golden in silver
title
Golden in Silver, socially engaged project, 120 tintypes, 120 written stories, 4x5in, 2015-16
commissioned by the city of st. louis
statement
*commissioned by the city of St. Louis Public Art Council
Citizens are the gold of any city. Golden in Silver documents and collaborates with the citizens of St. Louis to exchange tintypes and stories, revealing the uniqueness of each individual and the camaraderie of community. Tintypes are one-of-a-kind photographs on metal and were the first photographic process inexpensive enough for the blue collar hard working citizen to afford. They profoundly recorded the previously hidden lives of citizens who never before had been photographically recorded. St. Louis’s early photographers also used the tintype to document its citizens and its leaders. Golden in Silver again uses this process, along with personal stories, to bring citizens of the past and present together. Through citywide photo shoots, exhibitions, and exchanges through the mail, we can begin to recognize the gold of St. Louis, its citizens.
Mr. Berger took over 120 tintypes of citizens across St. Louis. Each tintype/story was archived in the city and state historical societies.