Sunday, 1 March 2015
Berlin.
One perk to working in a sixth form college but not actually being a teacher is the trips. I quite often get to go on the day trips as an additional member of staff. 2 weeks ago, I was ucky enough to join a film/media/photography/art trip to Berlin for 3 days. Having never been to Germany, my 3 days (well 2 1/2 days) in Berlin we a real treat. I didnt have a huge idea of what to expect from this city so exploration was right at the top of my agenda.
I crammed in as much as possible into my short time there and could resist the opportunity to get snap happy. I geared myself up with a map, my Minolta 5000, 2 rolls of black and white film and a handfuk of colour rolls.
I think one of my intial thoughts on the city were actually of disappointment. Now, I should point out that this quickly changed before anyone is too offended. One of the first things I take note of, as does anyone I'd imagine, is the aethetics. The archecture. Given the city's history I'd think that a lot of the orginal structures were demolished, giving reason to the lack of intricatly designed buildings. Many of them, and this is something I have tried to show through my images, are grey and angular. My very idea of the 'concrete jungle'. In my opinion, the city is still shadowed by its history.
The Jewsh memorial is a definite must for anyone visiting. It a powerful peice of art work, though simplistic in design. Giant concrete blocks tower over you as you walk through the memorial, pushing upon you the feeling of oppression that you can only assume is a fraction of how the Jewish felt during the war.
Sadly, I did not get any good shots of this, though they certainly wouldnt have done it enough justice anyway.
As I began to overlook the aesthics of the city and dig deeper into what it has to offer, I found much more that I'd expected.
The Berlin Wall memorial again is surely a mandatory visit if you are in the city. If not to learn a little history then at least to gage an idea at the size and vastness of the wall before it began being pulled down.
I was lucky enough to be there at the end of Berlinale film festival. So when walking around the Potsdamer Platz there certainly was an air of glamour. The red carpet, the reporters. Practically every cinema screen was fully booked for the proceeding week. I was unaware of just how large the film indutry was in Berlin. The multiplexs consisted of at least 15 screening rooms, all of which dwafered the size of my local multiplex in comparision.
There are galleries and museums on every corner. I certainly couldnt pin down a favourite. Unfortunately, I did not get to visit any of the smaller independant galleries, which is something I'd do on a return journey. But with the Photograhers Gallery, film and media museum and The Salvador Dali gallery to visit, I simply didnt have the time. All of these I'd insist on any vistor seeing.
The photographers gallery holds an inpressive collection of the work of Helmet Newton. From exhibiting his prints to the collection of his cameras and even the car named after him.
The film and Media museum is again an impressive exhibition. When I visited they had a ollection of Kens Adams set designs. Concept builds and drawings from Diamonds are Forever. Imopressive as that is, it is far from my favourite part. A sci-fi exhibition that begins with a replica of the Robot from Fritz Lang's Metropolis. You are guided athrough a room covered completely in mirrors, giving the feeling of a never ending space. Almost like seomthing that might feature in Nolan's Inception, or even, his more recent Interstella. Genuinely awesome, in every sense and most accurate use of the word. 
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