5 A Day #6 - The Windows of Auschwitz

My first trip to Auschwitz was in 1977. I was 16. I had been ingrained with stories of the holocaust since both my brother and I were fascinated and slightly frightened by the subject. I looked at books and saw films about it. Much of my family was exterminated during the war. My mother got out with her parents, from Vienna Austria, with one of last exit visas, on one of the last boats, in February 1940. And in 1977 on a trip to Poland to see where my grandmother came from my parents took myself, my brother and sister to Auschwitz.  At that time I was fascinated. I finally got to see the most infamous of the concentration camps. I didn't know that there were 2 camps one a converted army training camp, Auschwitz I" was the original and the other "Auschwitz II - Birkenau" was built about 3 km down the road by the Nazi's as a manufacturing facility for the final solution. It's raw material was people and it's final product incineration. It was built as an efficient killing machine with volume throughput capacities of over 20,000 bodies per day. It was efficient. There were plans drawn up, architectural models built and the final solution was constructed. From the main guard tower, in Birkenau, as far as the eye can see to the left and the right were barracks that housed the prisoners.

On my first visit I took photos of everything I could. There was also an anger that welled up inside of me against the atrocities and Nazis. In 1999 I went back and it was a more somber experience. I could hardly take a photo. On my last trip in 2008 I went with my family and my parents to show my children the camp. This time as I went around in the barracks I noticed the windows looking out onto a scene juxtaposed by electrified fences, barbed wire and beyond trees, blue skies and freedom. I put myself in the tattered shoes of the prisoners. How it must have felt to see this sight. What it was like to know that just a few short feet away was freedom, yet the obstacles to overcome were enormous and compounded by a weakened body. What was it like to look out and see this scene?  I can only imagine and that will never even begin to live up to the reality.

One image is through the peep hole of a solitary confinement cell with a small window looking out and a toilet in the corner. Who knows how many people were packed into it at one time. The last image is the only one from Auschwitz II Birkenau, it's from the guards perspective, the view from the main tower which each train passed under. I imagine the guards peering out, overseeing the trains as they brought in the days cargo for slaughter.

The perspective changes each time I go. We'll see what comes up for me on the next trip.

All images are for sale. They are printed to archival standards using 100% rag papers and archival pigment inks. Images are limited to editions of 25 for 13 x 19 and 15 for 17 x 22.

You can see more of my work on my website - www.ricomandel.com

	Freedom is Just Over the Fence
Click Image to Enlarge
	The Obstacle Course
Click Image to Enlarge
	Looking Up From Solitary
Click Image to Enlarge
	Obstacle Course II
Click Image to Enlarge
	Tracks of Death
Click Image to Enlarge

5 A Day #4 - The Hollyhock House

When I was a child my mother used to take me to Barnsdall Park on Saturday Mornings for a film making class for kids. I looked forward to it every Saturday. I let my imagination run wild as I made a new movie each weekend. Also at Barnsdall Park is the Hollyhock House, built by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1921 for Aline Barnsdall. I remember climbing on the concrete walls and using it as a backdrop for some of my movies.

A couple of years ago I was in Hollywood with my Daughter Gabrielle and thought it would be cool to show her where her father took classes when he was a kid. She and I walked around and I showed her my old stomping grounds along with the Hollyhock House.

The Hollyhock House was an icon of my childhood.  I love the angularity of the home that combines the rough-hewn texture of concrete with some arts and crafts style details mixed in. After 30 years I saw it from a brand new perspective.  I was intrigued by the shapes of the house, geometric details and aztec like influences of the house. This group of images is a study of some of the interesting details from the back of the house.

All images are for sale. They are printed to archival standards using 100% rag papers and archival pigment inks. Images are limited to editions of 25 for 13 x 19 and 15 for 17 x 22.

You can see more of my work on my website - www.ricomandel.com
Click on images to enlarge.

	Hollyhock House 13 x 19 $250.00 17 x 22 $400.00
	Hollyhock Back Tower 13 x 19 $250.00 17 x 22 $400.00
	Hollyhock Corner 13 x 19 $250.00 17 x 22 $400.00
	Hollyhock Geometric Window 13 x 19 $250.00 17 x 22 $400.00
	Hollyhock Back Door 13 x 19 $250.00 17 x 22 $400.00

5 A Day #2 - Store Windows

Sometimes we discover unknown themes in our work. This was pointed out to me in a class by Fine Art Photographer and friend Aline Smithson. A student, Cindy Schafer realized that she had many images of clothes lines from around the world. It was just something that she was drawn to. The way the clothes hung on the line, the colors and patterns as the sun warmed the material while the wind caressed each item gently evaporating its moisture. She created a wonderful body of work with that series. She came to me in a dream last night and we visited a bit before I was awakened. It was nice to see her again, to see her smile and hear her enthusiasm,  if just for a few moments.  I am dedicating this series to her memory.

As Cindy found clothes lines I seem to be interested in old store windows. There is something about looking into an old store window to see what is on display. Some of them closed some still open. The ones that interest me are those that remind me of a museum display. Items that look like they are from another era, have a unique juxtaposition or are just very random to make one wonder what was behind it. These are a few of the images that I have collected. They were photographed in Philadelphia, Cracow Poland, San Francisco and Vienna Austria. I have more to find in my archives and more to photograph in the future.

All images are for sale. They are printed to archival standards using 100% rag papers and archival pigment inks. Images are limited to editions of 25 for 13 x 19 and 15 for 17 x 22.

	Lighting 13 x 19 $250.00 17 x 22 $400.00
	The Uniform 13 x 19 $250.00 17 x 22 $400.00
	Window 140 13 x 19 $250.00 17 x 22 $400.00
	Radio Shoe 13 x 19 $250.00 17 x 22 $400.00
	Blue Blouse 13 x 19 $250.00 17 x 22 $400.00