adriana altaras actress, director

heinz berggruen art dealer and collector † 2007

michael blumenthal museum director

maxim biller writer, novelist

artur brauner film producer † 2019

maria brauner humanitarian † 2017

dr. alice brauner journalist, film producer

leeor engländer university student - managing director

chawa kahane high school student

alexa karolinski art history student - filmmaker

shelly latte medical student - md  emigrated to the USA

miriam marcus wife and mother

oskar melzer deejay, creative director, interior designer

andreas pfeffer bagel wholesaler

dr. rafael seligmann writer, journalist

tuvia schlesinger police officer

prof. dr. julius schoeps historian

yehuda teichtal rabbi

susanne witting law student - lawyer, emigrated to israel

a photographic work about meaning and transformation

the voices on the recorded dialogs serve as the impulse for the photographs. emotional and intuitive meaning are extracted and transformed into allegorical or abstract images.

an art exhibition, and a public art installation

My experience with the 9/11 terror attack in New York City was the turning point for dramatic changes in my life. After working as a recognized fashion and portrait photographer in New York City for more than 20 years, I felt the need to reinvent myself as an artist outside of the fashion world.

In 2004, Berlin was the first change of scenery that initiated the hoped-for transformation. I immediately became interested in the Jewish life in Berlin. Shortly afterwards I began a project with the great help of the Jewish community outlined in this document.

At the same time, personal questions about growing up in Germany after World War II increased and the project became much more complex than I had ever imagined. At times my emotions got out of hand and I struggled on all sides except within the Jewish Community, where I felt great comfort.

After finishing my interviews and the necessary research in Berlin, I came to the conclusion that it is better to finish this project over a longer period. It took me time to figure out how to translate voices into pictures or portraits, which was uncharted territory for me in photography. I also had the feeling that, except within the Jewish community in Germany, there was no willingness to address the issues I heard in my interviews. For instance, the concern of the increased violence against the Jewish Community, or addressing in public the European “Le rapport non publié sur l’antisémitisme en Europe 2002” gave me the feeling of Don Quixote. In order to continue this project, I recognized the need for further research on this subject. Over the years I have traveled extensively and worked regularly in Lanzarote to take photographs for this project.

Additional research:

Jewish life in Europe.

Growing up in Germany in the 50s/60s/70s.

Travel for exploratory photographs and research:

Germany, Poland, Spain, Lanzarote, Ireland, England, France, USA.

Twenty two hours of sound recordings.

Roughly 450 exploratory photographs.

This project became the blueprint for how I create most photographic works today.