Public Art and Urban Memorials in Berlin

371 Pages·2018·25.52 MB·English

by  Biljana Arandelovic

The Urban Book Series
Biljana Arandelovic
Public Art
and Urban
Memorials in
Berlin
The Urban Book Series
Series Advisory Editors
Fatemeh Farnaz Arefian, University College London, London, UK
Michael Batty, University College London, London, UK
Simin Davoudi, Newcastle University, Newcastle, UK
Geoffrey DeVerteuil, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
Karl Kropf, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK
Marco Maretto, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
Vítor Oliveira, Porto University, Porto, Portugal
Christopher Silver, University of Florida, Gainesville, USA
Giuseppe Strappa, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
Igor Vojnovic, Michigan State University, East Lansing, USA
Jeremy Whitehand, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
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More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/14773
Biljana Arandelovic
Public Art and Urban
Memorials in Berlin
123
Biljana Arandelovic
FacultyofCivilEngineeringandArchitecture
University of Niš
Niš
Serbia
and
Faculty of Applied Arts
University of Arts Belgrade
Belgrade
Serbia
ISSN 2365-757X ISSN 2365-7588 (electronic)
TheUrban Book Series
ISBN978-3-319-73493-4 ISBN978-3-319-73494-1 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73494-1
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Acknowledgements
Theworkpresentedhereistheresultofmyindividualresearch,whichhaslasted,with
shorter and longer pauses, since the spring of 2011 when I arrived in Berlin on a
Postdoctoral Research Fellowshipgrant awarded by theMinistryofEducationand
ScienceofSerbia.IamparticularlygratefultoProf.SusanneHauser,whogavemethe
opportunitytoconductmyresearchasapostdoctoralresearcheratBerlinUniversity
ofArts(UdK)attheInstituteforHistoryandTheoryofDesignin2011–2012.
Overthisperiodoftime,thelandscapeofcontemporaryBerlinhaschangedand
ischangingataveryfastpace.Someoftheworkspresentedinthebookhavebeen
removed from public space since my research began. However, a large number of
works involved are permanent and what will change is their position in relation to
theurbanareaofBerlin,whichchangeseverymonthbecauseBerlinisinaconstant
state of construction. My history with Berlin is long, and it dates back to 2000.
From that year until 2011, when I started my research on art in public space in
Berlin,IconstantlyreturnedtoBerlinandstayedforshorterandlongerperiods.The
first public artwork I noticed, which is included in the book, was a temporary
installation from 2009, At Crossroads by Kalliopi Lemos, installed near to the
Brandenburg Gate 2years before Istartedworking onthis project.Mylast visit to
the public space of Berlin for the purpose of this research was in May 2017.
This volume is more than a collection of different public artworks, urban
memorials, examples, and titles. It has been developed over a long period of time,
whichhashaditsupsanddowns,butithasbeencarriedoutwiththeconstantdesire
to bring to light what I have seen and captured photographically, and it offers
visitorstheopportunitytolookdeeperintoBerlinandfindoutwhattheycansearch
for.SomeworksarehiddenwithinBerlin’spublicspacewhileothershavealready
lost their initial appearance over time as a result of negligence. Field of rabbits by
Karla Sachse is an example of this. Some new artworks have appeared during this
researchprocessandthenincludedlater.Otherartworkshavechangedcolororbeen
transported to another location.
v
vi Acknowledgements
Writing a book of this scope imposes an enormous commitment of time and
energy. I pay special gratitude to the artists who have set aside their time and
answered my questions during our correspondence. I am particularly thankful to
Bernar Venet and his kind team from his New York studio, to Hubertus von der
Goltz who was so wonderful to send me fantastic photographs from his archive of
hisinstallationsfromtheperiodofthefalloftheBerlinWall,andtoDaniKaravan
and his whole team who always kindly responded to all of my requests. My
admiration for Karavan’s work is even greater after this experience. This confirms
thatoftengreatartistsaregreatpeople.Hedefinitelyleftahugeimpressiononme.
My immense gratitude goes to Juan Garaizabal, Susanne Lorenz, Kalliopi Lemos,
FrankThiel,KarlaSachse,andNikolausKoliusis.Thankstothemthisbookismore
compelling and my research is more complete. Some of the artists have sent me
their photographs and my gratitude to them is even greater, all of them are
acknowledged. The information, images, and thoughts they gave me were invalu-
able. Franka Hörnschemeyer and Ulrike Mohr were kind and patienteach time we
wereincontact.ThephotographsIreceived fromthemarecertainlysignificantfor
this book.
Ialso owemuch gratitude totheDaimlerArtCollection,who weregenerousin
answeringallmyquestionsabouttheircollectionatPotsdamerPlatz,toDr.Thomas
Flierl from the Max Lingner Foundation, to Prof. Dr. Karl Stocker from the
University of Applied Science, Graz, for the time he devoted to answering my
questions and for the support I have had from him over the last few years, to Elke
Barth from the Bernhard Heiliger Foundation for all the help she has given since
2015includingheranswerstoallofmyquestionsandtheextraordinaryphotographs
she provided me with from the archives of the foundation, to Dr. Chris Gebring,
theartrepresentativefortheestateofOttoHerbertHajek,andtoDr.BarbaraRoosen
from VG Bild-Kunst, Berlin. I also owe gratitude to Mairi Kroll, Kestner
Gesellschaft’sManagingDirectorwhowaskindenoughtoconnectmewithDr.Carl
Haenlein,themanbehindtheMoleculeManprojectandtheFormerDirectorofthe
Kestner Gesellschaft for almost three decades.
I also wish to thank Martin Schönfeld from the Office for Art in Public Space,
Berlin, for sharing information about Public Art in Berlin with me since the
