The Ghosts of Auschwitz and B
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PhotographerCole Thompson, United States
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Website
The Ghosts of Auschwitz and Birkenau is a reminder that the Nazi Death Camps are not dead places.
I was born into a world of Black and White images.
Television and movies were in Black and White. The news was in Black and White. The nation was segregated into Black and White. My childhood heroes were in Black and White and that image was an extension of the world, as I knew it.
At the age of fourteen my life changed. While living in Rochester, New York I read the biography of George Eastman and it inspired me to purchase a Sears photo developing kit. I can still remember the magic as I saw that first Black & White image appear in the developer. I was immediately liberated, I was no longer consigned to just look, I could create!
So I created images in Black & White. For me color records the image, but Black & White captures the feelings that lie beneath the surface.
When I am asked about my work and what it means, I am reminded of a quote by Jean Cocteu: "An artist cannot speak about his/her art any more than a plant can discuss horticulture."
