Photojournalist Kelly Gorham's exhibition "The Stones Have Memories" is a gritty exploration of German landmarks in the Cold War's epicenter: Berlin.

At the 7444 Gallery in Saranac Lake, his 30-by-40-inch chromogenic prints offer views of East Berlin and the wall that was. The show opens Monday, which marks the 20th anniversary of the fall of the pre-unification wall that divided East and West Germany.

'THAT DAMN WALL'
The exhibition's catalyst was homegrown in Gorham's native Montana. His father, Wayne Gorham, served in the U.S. Army from 1959 to 1962 and was stationed in eastern France. A heavy-equipment operator, his unit rebuilt buildings, bridges and airports decimated during World War II.

"He talked about things he saw — bunkers from World War II and trenches from World War I," said Gorham, a Montana State University news photographer. "When I was a little kid, I paid attention to the news reports. I remember vividly sitting in front of the TV with the 'Nightly News' on and seeing reports of another person trying to escape from the wall."

Gorham recalls his father saying: "I was over there when they built that damn wall."

His father's unit was put on full alert when U.S. and Russian tanks squared off at the wall's "Checkpoint Charlie" on Oct. 22, 1961.

"I would ask him about it. As a kid, you have pretty good logic. Why would you put that much effort in building a wall? It always stuck with me."

Gorham's Cold War intrigue was fueled by espionage flicks with a Berlin backdrop.

"Whenever I'd see something about Berlin, I would always go back to hearing my dad talk about it."

Four years ago, the younger Gorham started researching the Cold War. He documented significant landmarks in Europe, specifically Berlin. It was a back-burner project.

He had never been to Europe, but his wife, Gwen, had and wanted to return. They went to Germany in October 2008.

"She's always wondering if we're going to have a vacation or am I going to turn it into work. I said, well "¦ It started out as a vacation. I turned it into work."

His format was digital. Before he crossed the Atlantic, he had conceived of the project in black and white.

"Color was never an option to me," Gorham said. "For me, one of the most important elements are the textures. We're talking about a lot of stone. The black and white really brings out those textures. Once I was there, it didn't change. I saw it in black and white."

FORGOTTEN LESSONS
In his artist statement, he writes:

"My guiding creative principle was to let the architecture speak for itself. Is it possible to document emotion without photographing a human face?"

Gorham's images include the Fernsehturm, Glienecke Bridge and "Checkpoint Charlie." As a result of his German sojourn, he learned how valuable history can be.

"These are not the happiest photographs. This isn't a very pleasant part of history. These photos reflect the suffering of people. Look at our modern times. Politically, we have walls in the Middle East, walls in Korea, a wall with Mexico "¦ Governments are trying to segregate groups of people along political and cultural boundaries and keep them contained."

The two decades since the fall of the Berlin Wall has been enough time for the world to forget lessons learned.

"I feel it's somewhat relevant today. To look back and see the Cold War lasted 30 some years. In the end, it was the beginning of the biggest revolution in history. When the wall came down, not one single gunshot was fired, though a lot of people lost their lives in the process. I felt the gravity and importance of the history."

Though he didn't photograph people, he sought out their stories.

"There were really tragic stories that were behind all this," Gorham said. "To hear those stories and see the places where that happened had a great impact on me."

E-mail Robin Caudell at: rcaudell@pressrepublican.com