The image became unforgettable: thousands of people clamoring at the top of the Berlin Wall, which, until the night of November 9, 1989, had divided the city for 28 years.
Now, more than 30 years after Berliners began to break down the barrier, the milestone in history continues to be celebrated amidst mingling emotions as members of the German art world recall both the hopes and disappointments of the reunification, recalling that the division created at the end of the Second World War it is something that might never be cured, or it would not do it without claiming victims.
It is worth remembering that a few days before the fall of the wall, East Germans had gathered to demonstrate for democratic socialism in their home country. Few could imagine that instead of the reform they were calling for, reunification and capitalism would come.
Although this perspective is only one, it also raises broader questions: What was gained and what was lost? How do we reconcile that failed democratic-socialist dream while art faces increasingly difficult conditions in the world? Berlin and the rest of the world? and How should museums and galleries display the art of East Germany and its artists without symbolizing them?
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For Monica Bonvicini, Thomas Scheibitz y other figures from the art world who lived this historical moment, mention that the way to deal with the complexities of the fall of the wall is to listen to the artists who directly experienced the event, as well as its aftermath.
Names such as Hermann Noack, Klaus Killisch, Sven Johne, Nicolaus Schafhausen, Cornelia Schleime, Gerd Harry Lybke, Norbert Bisky, Monica Bonvicini, Sabine Herrmann, Thomas Scheibitz y Christoph Tannert, Among many others, there are some of the artists who lived through the rediscovery of the city, one that became interesting, vibrant, open, but also expensive.
In a few years, Berlin it became the center of contemporary art production.
When the border was opened, for those who had not left East Germany, a fine dust began to fall on the illusion of rapid self-realization in the new conditions of a unified country. For the locals, the artists who had left their country, could never completely get rid of their position of victimization caused by the ravages of the times. For the West, the moment meant too much myth and too much martyrdom, too much tragedy and too much dark color.
Al carese, remember the young artist kani alavi, who lived in an apartment overlooking the border between East Berlin y Western, he remembers seeing East Berliners flow "like a wave of water," he said through an interpreter. "Some were happy, others doubted, some feared that they might not have the opportunity to cross again."
Now that the whole world is moving towards another system, one very similar but with different ideals to the one that culminated in the fall of the wall, the task is to get involved and influence this development in the most conscious way possible.
In the midst of a cultural rupture, there was also a void that seemed to demand to be filled, and in these conditions the art that so influenced the rise and fall of the world has flourished. Berlin Wall, It had a lasting effect on popular culture, an influence that is still felt decades after its downfall.
Whether exploring views of the East, West or the aftermath of reunification, it has remained a point of fascination and a stimulus for creativity during the years the wall stood and since it collapsed.