Kerber Verlag, Fall 2022

In 1973, photographer Jason Langer’s parents divorced and his mother, feeling compelled to get back to her Jewish roots, took Langer and his two brothers to live on a kibbutz in Israel. There each year on Yom Kippur, Langer and other children in the “children’s house” were asked to stand in silence at the local Holocaust memorial, think of their ancestors who had suffered most recently from the Nazis, and be thankful to live in their Promised Land. Langer lived in Israel from the age of 6 to 11, formative years which have shaped him to this day, so when he was invited to Berlin in 2008 to photograph the city, he met the suggestion with trepidation. Associating the German capital with its 20th century atrocities, he saw it as a cold, unfriendly place. Even so he accepted, and from 2009-2013 he explored the city mostly on foot, with two film cameras and black and white film. He photographed Berlin with an eye towards places where Jewish people were deported or killed but also took it as an opportunity to confront and update his preconceived notions and find a new narrative of contemporary Germany and the German people. Photographing the streets, people he met on the way, and acquaintances who grew to be friends, he tracked traces of the Holocaust, the Cold War, and imagined the freedom and creative expression of the roaring 20s. As is typical of Langer’s photographs his vision is timeless, entirely personal and mixes history and fantasy.

Berlin includes 135 duotone photographs plus essays by Bill Kouwenhoven, Shelly Kupferberg, and the photographer.

The book is published by Kerber Verlag, distributed by Artbook| D.A.P. in the US and AAC Artbooks worldwide.

Berlin in an edition of 1000 copies.

Product Details

• Publisher: Kerber Verlag; 1st edition (Fall 2022)

• Includes 135 duotone photographs plus essays by Bill Kouwenhoven, Shelly Kupferberg, and the photographer.

• Distribution: Artbook| D.A.P. in the US and AAC Artbooks worldwide

• Language: English