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Twenty-five years ago, a twelve-foot concrete barrier divided Berlin in half. It was erected suddenly – dividing families, neighborhoods, everything. The Eastern side of the Berlin Wall was cement, colorless and the western side of the wall became bright with colorful graffiti. When it fell, pieces were collected and dispersed across the globe – some chunks of weathered, gray concrete, many washed in patterns and bright color. Those colors permeate a new exhibit at the Front Porch Gallery in Carlsbad, California, with artwork incorporating chunks of the wall in hopeful hues and treatments.
Searchlight from Guard Tower, Berlin Wall
Twenty five years ago when travel restrictions lifted suddenly on November 9th, East Berlin guards stepped aside. They had killed more than 130 people trying to escape over the 30 years of the barricade so the surrender began timidly then turned into a flood. People began to chip away at the Wall, many scrambled to the top triumphant and a torrent of East Berliners poured into the West.
The euphoria lasted a few months until the rigors of matching idealism and habit, poverty and opportunity dimmed the glow. Still the wall is not forgotten and where it once marked a lethal no man’s land today its path wends through upscale neighborhoods, between trendy apartment buildings and the entertainment hub of Potsdam.
Berlin has marked the anniversary with celebrations and one of the largest public art projects in Berlin’s history, the Lichtgrenze – a string of illuminated balloon sculptures.
LICHTGRENZE from Fall of the Wall 25 on Vimeo.
California artists:
The wall is not forgotten in America either. Earlier this year, San Diegan artist, Jan Wier, was given many pieces by Wolfgang Duerr, a native Berliner, who commissioned artwork in remembrance. About six months ago Weir donated the pieces to Amber Irwin, one of fifteen international artists all residing in San Diego and Los Angeles. Each was asked to pick pieces of the Wall and do what speaks to them. What emerged are wildly different works of art representing freedom, unity and beauty.
The resulting collection encompasses sculptures, paintings, mosaics and graphics in 17 pieces at the Front Porch Gallery exhibit in Carlsbad until Jan. 5th, 2015, before beginning a national tour.
The pieces that came from the falling edifice represent a coming together of freedom, tolerance and unity. We can only hope that the fall of the Berlin Wall and its startling transformation can be an example to other walls dividing families and communities that exist today.
Mexico border fence courtesy of Human Rights Watch.org
To see the artwork created from pieces of the Berlin Wall:
Visit the Front Porch Gallery: 2903 Carlsbad Boulevard, Carlsbad, California 92008 or contact, Amber Irwin Aridesigns.com
Go to Germany and explore the trail of the Berlin Wall:
- Slow Travel Berlin offers a guided Berlin Wall Tour with Paul Scraton, founder and editor of the Under a Grey Sky website, which is devoted to “adventures beyond the front door”.
- Visit the Gedenkstätte Berliner Mauer, a memorial that combines a documentation center, art installation, short section of original Wall, a chapel and outdoor gallery.
- The Mauermuseum, at the sight of the notorious Checkpoint Charlie, also chronicles the Cold War period.
As a history lover (and someone who tries not to take freedom for granted), I’d love to be able to go to Berlin, or even see a part of the wall! Great post.
Thanks, Bailey, love that comment about being a history and freedom lover. We need reminders like the fall of the Berlin Wall celebration to mark our progress and to help us not repeat the same mistakes.
Wow what a great initiative. I visited in 2011 and spent quite awhile just staring at the left over pieces. Completely mind blowing that it ever existed.
Imagine living in Berlin at the time of the wall’s construction. From what I’ve read it started as a barbed wire fence and grew into a wall over a weekend!I wish we could say similar walls don’t still exist.
Very interesting post. The Berlin wall is indeed a sad reminder of the horrors of Communism under which I lived for over 30 years. But using it as an example that validates the illegal immigration in this country would be a mistake.
I so appreciate your perspective. What happened then and is happening now is very different granted. The human toll is what I think we need to remember. Thanks for writing.
Fascinating, sad but fascinating how a lot of creativity is born of suffering. This is such a beautiful initiative. Definitely going to go to Berlin someday.
The artists are looking forward to touring the exhibit through 2015 at least. I’m with you about definitely going to Berlin one day.
Thanks for this very timely post!
What we don’t remember we’re forced to relearn – or the saying goes something like that. I was thrilled to find this exhibit and reach across the miles to celebrate the fall of the wall vicariously too.
The Front Porch Gallery is on my list for next time I visit Carlsbad. I have a few pieces of the wall that I display in my home. Here’s some postings I did re. a visit to Berlin a few years ago, http://travelswithcarole.blogspot.com/search/label/Berlin
Loved your posts about Germany and to hear you have a few pieces of the Berlin Wall at home. Hope you make it back to San Diego again before too long.
What a wonderful commemorative. The new art is stunning. We had young German friends visit us in Kaua’i before we left. Their perspective on the Cold War (before their time) and what Berlin has become since the Wall was enlightening and positive.
Thanks, Betsy, Very cool to have Berliners visit with their own take all their city has become since the fall of the wall. Now to bring down others…
The Lichtgrenze is such a powerful memorial idea, and it’s great that pieces of the wall are being used across the world as artworks to keep the story alive. I’ve not been to Berlin yet but hope to go next year and can’t wait to explore such a fascinating city.
Thanks, Lucy.
I’m with you about wanting to visit Berlin. It’s been a cultural mecca for so long – a good, long visit would be the way to go!
The Berlin Wall is cloaked in mystery for me. I have yet to see even a remnant but the isolation of West Berlin for all those years has always struck a chord with me. I can’t even imagine what it would have been like to live in the area 25+ years ago. I have seen the Mexico-US fence on many occasions and wish there was a better way.
Thanks for the thoughtful comments, Leigh. I wish there were a better way as well.
Very interesting post! The guided tour of the Berlin Wall sounds like the perfect way to make sure a visitor understands the significance and history of it all.
Thanks Michele, I think a guided tour is great but an audio app tour can be cost effective for a family or small group too. Thanks.
The Berlin Wall is such a powerful memorial to what politicians can do to a country if we aren’t watching. I was just in Berlin this year and seeing the wall and visiting the museum was certainly a powerful experience for me. Thank you for this post.
Thanks, Marilyn, the Wall and its remnants are a sobering testament to what can happen. Berlin is such a fascinating city on so many levels. I look forward to a long visit one day. Thanks for the comment.
Fascinating post! Too often, we take our freedom for granted, don’t we? If you are interested in human rights and freedoms, you may want to put the city of Winnipeg on your bucket list. We have a brand new facility: The Canadian Museum for Human Rights that takes an in-depth look at the issue on a global scale. Quite a fascinating place to visit. Cheers!
Great to hear about the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. I do plan on spending much more time exploring Canada and will add Winnipeg to the list. Great tip.