Occupy - New York, Frankfurt: A movement that shouldn't be one

When the "Occupy Wall Street" movement was launched by the Canadian Adbusters Media Foundation through calls on the Internet, it could not have been expected that the action, initially limited to a few Facebook and Twitter followers of the consumer-critical foundation, would soon grow into a global phenomenon. Not only in Zuccotti Park in Lower Manhattan, but in many other cities around the world, demonstrators set up tent cities to protest around the clock against social inequalities, uncontrolled speculating banks or against the far too great influence of business on politics. While in New York in particular there have always been clashes with the police and eventually an eviction of the tent city, the "Occupy" supporters in Frankfurt are now almost part of the cityscape.

The book "Occupy - New York, Frankfurt" documents this movement in words and pictures, putting the two financial cities of New York and Frankfurt in direct comparison. The photos as well as the texts deal with the movement in a very complex way and critically question its effectiveness. However, this is constructive criticism, which on the one hand underlines the importance of such a broad-based movement, but on the other hand also emphasises that it is precisely for this reason that it is essential for the movement to have clear goals and proposed solutions. And this is precisely where the biggest criticism of the Occupy movement comes in. For without concrete demands, a protest movement like this quickly loses persuasiveness, strength and, inevitably, supporters.

The book aims to help make the Occupy movement more widely resonant. This works particularly well through the photographs taken by renowned photographers Ashkan Sahihi in New York and Bernd Kammerer in Frankfurt. While Sahihi's black-and-white photos were taken with an analog camera, Kammerer's color photographs were taken digitally. Thus, it is not only two cities that are juxtaposed here, approaching the same goals in different ways. The art form that captures this also originates from the same source medium, but is implemented in a completely different way. This creates a unique snapshot of the movement that is compelling in both artistic and journalistic documentary terms.

Accompanied by text contributions written by Jan Seghers, Jens Prewo or Eduard Erne, among others, "Occupy - New York, Frankfurt" is a contemporary document, critical examination and artistic photo book all in one. An entertaining, interesting and above all worth seeing book, which is absolutely recommendable on several levels!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp