There is a picture that the photographer Helga Paris took in the 1970s that shows Winsstrasse in Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg disappearing in the distance into what you could call a thick haze. Or smog. Or that smoky effect from a distance that you see in Renaissance painting Sfumato baptized. The facades in Helga Paris’ photo are not as tightly whitewashed as they are today. It is Berlin gray plaster, washed down by the years. One could also say: they are crumbling. Or: They show their age without make-up. And in the middle of this apparent city veduta, a bird darts aggressively towards the viewer through the stone street canyon. But is it really a “dove” as the title of the picture claims? In terms of color, it could just as easily be an excited crow, not a symbol of peace but a symbol of death. You usually only see things shimmering like this on tilting postcards and picture puzzles.
The Berlin photographer Helga Paris died at the age of 85 – culture
