Synopses & Reviews
The spirit of Berlin: A photographic journey into the city’s history Berlin has survived two world wars, was divided by a wall during the Cold War, and after the fall of the wall was reunited. The city emerged as a center of European power and culture. From 1860 to the present day, this book presents the story of Berlin in photographs, portraits, and aerial views. With 560 pages of emotional, atmospheric images, from giddy pictures of the Roaring Twenties to devastating images of war to heartwarming postwar photos of a city picking up the pieces—the Reichstag in ruins and later wrapped by Christo and Jeanne-Claude—this is the most comprehensive photographic study on Berlin ever made.
Among the photographs are works by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Helmut Newton, René Burri, Robert Capa, Thomas Struth, and Wolfgang Tillmans as well as well-known Berlin photo-chroniclers such as Friedrich Seidenstücker, Erich Salomon, Willy Römer, and Heinrich Zille (an index of photographers' biographies is also included). Quotations from Berliners and Berlin connoisseurs such as Vladimir Nabokov, Alfred Döblin, Herwarth Walden, Marlene Dietrich, Billy Wilder, Willy Brandt, Helmut Newton, Sir Simon Rattle, and David Bowie give voices to the imagery. More than a tribute to the city and its civic, social, and photographic history, this book especially pays homage to Berlin’s inhabitants: full of hope and strength, in their faces is reflected Berlin’s undying soul. Text in English, French, and German
Synopsis
Berlin has survived two world wars, was divided by a wall during the Cold War, and after the fall of the wall was reunited. The city emerged as a center of European power and culture. From 1860 to the present day, this book is the most comprehensive photographic study of this extraordinary city, dense with spirit as much as with history. Some 560 pages gather aerial views, street scenes, portraits, and more to trace Berlin history from the Roaring Twenties to devastating images of war to heartwarming postwar photos of a city picking up the pieces--the Reichstag in ruins and later wrapped by Christo and Jeanne-Claude. Among the photographs are works by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Helmut Newton, Ren Burri, Robert Capa, Thomas Struth, and Wolfgang Tillmans in addition to well-known Berlin photo-chroniclers such as Friedrich Seidenst cker, Erich Salomon, Willy R mer, and Heinrich Zille (an index of photographers' biographies is also included). The images are accompanied by quotes from Berliners and Berlin connoisseurs such as Vladimir Nabokov, Alfred D blin, Herwarth Walden, Marlene Dietrich, Billy Wilder, Willy Brandt, Helmut Newton, Sir Simon Rattle, and David Bowie. More than a tribute to the city and its civic, social, and photographic history, this book pays special homage to Berlin's inhabitants: full of hope and strength, in their faces is reflected Berlin's undying soul.
Synopsis
The spirit of Berlin: a photographic journey into the city's history Berlin has survived two world wars, was divided by a wall during the Cold War, and after the fall of the Wall was re-united. The city emerged as a center of European power and culture. From 1860 to the present day, this book presents the story of Berlin in photographs, portraits, maps, and aerial views. With nearly 700 pages of emotional, atmospheric images, from giddy pictures of the Roaring Twenties to devastating images of war to heartwarming postwar photos of a city picking up the pieces?the Reichstag in ruins and later wrapped by Christo and Jeanne-Claude?this is the most comprehensive photographic study on Berlin ever made. More than a tribute to the city and its civic, social, and photographic history, this book especially pays homage to Berlin's inhabitants: full of hope and strength, in their faces is reflected Berlin's undying soul. ? Including images by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Helmut Newton, Ren? Burri, Robert Capa, Thomas Struth, and Wolfgang Tillmans as well as well-known Berlin photo-chroniclers such as Friedrich Seidenst?cker, Erich Salomon, Willy R?mer, and Heinrich Zille. ? Quotations from Berliners and Berlin connoisseurs such as Vladimir Nabokov, Alfred D?blin, Herwarth Walden, Marlene Dietrich, Billy Wilder, Max Schmeling, Willy Brandt, Helmut Newton, Simon Rattle, and David Bowie
Synopsis
The fourth age of Soviet architecture
In this volume photographer Frédéric Chaubin reveals 90 buildings sited in fourteen former Soviet Republics which express what could be considered as the fourth age of Soviet architecture. They reveal an unexpected rebirth of imagination, an unknown burgeoning that took place from 1970 until 1990. Contrary to the twenties and thirties, no “school” or main trend emerges here. These buildings represent a chaotic impulse brought about by a decaying system. Their diversity announces the end of Soviet Union.
Taking advantage of the collapsing monolithic structure, the holes of the widening net, architects revisited all the chronological periods and styles, going back to the roots or freely innovating. Some of the daring ones completed projects that the Constructivists would have dreamt of (Druzhba sanatorium), others expressed their imagination in an expressionist way (Tbilisi wedding palace). A summer camp, inspired by sketches of a prototype lunar base, lays claim to its suprematist influence (Promethee). Then comes the speaking architecture widespread in the last years of the USSR: a crematorium adorned with concrete flames (Kiev crematorium), a technological institute with a flying saucer crashed on the roof (Kiev institute), a political center watching you like a Big Brother (Kaliningrad House of Soviet). This puzzle of styles testifies to all the ideological dreams of the period, from the obsession with the cosmos to the rebirth of privacy and it also outlines the geography of the USSR, showing how local influences made their exotic twists before bringing the country to its end.
About the Author
About the photographer:
Frédéric Chaubin was born in Phnom Penh in 1959. For the last fifteen years, he has been editor-in-chief of the French lifestyle magazine Citizen K. Since 2000 he has regularly featured his photographic works combining architecture and travel. The CCCP collection research was carried out from 2003 to 2010 in an intuitive process.