mis

After some deliberation, I have acquired a Polaroid  Supercolor 635 CL. Since it is hard (and fairly expensive) to get hold of adequate film material, I decided to try out a recent innovation by the Impossible Project, namely their youngest baby called PX 70 FF COLOR SHADE (which, despite its name, can be used in 600-series cameras as well, they claim). Well, so far the the results have been a little disappointing, which is why I turned to the Polaroid Project, which equals cheating by digital means, I know, but is still good fun. (Of course this doesn’t mean I’m going to give up on the ‘real’ thing, I just need to practice and save enough money to buy the right type of film).

About the picture, though: I took it in Quedlinburg/Germany this summer. The newspaper stand (‘Zeitungskiosk’) reminded me of my childhood when these stands (as I remember it) were to be found everywhere in East German cities. Many of them seem to have disappeared during the last twenty years, which is why I got so excited (and had to take a picture) when I spotted the stand in Quedlinburg. For a split second it felt a little bit like being caught in a time warp. When I was a child, I loved to browse the display, look at the magazines and bits and bobs they sold. I would also buy something there from time to time. If this newspaper stand does not strike you as being special in any way, take a closer look, and you will realize they come in many different colours, shapes, and sizes. Surely almost everyone who are now in their thirties or older (that is anyone born before the world, or great chunks of it, speeded up all of a sudden and went digital) must have some memories attached to them. ‘Zeitungskioske’ make a good meeting point, for example. Often, they are located close to tram or bus stops, train stations, or busy town squares. You also see them in films (old and new ones) ever so often.

If you adopt what some might call a slightly nostalgic view, they seem to be humming with excitement; they tell stories of a time when the word ‘news’ still had a bigger, somehow more lasting meaning. That they evoke that feeling, though, is not the only thing I like about this stand (and this picture). It reminds me of the fact that although we may, as some say, live in the age of globalization (whatever that may or may not mean), our personal and our most dear memories will always remain linked to very specific objects, places, and people; to smells, to a certain shade of light, to sounds, to the touch of a hand, a pair of eyes. This is, what makes us human, too.