I visited Martin Gropius Bau to see Barbara Klemm's photos on March 8. I expected good photos, but the exhibition provided much more. It was a sizable chunk of modern history frozen in hundreds of pictures. When contrasted with today's reality they seemed sometimes to come from another long gone century, not just 30 or 40 years ago. There were pictures showing the late sixties and seventies that would not surprise on 19th century paintings. Similar bleak and gloomy scenes.
Klemm, being a photojournalist, does not spare neither her own German compatriots nor other nations. The social contrasts are shown explicitly on the snapshots from the Western countries, poverty hardly imaginable to citizens of "developed worlds" shows on the Third World pictures.
Also she perfectly catches the excitement that overwhelmed Europe when the communist block crumbled. Metaphorically with the onset of glasnost and Polish Solidarity and literally when the Berlin wall was destroyed. The joy that accompanied the moments when Germany reunited.
The black and white pictures are perfectly composed and very well defined. A very good and impressive collection. I wonder what will happen with it after the Berlin exhibition is closed.
This was my main reason to come to Berlin on the March 8-9 weekend and it was really worth it.
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