Real Jewish Rye" by Howard Zieff. I bought the catalog/book.

"49 Jewish Noses" 

Anne Sprinkle, Tit Print

 
"A Bookend"


"You Don't Have to be Jewish..."

The museum is huge. You could spend days in it and not see everything. I had flashbacks of the Louvre when we were walking through it. It starts at the beginning of the Jewish history and works its way through the Holocaust. Daniel Liebeskind did an amazing job with the architecture. If you look at an aerial of the building is looks like a broken star of David.

Jeanne and Quinn The Memorial we were iin.
  
This is the memorial we were in (above photo)
those are olive trees growing on the tops of the
pillars - the ground is uneven and disorienting.

One place that was especially moving is called "The Holocaust Tower". Jean and I were the only ones in it for a few minutes. It's very dark and very cold. There is one bit of light at the top (way up there) and you can hear the outside world. It was eerie. When we tried to leave, I couldn't open the door (I was pulling and should have been pushing) it freaked me out!  There was a large room with metal "faces" called "Fallen Leaves" this too was very moving and eerie - I've uploaded a video here.

Inside the Holocaust Tower
When we were finished at the museum, we headed over to "Checkpoint Charlie" and "The Wall". It was a great day, and like all of our adventures here, will be indelibly burned into our memories!

Checkpoint Charlie: East Germany met West Germany

West Berlin - US Soldier photo.

 
"The 'real' still standing wall that separated
the East from the West - mind blowing history"

  
East Berlin - Soviet Soldier photo.

  
"Quinn and Jean in front of a piece of the Wall"

Wet Plate Collodion Photography: Kristallnacht

I feel comfortable enough now to start telling people about what I'm doing here - in a more public way. It's a difficult position to be when you want to keep the idea to yourself until you know (or at least think you know) you can pull it off and getting attention and support for it. Ultimately, I'm going to have to get a lot of attention on this project for it to be able to do what I want.

Unfortunately, I don't have much confidence that the German people will respond well to this project. It's an unhealed land and people in a lot of ways. Forgiveness and the acceptance of forgiveness isn't evident to me - this is still a very taboo topic here.

Wet Plate Collodion Photography: Kristallnacht