Barcelona, Spain (Catalonia)

There are so many wonderful things to say about Barcelona, Spain. There are also some bad things to talk about too. It's a poor city (for the most part) and relies on tourism as the main source of income. The irony here is that there are pickpockets and thieves out and about all of the time. They aren't violent, they only take what they can and tourists give them plenty of opportunities to do just that. It's kind of biting the hand that feeds when you have so much crime against tourists and they are the source of your income. Regardless, it's a safe city and you can walk the streets without any problems as long as you have some "urbana sensibildad". The people here are warm and friendly and the food and drink are some of the best in the world. We love tapas and all things seafood. We are sitting here in our apartment and I can see the ships on the Mediterranean Sea, c'mon!

The first thing I would say about Barcelona is that it's my favorite city in Europe. If I could, I would live here in a heartbeat. The city is full of energy and it's very "loose". That's both a good thing and a bad thing. I love the language (and can actually get by here). If I could spend six months here, I would be speaking Spanish again without too much trouble. This is our second trip here and will not be our last.

We're here because I was asked to come and teach two wet plate Collodion workshops.  I just finished with one (Friday, Saturday and Sunday). I will teach another this Friday, Saturday and Sunday. In the interim, we have been walking the city, riding the subway and just taking it easy. Tomorrow, which is Wednesday, May 28, 2008, I am going to work with the studio that sponsored me here to make giant wet plate images (16"x20") of the "Botero Gato" en la Rambla - (a giant Botero Cat). I'm looking forward to that. We have to watch the crowds, again, a security issue, but it will be fine. The newspapers will be there to interview me and the studio - a historic event! I'm fortunate to be involved with it!

I'll try to make another post when we get back to Germany next week. Enjoy the photos and video!

Jeanne enjoying tapas y Sangria!
Did Summer assist in the workshop?

This is us on the Port of Barcelona. I'm not pissed, I'm not used to the sun (Germany) so I am squinting a little bit.  
Carrer del L' Hospital
Fruit and meat market just off of Las Ramblas.

Glasgow, Scotland

On Friday (May 2) we hopped on a flight (Ryan Air) to Glasgow, Scotland (UK). It was about an hour and forty minute flight. Too easy.

I meet a lot of people through my wet plate photography interests and this is how we ended up in Scotland. Carl Radford and his wife, Liz, (and their dog Lewis) welcomed us, put us up in their beautiful home, fed us, walked us around Glasgow and even picked us up and dropped us off at the airport! How kind is that?

We had never met Carl until last weekend. He is hosting a wet plate Collodion workshop that a Californian bloke named Kerik Kouklis is flying over to teach. Kerik and Carl have been friends for a couple of years.

It was great fun to be involved in the revival of wet plate Collodion in Scotland after 150 years of it being gone. Carl and I made the first plates in Scotland since (probably) the 19^th century. It was a blast.

After the wet plate Collodion events, we wandered the streets of Glasgow and went to a great Japanese restaurant (oddly enough) called Wagamama. It was really good. It seems to be very popular in the U.K. The Radfords also cooked us haggis and traditional Scottish meals. Scottish food is outstanding, very, very good. And yes, haggis tastes excellent.Enjoy the photos (click to make them larger) and video (below)!

Bagpipes, bagpises and more bagpipes.

A wee bit more - this guy was actually pretty good.
Carl wanders Glasgow.

Carl, Liz, Jeanne, Summer and Quinn in the Glasgow subway.
Downtown Glasgow, Scotland.

"Hey, there we are!" (3D Map of downtown Glasgow)

Scottish pounds. 1 pound = $2.05 (at this time) - OUCH!

These guys were good, too.
University of Glasgow

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.

We Love You Lucky! 1990 - 2008

We love you and you will be missed!!!

Lucky Jacobson entered Heaven on April 9, 2008 at about 1830 in Viernheim, Germany. He would have been 18 years-old this August 10! He was in kidney failure due to his age. He had a wonderful life and we were there for him to the end. This photograph was taken on one of his many trips around Europe. This was in Lucca, Italy on a beautiful September morning of 2007.

Our sweet little Lucky dog. The best dog ever!

"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"