NEWS / EVENTS

by Linda Papagalani

Fritz Berger’s book "Lefkada: A Journey in Time" is an invitation to become acquainted with the place. Using photographs and texts he invites us on a reinvestigative journey of the daily life on mainly southern Lefkada after the decade of the 60s. Low profile, simple moments take place between the earth and the people; the smile of sowing, the toil of the harvest, the sloth of noon, the joy of companionship and the weight of toil. Faces deeply graven like the surrounding mountains, silent eyes, solitary and self-sufficient in a world which Fritz Berger does not overlook.

With eyes focused internally ready to seek and meet the truth beyond the obvious, he draws from the anonymity " principle forms" and he offers them to us; suspended moments, alive for always in the passage of time. In his texts the faces have names, their experiences are unique and their quality riveting. He portrays a deep relationship with life which returns in the subjects of his art, integrity and decency. He has an approach to the subjects of his photographs which gently penetrates privacy with exceptional refinement.



Fritz Berger performs acrobatics with his lens and captures the vital precise moment when the person harmonises with the environment emerging in archetypical unification.
The uniqueness and quality of these photographs and their truth bears witness to the standard of the activity of the International Christian Movement for Peace which set up in the area after the 60s. They shared the cold winters alongside the inhabitants, the damp houses, the non-existent roads and the lack of comforts. Its workers experienced from up close the forbidding living conditions, crushing even the smallest dream or longing for the most worthless decoration and acted as catalysts for progress. Nothing remained untouched by their contribution.

From the light of the lamp at night, to the plain in the day through a continuous and balanced cooperation they mobilised the inhabitants to find their abilities and transformed the original and familiar materials into a proposal of a new life. The wooden-carved paper cutters, the bread stamps, the small textile production, the seeds of flowers entered the houses like hope, an economic breath of fresh air bringing dignity and self-confidence. Horizons opened and the world became accessible, dreams of studying, emigrating, education and the working female were the spring board for general progress which has not stopped since then.





Even though the photographs come from another era they lead us into that optimistic atmosphere of effort, visioning and relationships, they offer us, on a small scale, the understanding of a great period, the decade of the 60’s. For this reason it is not simply a return to the roots of our materialistic technical culture but also an invitation to self-knowledge.

The work of Fritz Berger comes to us today free of demand for our approval or aesthetic appraisal. It seems to be directed more towards the subjects of the photographs and less towards the reader. It allows us, however, to share the joy of his meetings in this place which live on for so many years. In grateful appreciation of this gift, a sincere thank you.





*Linda Papagalani is a social anthropologist and teaches at Athens University.