The Taste of Life

Over the course of two and a half weeks in the summer of 1979, Harun Farocki crisscrosses West Berlin, driven by an ambition to document life on the street as perceived by the passerby. In The Taste of Life, he gathers everyday scenes that together form a mosaic of city life.

The camera observes the aftermath of a parking collision, parkgoers in the afternoon sun, and the daily routine of a woman who runs a newsstand. As the summer heat hangs over the city, a variety of situations unfold: a wedding outside a church, crowds at the exit of a department store, sex workers waiting at the entrance of a hotel. Accompanied by an upbeat soundtrack and the hum of city traffic, the images capture both the ordered fabric of society and its rough edges.

“Life no longer displays itself,” Farocki states over images of naturists in a park. “On the streets, you can only catch a glimpse of the secrets and meaning of life.” His footage, shot with a long lens, gives shape to his desire to capture the taste of life in public space.