Berlin, Germany Part 2: Design History
Sunday
We were asked to talk briefly about our work and Franciscans International at the family church service on Sunday morning, which was interesting since none of us speak German.
Fr Hans-Georg translated for us. We then joined some of the families from the church for a fellowship hour afterwards. Germans really know how to do fellowship—homemade cheesecake, made-to-order waffles and even beer if you wanted to start your morning off right (we abstained seeing as it was only 11:30).
While the other three had waffles, I opted (as anyone who knows me well may have guessed) for the cheesecake. It was excellent.
Following church, we headed out to do a bit more sight-seeing (or is the correct term site-seeing?). Aside from Monday’s Dave Matthews concert, the only thing I was sure I needed to do in Berlin was visit the Bauhaus Archiv.
For the uninitiated (i.e. non-designers), the Bauhaus was a famous design school/movement started in Weimer in the 1920s. It was later moved to Dessau and finally Berlin before being closed due to the Nazi rise to power. They shaped much of the design and architectural thinking that is still practiced today (and taught at UC, by way of Basel).
Anyway, the Archiv is a museum tracing the history of the school, including student work, architectural models and plans, special exhibitions and more. The current temporary exhibit was about Die Neue Linie, a fashion/lifestyle magazine designed by Bauhaus members in the school’s hey-dey. I quickly learned that photography was not allowed in the museum, but I snuck these shots before being forced to shutter my lens.
The entrance to the exhibit was a lifesize recreation of the first issue of the magazine.
Original art for an unused cover idea.
It was a really nice place and interesting to see a piece of design history come to life.
We continued on our journey, stopping to get some sausages for lunch near museum island. There is a special exhibit at the German History Museum called “Art and Propaganda” that I was really interested in seeing, so we headed to that. The museum has a modern addition designed by I.M. Pei which is quite nice, and that’s where the exhibit is.
Unfortunately photography was prohibited there too, so I can’t share any pictures. I can say it was one of the best-curated exhibitions I’ve ever been to. It traced parallel paths of state-sponsored art from the 20s through the end of WWII in the United States, Germany, the Soviet Union, and Italy. It was really interesting to see the differences in styles and how those became associated with the governments that sponsored them (i.e. futurism in facist Italy). There was a lot of art on loan from Washington D.C. (including Dorothea Lange’s famous “Migrant Mother” photograph), so I wonder if the exhibit may end up traveling. If so, it’s well-worth a visit.
It was soon time to return to friary where we shared dinner with the Franciscans and postulants (basically Franciscan seminary students) from the area. It was a nice opportunity to again share a bit about our work and better understand their work in Berlin. And also drink some good beer.
We were asked to talk briefly about our work and Franciscans International at the family church service on Sunday morning, which was interesting since none of us speak German.
Fr Hans-Georg translated for us. We then joined some of the families from the church for a fellowship hour afterwards. Germans really know how to do fellowship—homemade cheesecake, made-to-order waffles and even beer if you wanted to start your morning off right (we abstained seeing as it was only 11:30).
While the other three had waffles, I opted (as anyone who knows me well may have guessed) for the cheesecake. It was excellent.
Following church, we headed out to do a bit more sight-seeing (or is the correct term site-seeing?). Aside from Monday’s Dave Matthews concert, the only thing I was sure I needed to do in Berlin was visit the Bauhaus Archiv.
For the uninitiated (i.e. non-designers), the Bauhaus was a famous design school/movement started in Weimer in the 1920s. It was later moved to Dessau and finally Berlin before being closed due to the Nazi rise to power. They shaped much of the design and architectural thinking that is still practiced today (and taught at UC, by way of Basel).
Anyway, the Archiv is a museum tracing the history of the school, including student work, architectural models and plans, special exhibitions and more. The current temporary exhibit was about Die Neue Linie, a fashion/lifestyle magazine designed by Bauhaus members in the school’s hey-dey. I quickly learned that photography was not allowed in the museum, but I snuck these shots before being forced to shutter my lens.
The entrance to the exhibit was a lifesize recreation of the first issue of the magazine.
Original art for an unused cover idea.
It was a really nice place and interesting to see a piece of design history come to life.
We continued on our journey, stopping to get some sausages for lunch near museum island. There is a special exhibit at the German History Museum called “Art and Propaganda” that I was really interested in seeing, so we headed to that. The museum has a modern addition designed by I.M. Pei which is quite nice, and that’s where the exhibit is.
Unfortunately photography was prohibited there too, so I can’t share any pictures. I can say it was one of the best-curated exhibitions I’ve ever been to. It traced parallel paths of state-sponsored art from the 20s through the end of WWII in the United States, Germany, the Soviet Union, and Italy. It was really interesting to see the differences in styles and how those became associated with the governments that sponsored them (i.e. futurism in facist Italy). There was a lot of art on loan from Washington D.C. (including Dorothea Lange’s famous “Migrant Mother” photograph), so I wonder if the exhibit may end up traveling. If so, it’s well-worth a visit.
It was soon time to return to friary where we shared dinner with the Franciscans and postulants (basically Franciscan seminary students) from the area. It was a nice opportunity to again share a bit about our work and better understand their work in Berlin. And also drink some good beer.
posted by Aaron at 4:35 PM
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