If it weren’t a really crass thing to do I think I’d probably say that Walter Benjamin would have loved this mournful photo-record of change in the built fabric of Berlin over nearly twenty years. I’ve been to Berlin a few times. The first was long before the wall came down – around the time of the first of these photographs. The poetry of this collection is as much in the idea and in the arrangement of the exhibit as in the individual images. It’s a very thoughtful stab at a new kind of urban historiography –? a contemporary, subjective, visual way of writing a city’s history. Anyway, now I’m gushing. Set aside half an hour to browse the pics, though. Thanks to Jonathan at the always excellent Things Magazine for the link.
In which I try, after 25 years of blogging, to drop my ironic stance a bit.