Community Chat

[Oznell]

I'd never heard of or considered the occupation of "digital colorist".  Apparently, highly skilled artists and technicians are engaged to colorize old photographs, in order to bring to life aspects of history that may seem "remote" to some.

Have always disliked movie "colorization",  but now I see the absolute value of this pursuit.

Marina Amaral colorizes registration photographs of Auschwitz prisoners, taken before the prisoners are killed, then or later, presumbably.  She is acutely conscious, as she does this important, delicate, emotional work, that it is probably the last photograph the individual ever had taken.

She received worldwide notice for the photograph of Czeslawa Kwoka, a 14 year old girl murdered at Auschwitz, one month after her mother.  Ms. Amaral meticulously colorizes the photos of Jews, Polish Catholics, homosexuals, and others killed at Auschwitz.   In so doing, she is preserving history, and one hopes, making it vivid and unforgettable to succeeding generations.

Here she explains her work: 

https://metro.co.uk/2019/01/27/i-add-colour-to-auschwitz-registration-photos-to-educate-people-about...

[twinsister]

@Oznell - Thanks for sharing.  I had never heard of this artist or her project. What she is doing is amazing.  It is beyond sad to see these haunting images.  May they all rest in peace.

[SXMGirl]

@Oznell, thank you for posting.  While I have never heard of her or her project, her pictures are haunting and give me chills to think of the horrendous deaths as part of that regime.   You can see the fear and the hopelessness in the eys of each person.

[CinNC]

Thanks for sharing this.  We had just seen a documentary - with recolored photos - of WWI.  "They Shall Not Grow Old"  It was done by Peter Jackson who directed Lord of the Rings.

Jackson began developing the project in 2014 and decided to use the voices of 120 actual British soldiers who were recorded in the 1960s and colorize actual footage from World War I. The film, which aired in the U.K. on the Armistice Day centennial, was commissioned by 14-18 Now, the U.K. arts program for the First World War centenary, and the Imperial War Museum, in association with the BBC.

[blackhole99]

Geeze, it's like a knife in my heart to see those images, never heard of MA, but I admire her for taking on this work. People need to get it, that when it happens to one of us, it can happen to any of us. My Dad's cousin was arrested by the Gestapo in 1943 and murdered in 1944 at the Gross-Rosen concentration camp, he was only 26 years old, he was with the Polish resistance.

[Oznell]

@CinNC, thank you, that's another great example-- making the history of World War I  "real" and "immediate" through the means of colorizing.  What a great use for the technology!

[trenet]

@Oznell 

Thank you so much for sharing this information.

 The lack of knowledge about history, even a basic timeline, is so prevalent. 

I, too, dislike movie colorization but,  if this helps people understand the horrors, the value is, indeed, great.  

For those of us who had relatives murdered, it is always with us but, far too many people know so little about history.  

[Teddie]

I have never heard of this person nor this special skill and gift she shares. 

It feels so solemn and profound. 

[MoJoV]

@blackhole99 How horrible about your relative.