beginningofmyresearchinspring2011.The thoughtshesharedwith methrough
whole conversations were invaluable.
I owe special gratitude to my proofreader Sonja Dix Stojanovic, who has been
myhugehelpsince2011,giventhefactthatIamwritinginEnglishwithoutbeinga
native speaker. Finally, my narrative of public artwork in Berlin begins with this
book,butitcertainlydoesnotendhere.Therearealwaysmorethemestodevelop.
Contents
1 Creative City Berlin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1 Berlin Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 The Creative Industries in Berlin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.3 Berlin, UNESCO City of Design. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.4 Move of an Art Scene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
1.5 Graffiti Art Berlin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
1.6 World Media City Berlin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
1.7 Temporary Use of Vacant Sites. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
2 Introduction to Public Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
2.1 Introduction to Public Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
2.2 Public Art in Berlin Through the Twentieth Century . . . . . . . . . . 30
2.3 Public Art in Berlin as a Joint Task of Transparency
and Democracy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
3 Public Art in Berlin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
3.1 Selected Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
3.1.1 Houseball by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje
van Brüggen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
3.1.2 Memoria Urbana Berlin by Juan Garaizabal . . . . . . . . . . . 48
3.1.3 Gate to Prenzlauer Berg and Encounters and Positions
by Hubertus von der Goltz. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
3.1.4 Through the Looking Glass by Ute Lindner . . . . . . . . . . . 78
3.1.5 Turm Von Klythie (Tower of Klythie) by John
Chamberlain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
3.1.6 Bundestag Public Art Collection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
vii
viii Contents
3.1.7 Public Art in Potsdamer Platz. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
3.1.8 The City and The River—A Renewed Relationship. . . . . . 183
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
4 The Celebration of Berlin’s 750th Anniversary in 1987 . . . . . . . . . . 211
4.1 The Celebration of Berlin’s 750th Anniversary in 1987 . . . . . . . . 211
4.2 Arc 124.5° by Bernar Venet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
4.3 Two Concrete Cadillacs in the Form of the Nude Maja
(Zwei Beton-Cadillacs in Form der Nackten Maja)
by Wolf Vostell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
4.4 13.4.1981 by Olaf Metzel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
4.5 Berlin by Martin and Brigitte Matschinsky-Denninghoff . . . . . . . . 234
4.6 Pyramid (Pyramide) by Josef Erben. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
5 Temporary Public Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
5.1 The Wrapped Reichstag by Christo and Jeanne-Claude. . . . . . . . . 241
5.2 At Crossroads by Kalliopi Lemos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
6 Socialist Realism in Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
6.1 Socialist Realism in Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
6.2 The Construction of the Republic (Aufbau der Republik)
Mural by Max Lingner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
6.3 Marx and Engels Statue by Ludwig Engelhardt
Art Collective. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
6.4 Our Life (Unser Leben) Mural by Walter Womacka. . . . . . . . . . . 271
6.5 Television Tower by Hermann Henselmann
and Jörg Streitparth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
7 Urban Memorials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
7.1 Introduction to Urban Memorials. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
7.2 Remembering the Divided City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
7.2.1 17 June 1953 by Wolfgang Rüppel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
7.2.2 Field of Rabbits (Kaninchenfeld) by Karla Sachse. . . . . . . 286
7.2.3 Untitled (Ohne Titel) at Checkpoint Charlie
by Frank Thiel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
7.2.4 The Flame (Flamme) by Bernhard Heiliger . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
7.2.5 The Steel Wall at the Commemorative Site
in Bernauer Straße by Kohlhoff & Kohlhoff
Architects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309
7.2.6 The Chapel of Reconciliation by Martin Rauch,
Rudolf Reitermann, and Peter Sassenroth . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314
7.2.7 White Crosses (Weisse Kreuze) Memorial. . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
Contents ix
7.3 Holocaust Memorials in Berlin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318
7.3.1 The Deserted Room by Karl Biedermann . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318
7.3.2 The Missing House by Christian Boltanski . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
7.3.3 The Empty Library by Micha Ullman. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326
7.3.4 The Jewish Museum by Daniel Libeskind. . . . . . . . . . . . . 329
7.3.5 Roma and Sinti Holocaust Memorial
by Dani Karavan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332
7.3.6 The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe
by Peter Eisenman. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341
7.3.7 The Berlin Junction by Richard Serra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346
7.3.8 The Opposite (Gegenüber) Memorial for Victims
of the Nazi Euthanasia Program Aktion T4 by Ursula
Wilms, Nikolaus Koliusis, and Heinz Hallmann . . . . . . . . 354
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361