Berlin after 1989

James Nachtwey’s silver gelatin print captures a section of the Berlin wall. It's a stark composition; a concrete wall topped with barbed wire fills the frame, obscuring the world beyond. I find myself wondering about the moment Nachtwey chose to release the shutter. The gray tones add to the feeling of bleakness. Imagine him there, amidst the echoes of history, framing this scene just so. The hand gripping the top of the wall! What could it have been like to witness this division, this barrier cutting through a city, a people? The cool tones emphasize the cold, hard reality of the wall, its physical presence a manifestation of ideological separation. The barbed wire – cruel and relentless – a symbol of conflict and constraint. Like the paintings of Anselm Kiefer, Nachtwey's Berlin speaks to the weight of German history. Ultimately, it is a meditation on division, resilience, and the enduring human spirit.