Surreal shots of everyday life in Berlin

In his new book 'Berlin Pictures', photographer Mark Steinmetz explores the singular energy of the German capital – a place where money, history and love come together in bizarre and beautiful ways.

In the spring of 2012, while photographer Mark Steinmetz was working for the University of Hartford in Connecticut, he received an invitation to teach at the school’s Masters of Fine Arts programme it organised in Berlin, Germany. Staying in the city’s neighbourhood of Prenzlauer Berg in the former East Berlin, he would use his spare time to walk around its streets armed with his camera, soaking in the architecture, the people, and the energy of the capital.

“I was just pretty open to wandering around and exploring,” Steinmetz says. “I like the pace of it – it’s a real city, but it’s not too fast.”

Steinmetz would return every year up until 2019, doing much the same – walking around, taking pictures of anything or anyone that caught his eye. Now, a number of shots taken from his inquisitive strolls are presented in his new photobook Berlin Pictures, which capture the city’s singular architecture and people.

But Steinmetz’s nonchalant tone and method betray the drama of the project. While he speaks with a certain relaxation and humility, his photographs are often filled with a surrealism that belies the image of a man walking around aimlessly, repeatedly releasing the shutter of his camera. From someone seated on top of a phone booth staring intently into the distance, to a figure dressed as Mickey Mouse marching with a purpose, each photo tells its own story found in the everyday.

“I’m just trying to take pictures that are matched to my sensibility,” he says. “I think good work stands apart from the ordinary in some way – there’s a strangeness to good art.”

The photographs also have a silver sheen about them, which Steinmetz says is no coincidence – he feels the colour typifies much of how he envisaged the city aesthetically. He nearly ended up titling the book Silver City, but in the end went for the simpler Berlin Pictures. “I like the silver in black-and-white [photographs],” Steinmetz says. “There’s a lot of silver shine in the graffiti. It’s not a slick, highly technological city, and it’s kind of shabby and shiny in a way. And it references to gold and silver.”

This theme of gold and silver, humankind’s monetary means of exchange for thousands of years, piqued Steinmetz’s interest over the course of this project. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the reunification of East and West Berlin, much of the city has taken on a radical, capitalist-sceptic character, with a strong culture of activism. Every year on International Workers’ Day (May 1), large-scale left-wing demonstrations occur together with parties and raves, and in 2018 residents successfully campaigned against the building of a ‘Google Campus’ in the Kreuzberg neighbourhood. 

Berlin is a place where money – or, at times, lack of it – felt prescient to Steinmetz, which makes for an intriguing backdrop to his work. “I think the pictures are about desire in some way,” he says. “There’s pictures about love, pictures about having money and not having money – there are people with their hands out reaching for money, or looking for money. Money, capitalism and love are the themes in the book.”

There’s also a weight to the shots steeped in the city’s long and troubled history, where it served as the centre of Nazi Germany during World War II and the Holocaust, which saw the genocide of millions of Jewish, Roma, Polish, Black Germans, disabled people, communists, LGBTQ+ people and other persecuted minorities. Through leftover barbed wire, 20th century architecture, and grandiose monuments, Steinmetz sensed elements of this dark past during his routine strolls around its streets.

“There is something about its history that is felt,” he says. “I feel that Hitler moved into Berlin and chose that city because it was special – it had a glorious past before him and he just wanted to [abuse] it.”

Berlin Pictures by Mark Steinmetz is published by Kominek Books.

Follow Isaac on Twitter. 

Enjoyed this article? Like Huck on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.


Ad

Latest on Huck

Red shop frontage with "Open Out" branding and appointment-only signage.
Activism

Meet the trans-led hairdressers providing London with gender-affirming trims

Open Out — Since being founded in 2011, the Hoxton salon has become a crucial space the city’s LGBTQ+ community. Hannah Bentley caught up with co-founder Greygory Vass to hear about its growth, breaking down barbering binaries, and the recent Supreme Court ruling.

Written by: Hannah Bentley

Cyclists racing past Palestinian flag, yellow barriers, and spectators.
Sport

Gazan amputees secure Para-Cycling World Championships qualification

Gaza Sunbirds — Alaa al-Dali and Mohamed Asfour earned Palestine’s first-ever top-20 finish at the Para-Cycling World Cup in Belgium over the weekend.

Written by: Isaac Muk

Crowded festival site with tents, stalls and an illuminated red double-decker bus. Groups of people, including children, milling about on the muddy ground.
© Alan Tash Lodge
Music

New documentary revisits the radical history of UK free rave culture

Free Party: A Folk History — Directed by Aaron Trinder, it features first-hand stories from key crews including DiY, Spiral Tribe, Bedlam and Circus Warp, with public streaming available from May 30.

Written by: Isaac Muk

Weathered wooden building with a tall spire, person on horseback in foreground.
Culture

Rahim Fortune’s dreamlike vision of the Black American South

Reflections — In the Texas native’s debut solo show, he weaves familial history and documentary photography to challenge the region’s visual tropes.

Written by: Miss Rosen

A collage depicting a giant flup for mankind, with an image of the Earth surrounded by planets and people in sci-fi costumes.
Culture

Why Katy Perry’s space flight was one giant flop for mankind

Galactic girlbossing — In a widely-panned, 11-minute trip to the edge of the earth’s atmosphere, the ‘Women’s World’ singer joined an all-female space crew in an expensive vanity advert for Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin. Newsletter columnist Emma Garland explains its apocalypse indicating signs.

Written by: Emma Garland

Three orange book covers with the title "Foreign Fruit" against a dark background.
Culture

Katie Goh: “I want people to engage with the politics of oranges”

Foreign Fruit — In her new book, the Edinburgh-based writer traces her personal history through the citrus fruit’s global spread, from a village in China to Californian groves. Angela Hui caught up with her to find out more.

Written by: Katie Goh

Huck is supported by our readers, subscribers and Club Huck members. It is also made possible by sponsorship from:

Signup to our newsletter

Sign up to our newsletter to informed with the cutting edge of sport, music and counterculture, featuring personal takes on the state of media and pop culture from Emma Garland, former Digital Editor of Huck, exclusive interviews, recommendations and more.

Please wait...

Accessibility Settings

Text

Applies the Open Dyslexic font, designed to improve readability for individuals with dyslexia.

Applies a more readable font throughout the website, improving readability.

Underlines links throughout the website, making them easier to distinguish.

Adjusts the font size for improved readability.

Visuals

Reduces animations and disables autoplaying videos across the website, reducing distractions and improving focus.

Reduces the colour saturation throughout the website to create a more soothing visual experience.

Increases the contrast of elements on the website, making text and interface elements easier to distinguish.