Of Coolby Eri Akbar

the new cauldronbY ER I aKbar of cool 22-25.berlin.indd 22 3/24/10 2:38 PM ART 22 + 25 w hat was once the ultImate sYmbol of freedom and democracY, berlIn has shed Its heavY hIstorIcal coat to unveIl a sensatIonal new sKIn as a must-vIsIt destInatIon for artIsts and art lovers. Ge m Ñ ldeGalerie Kulturforum 22-25.berlin.indd 23 3/24/10 2:38 PM If you went on a whirlwind tour of the German both serious, well-heeled collectors and those capital, your guide is likely to take you to the looking to own affordable, conversation-starter haunting Holocaust Museum which resembles an pieces for their home. Likewise, an über artist austere graveyard with thousands of cubed tomb- like Englishman Damien Hirst, who made his like stones lined up in a perfectly symmetrical name with his sheep carcass display, among line. You would certainly stop to marvel at the other controversial works, has no qualms about Palace of the Republic, now a museum of science altes museum sending off his pieces to Berlin for sale, as does and non-European art (its old home was the relatively undiscovered young artist Michael Pe rGam on museum e ast si de parliament). And yes, you’d certainly catch a Galle ry Rade, who set up a warehouse-style gallery glimpse of the remains of the Berlin wall or in Berlin to include experimental works after visit the famous Humboldt University where finding London’s arts scene “a tough nut to Einstein once revealed his beautiful mind to crack”, according to Deustche Welle, Germany’s eager students. international media portal. It is clear that the city cannot escape its Galleries occupy buildings that used to house bloody past, but look carefully and you’ll see that factories, breweries and even a home for asylum it weaves its old and new stories with art. And Top 5 Spots to Soak in the Berlin Art Scene seekers, thus giving them a certain industrial how beautifully Berlin does it. charm. There are many such spaces available to Just outside Humboldt is an underground art Hamburger Kreuzberg be converted into spanking new, modern galleries. installation showcasing empty white shelves Bahnhof area Prominent galleries So there is something for the architecture buff deliberately constructed to store 20,000 books, The latest stretch have established because the varied architectural landscape of seen through glass panels. It is a memorial of for art exploration, their presence here, the city landed it a City of Design title conferred sorts—commemorating the Nazis’ torching of near the railway including Galerie by United Nations Educational, Scientific and books—accompanied by the inscription that station. Kunsthalle Jablonka which Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). translates as “that was only a prelude; where Berlin will soon offers coveted Yet, it is not just about walking in and out they burn books, they ultimately burn people”. join a number of works by Picasso of art museums or interesting buildings. Berlin Today, Berlin is home to over 170 museums contemporary and Warhol. The has fast become the place for internationally and 440 galleries, explored by some 123 million galleries which Jewish Museum recognised festivals like the Berlin Film Festival, visitors each year, according to the Berlin have relocated here and Checkpoint the Berlin Biennale and the Berlin International Tourism Board. Whether you prefer to mull over from other parts of Charlie are situated Music Festival, all of which lend weight to the the priceless works of the Old Masters or abstract the city. This arts here too. city‘s reputation as a vibrant arts hub. pieces of contemporary art, you will find them centre will host While the young flock to Berlin to soak in among Berlin’s offerings to satiate your artistic talks, exhibitions Prenzlauer Berg the unconventional art vibe, one could do cravings. Indeed, Berlin has become the new and events like The hip downtown well to remember the giants who came before heartbeat of the arts world, exciting aspiring the recent indoor area is popular them. After all, Berlin’s affair with the arts artists and art aficionados alike. drive-in cinema, with a new wave of began in the 1920s, during the time of famous More than simply a rival to Paris, London where visitors sat artists, so it’s the German artists Otto Dix, George Grosz and their and New York, Berlin has an edge over these in second-hand place to go if you contemporaries, all of whom faced persecution noted arts capitals as it has room for new cars to watch want an eyeful of by the Nazis, were suppressed in the war years artists to grow, turning kieze (quarters) into one artists’ videos and aesthetics with an and experienced a revival in the 1990s shortly arts enclave after another. It is estimated that film classics. avant-garde twist. after the city was gazetted as the national 20,000 artists now reside in Berlin, whether they Also a shopping arts central. are on government-backed artist-in-residence mitte haven for high Now, Berlin’s art scene looks set to continue to programmes, have relocated their bases or are Offers a great street fashion. flourish with investments flowing in from outside lured by the promise of a big break just around variety for visual and within Germany. Taschen Books, which the corner. arts, covering pop Charlottenburg exclusively publishes arts-centric books, chose Ms Dorothee Seissinger, the executive art, photography Apart from Berlin as the site for expansion after its flagship secretary of Singapore’s Goethe-Institut, also and Asian works. Charlottenburg in Cologne. The bookstore—outfitted by celebrity an art historian who has worked in Berlin, New Also where Palace, you will designer Philippe Starck no less—stocks titles as York and near London, gives an insight. “Berlin is Museum Island, find a group of contrasting as Big Book Of Breasts and Greatest Of a magnet for art lovers since it has outstanding with its string theatres and All Time, a tribute to boxer Muhammad Ali with a collections, both old and modern, but more than of museums, is museums, such whopping price tag of €10,000 (S$20,000). other cities like New York, Paris or London, it can located along as Renaissance Taschen Books owner Benedikt Taschen, afford to have an avant-garde, experimental and the Spree river. Theatre and Brohan captured the eclectic spirit of the Berlin arts scene non-establishment arts scene, simply because Coupled with Museum which are —from the plain kitschy to the utterly refined—in commercial and living space, not to mention the restaurants great examples of an interview with The Local, an English-language cost of living in Berlin is inexpensive.” and clubs, it is Art Deco. Berlin-based newspaper, when he said, “There is Prestigious galleries like Arndt & Partner, considered the no conventional separation between high-brow Contemporary Fine Arts and Eigen + Art co-exist place to be seen in and low-brow art. Both are interesting, and as with smaller, independent galleries, drawing Berlin. they say, variety is the spice of life.” 22-25.berlin.indd 24 3/24/10 2:38 PM te m Po r Ñ r e Kun stHalle Pe i Bau fr aGasso taC Heles w e r Kstat t jue di sC Hes museum m oleCule m an 22-25.berlin.indd 25 3/24/10 2:38 PM.

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