4/1/17

50th Anniversary - Potsdam Conference - 1995 - Lightbox Images

As part of the events marking the 50th anniversary of the Potsdam Conference in Potsdam, Germany, I participated by having an exhibition of digitally altered and printed images that were placed in 160 lightboxes at tram and bus stops throughout Potsdam, as well as a smaller number in Berlin and in Arnhem, the Netherlands. My goal was to create a reflection of 50 years of history when the people of Potsdam were living the consequences of the Potsdam Conference. I did this by using photographs from the DOK film studio archives, photographs taken by Potsdam photographer Martin Seidel, and photographs from personal archives of the people of Potsdam, as well as photographs that I took in Potsdam while working on the project. By digitally altering the images and creating a sort of "digital collage" my goal was to use computer technology to combine layers of time, creating an image that evokes a glance in all directions. Using a means of communication usually dominated by advertising to express more than the enticement to consume, my goal was to broaden opportunities for advertisers and invite the public to use the lightboxes as a reflection of their own creativity. 
 This image is composed of images from Frederick the Great's New Palace in Sanssouci, the vineyards (in winter) at the Sanssouci Palace and a photograph from the personal archives of a Potsdam couple, used with permission, in the gazebo at Sanssouci. They are meant to represent a glorious day in the park, no matter what politics roils up around them, just like today.
Photographs of Sanssouci © Patrick Burke.
  Corporate sponsors for the project were : Wall AG, Berlin, Germany. ESC, Badsalzuflen, Germany. OCE' Germany, and Color Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands. The image is the original lightbox print, not the digital version.