Symmetry...

Berlin..the Holocaust Memorial..a somber, quiet place. It was difficult to understand why all these concrete blocks, arranged in rows, varying in height and placement, would represent some kind of feeling about the Holocaust.

I walked quietly amongst the blocks, searching for something, anything that would reverberate such that these simple geometric blocks made sense. Nothing..and then...something. Shadows on corners, edges next to light/dark....light and dark. I had it.

For me, it was the contrasts between the light and dark sides of the blocks. Blocks of essentially the same shape, but some bigger and smaller...like people. When superimposed on each other, they generated a geometric pattern, a symmetry if you would. It was then that the differences in the color of each side struck me..some dark..some light.

Perhaps the purpose of these blocks, at the right time and place, with just the right light, is to remind us that we are all the same, and yet...still capable of having both a light and dark side. It is tempting to expound upon the light and dark side of human nature..and foolish. For me, suffice it to say that at times our dark side rules the view, and it is our responsibility to shine the bright light of day on the scene, such that as a whole, we can tell the difference between the two.

Mustang.