A street art gallery etched only in memories
TO ENSURE THAT VISITORS RETAIN THE IMAGES IN THEIR HEADS, NO PHOTOGRAPHY IS ALLOWED IN THIS BERLIN ENTERPRISE
t may seem an unlikely venue for an art gallery — an old bank building in the centre of a busy shopping district and about to be torn down.
But in Berlin, arguably Europe’s urban art capital, some 165 like-minded street artists have filled the five-storey space with their work.
And the result is a burst of colour and myriad of styles, with murals and installations covering 10,000 square metres (108,000 feet), all on public view at no charge — but only until the demolition crew moves in.
“We’re open here for two months, then everything will disappear for all eternity,” said Joern Reiners of Die Dixons (The Dixons), the group behind the project called The Haus (The House).
It approached property developers Pandion for temporary use of the block before it makes way for luxury condominiums, and got the keys last October.
“There was so little time, we didn’t have any big plans, we just got our telephones out and rang everyone we know,” said Timo von Rekowski, another Dixons member.
Artists from 17 countries joined the project, with Berlin-based ones making up the majority.
Each was assigned a space — be it an office, the corridor, stairwell or even the toilet.
The gallery that sprang up includes a room covered from floor to ceiling with personal ads usually seen pasted on Berlin lampposts or walls, another room with a huge pair of clay legs like a giant just landed through the ceiling, and a darkened room with wall murals that are only revealed with the help of a torch.
Some artists may not be household names, but others are well-established in Berlin’s urban art scene, like El Bocho, whose cartoonlike ‘Little Lucy’ series and ‘Citizens’ portraits are part of the German capital’s landscape, or Emess, whose works often involve political figures.
the contemporary art exhibition held every five years in Kassel, Germany, puts more than 160 international artists on display across the city in over 40 public institutions, squares, cinemas, university campuses and libraries, showcasing painting, performances, sculpture and sound art.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who inaugurated the event with Greek counterpart Prokopis Pavlopoulos, said the event aims to break down “the political and economic barriers that divide us … to make us understand the world that surrounds us”.
Germans who look closer will discover that Greeks have gone through major hardship, Steinmeier said. And Greeks will find that other Europeans are not “cold and one-sided”.
“We can learn from each other … and we should do it more often in Europe … but this is only possible if we do not merely seek to confirm our stereotypes,” he said through a translator.
Documenta was originally launched in 1955 by art professor Arnold Bode to draw attention to works banned by the Nazis as degenerate.
“Knowledge must be conquered again and again, lest it be forgotten. Democracy is under attack in many places, even in Europe,” former foreign minister Steinmeier said. The event has travelled outside its birthplace for the first time. Some 860,000 people visited the last exhibition in 2012. Athens officials hope the Greek leg will draw over 6,500 visitors. In Kassel, the event will run from June to September 17. In Athens, Documenta will be headquartered at the recentlycompleted National Museum of Contemporary Art, a former
“What we have here is the space to realise their vision … while not having to think about the business of it all like entrance fees, but really just concentrating on the art — to experiencing it and to making it an experience,” said Reiners.
“And that’s the essence of what makes us different from other projects.”
If there is one regret, it is “that we will not be able to show to visitors the energy that was generated here while the house was being set up,” von Rekowski said.
To ensure that visitors etch the images in their heads, no photography is allowed.
The group also keeps a tight leash on the images circulating of the works,
brewery inaugurated in October after years of restoration work. Shrouded in secrecy until the last minute, the 100-day Greek leg is titled ‘Learning from Athens’.
In choosing to co-host the event in the Greek capital, organisers said they were inspired by the country’s economic crisis and immigration challenges.
Appropriately, a large segment is devoted to immigration and displacement.
Yesterday’s inauguration featured the Syrian Expat Philharmonic Orchestra, an ensemble largely made up of war refugees.
“We want to spur people to dialogue and improve conditions here,” said Kassel mayor Bertram Hilgen. with media outlets only allowed to photograph details and not wide shots.
The transient nature of the show helped attract a crowd on its opening weekend of April 1-2, with a queue snaking down the street.
One visitor, Juliana Lang, who queued for more than half an hour with her partner, said: “It was well worth it, there was more variety than I expected. It’ll all be gone soon, so it’s now or never.”
Artist Anne Bengard, who painted a tortured-looking man with a contraption stretching over his teeth as fake banknotes spewed from his mouth, said she appreciated the photography ban.