Fotoeins Fotografie

location bifurcation, place vs. home

Posts from the ‘Arts’ category

The Crier, Tiergarten, Berlin, Germany, fotoeins.com

The Crier: from Berlin to Perth

In this post, I wrote about how I discovered the statue called “Der Rufer” (The Crier) in Berlin’s Tiergarten:

The statue in the foreground is called “Der Rufer” (The Caller or The Crier). Created by Gerhard Marcks in 1966, a cast of the bronze statue was purchased and erected here in place in the former West Berlin in May 1989. The statue was placed deliberately so that the “caller” faced East Berlin. At the sculpture’s base is a quote by Italian poet Francesco Petrarch (1304-1374): “Ich gehe durch die Welt, und rufe ‘Friede Friede Friede'” | “I wander through the world, and cry ‘Peace, Peace, Peace.'”

On 12 September 2012, some 18 months after making the above photo, I discovered the same statue by accident at the Cultural Centre in Northbridge, Perth, Australia.

The Crier, Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia, fotoeins.com

The Crier (Perth)

Sculptor Gerhard Marcks (1889-1981) did not intend to convey a specific message or meaning to his piece of work. However, the version of the sculpture in Berlin was dedicated to a call for peace, whereas the casting in Perth was dedicated to the victims of torture.

I made the photos shown above with a Canon EOS450D: the first (Berlin shot) with EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS kit-lens, and the second (Perth shot) with the 50mm f/1.4 prime-lens. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotopress at fotoeins.com as http://wp.me/p1BIdT-2og.

My Stockholm: finding Greta Garbo in Skogskyrkogården

The Skogskyrkogården, or Woodland Cemetery, is located about 15 minutes by metro, south from central Stockholm in Sweden. For its unique design, aesthetic character, and expanse both vertically and horizontally, the forest cemetery was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994.

I had read that Greta Garbo was buried here, and I wanted to find out for myself.

Skogskyrkogarden Stockholm

North entrance.

Resurrection Statue, Monument Hall

Resurrection Statue, by John Lundqvist (1930), in Monument Hall.
Skogskappellet, Woodland Chapel, Skogskyrkogarden, Woodland Cemetery, Stockholm, Sweden, fotoeins.com

Skogskappellet (Woodland Chapel), with golden copper “angel of death”.

Skogskyrkogarden, Woodland Cemetery, Stockholm, Sweden, fotoeins.com

Skogskyrkogarden (Woodland Cemetery).

Skogskappellet, Woodland Chapel, Skogskyrkogarden, Woodland Cemetery, Stockholm, Sweden, fotoeins.com

Lead up to Greta Garbo’s grave.

Skogskyrkogarden Stockholm

Modest marker for Garbo’s final resting place.

Greta Garbo

Born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson in Stockholm in 1905, Greta Garbo was discovered at the age of 17. She was honoured with four Academy Award nominations for her work which transitioned successfully from silent-films to “talkies” in what is now considered the “Golden Age” of filmmaking. Even now, she is considered one of the most beautiful women and one of the most important actresses ever to appear on the big screen. After only 27 films between 1924 and 1941, she retired to private life, away from celebrity spotlight. After her death in 1990 and subsequent legal issues, her cremated remains were buried in 1999 at Skogskyrkogården in the city where she was born.

In the 1955 biography “Garbo” by John Bainbridge, Garbo is quoted as saying:

I never said, ‘I want to be alone.’ I only said, ‘I want to be left alone.’ There is all the difference.

To reach the forest cemetery from Stockholm’s city centre, take the Tunnelbana green metro line 18 southbound in the direction “Farsta strand” to the stop called “Skogskyrkogården”. There is no charge or fee to enter Skogskyrkogården. Garbo’s grave is located south of the Skogskappellet (Woodland Chapel).


More from Stockholm

•   The colours of Gamla Stan, Stockholm’s Old Town
•   Say “Hej!” (and to food) at Lisa Elmqvist in Östermalm’s Saluhall market hall
•   Daytrip to Vaxholm in Stockholm’s archipelago

The publicity photo above of Greta Garbo is by Clarence Sinclair Bull for MGM in 1939 (Wiki). I made the remaining photos above on 25 June 2008. This post is published on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com as http://wp.me/p1BIdT-vP.