I attended Foto8′s first Slide Slam at the HOST gallery in Islington last week, not being sure what to expect. On the whole I enjoyed the evening, especially the space hopper bit by Paul Treacy and Tim Hetherington’s piece at the end.
Now I haven’t done a slide show of my pictures since the days of Kodak Carousels and audio tapes, but I thought I’d try something out for the next Slide Slam. Have a look and tell me what you think:
Tags: slideshow, theresienstadt
Wonderful photographs
But i do not like the music with the images. I’m not sure of the connection between a aria that was sung in celebration for the coronation of Charles II and your visit to Theresienstadt?
Is it because both made you feel sad?
Dido and Anais is wonderful and very moving. What about the Opera that was written for and performed by Children in the Theresienstadt? Just before they were murdered, “Brundibar” I think it is called.
There are loads of pieces of music that came out of this camp. But I don’t think Purcell was ever there? I may be wrong on that
as always breath taking pictures Paul. x
Thanks Grant – I’m glad you found the pictures moving.
Surprisingly, I didn’t chose the music because of Purcell, or Charles II, ancient Carthage, Troy, the soprano’s hair colour or the length of a crochet. As you suggest, it was because of the way it made me feel.
Theresienstadt is famous for the creative work that was carried out in the midst of the horror and madness, but that is not referenced here. Not because it’s not relevant, although the pictures deal much more with the prison than the ghetto, but because the lament captures what I want to say so well.
It feels to me that both music and libretto were written to capture the feeling I have from the place. “When I am laid in earth… remember me.”
I’m afraid I’ve never heard “Brundibar”. It might well make an excellent soundtrack for a slideshow, even for this slideshow, but it’s equally possible that it would not. During my visit to Terezin it was the Small Fortress that moved me most, and where I took most of the pictures. This has nothing to do with what happened where, levels of suffering or numbers of dead, but everything to do with the stones of the place, the atmosphere and, I have to face it, the way it looks. I was not making a historical record, I was recording how I reacted to what I saw.
No doubt there is a great photo essay to be made on the suffering and death in the ghetto and the cultural activity, forced and unforced, that accompanied it – but this is not it, and it’s not intended to be.
Some execelent photographs and the music was fine.