Monday, December 22, 2008

Explanation of "habe ich nicht protestiert"

So, after posting my picture last night, I realized that it probably needed a bit more of an explanation than a poem in German.

So, Here we go... The subject of last night's picture is the Holocaust memorial in Berlin (more properly called the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe). The whole thing is a city block filled with these large concrete blocks. They are all of different heights, but are all the same length and width. Also, they are all the same shade of dull gray. You can walk in between them and almost get lost within them.

The symbolism of this giant piece of art is almost too hard for me to explain right here on this blog post, but if you feel like reading a bit more about it, then here is the wiki page:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_to_the_Murdered_Jews_of_Europe

So, I hope now that this picture has a bit more of a meaning now instead of just being a bunch of giant gray blocks! Also, for anyone who might be interested, here is an English translation of the poem I posted...

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 was not a Jew.

When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.

Sunday, December 21, 2008

"... habe ich nicht protestiert; ich war ja kein Jude"


Als die Nazis die Kommunisten holten,
habe ich geschwiegen;
ich war ja kein Kommunist.

Als sie die Sozialdemokraten einsperrten,
habe ich geschwiegen;
ich war ja kein Sozialdemokrat.

Als sie die Gewerkschafter holten,
habe ich nicht protestiert;
ich war ja kein Gewerkschafter.

Als sie die Juden holten,
habe ich geschwiegen;
ich war ja kein Jude.

Als sie mich holten,
gab es keinen mehr, der protestieren konnte.

~Pastor Martin Niemöller

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Monday, December 8, 2008

Candlelight Correspondence

Click to Enlarge

"In a man's letters you know, Madam, his soul lies naked, his letters are only the mirror of his breast, whatever passes within him is shown undisguised in its natural process. Nothing is inverted, nothing distorted, you see systems in their elements, you discover actions in their motives."
-Samuel Johnson

Sunday, December 7, 2008

The Purpose of this Blog

Hi! For those of you who don't know me, my name is Tommy Messersmith. I am currently attending Auburn University in Alabama. This blog is my attempt at expanding my creativity in my photography. I love photography, and I'm trying to make my pictures as good as possible. The only way I can do this is to take as many pictures as possible and post them here.

I really want people to comment on these pictures as much as possible. I want to know what you think! Constructive criticism is the best way for me to learn and grow as an artist. So, please don't hold back.

As you can see, my first post is just one example of how I hope to bring a different perspective to ordinary objects that you see every day. I hope you enjoy this as I'm sure I will. Be looking forward to some very interesting pictures as I go along!

I hope you enjoy!
Tommy

The Power of Focus



Click to see Larger View

EDIT: This is the real edited version of this picture, sorry for posting the old one earlier, I'm still new to this!