Artistic Interventions and Pockets of Memory on the Former Wall Strip in Berlin

• Published in: The Impact of Artists on Contemporary Urban Development in Europe Vol. 123; pp. 281 - 297
• Main Author: Barthel, Martin
• Format: Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland Springer International Publishing AG 2017; Springer International Publishing
• Series: GeoJournal Library
• Subjects: Artistic interventions; Berlin wall; Cityscape; Cultural studies; Economic geography; Human geography; Memory; Narratives
• ISBN: 3319532154; 9783319532158
• ISSN: 0924-5499; 2215-0072
• DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-53217-2_13

Lefebvre claimed that cityscapes are formed by expression of representation and power which shape the urban identity. In order to understand those representations the space has to be read by flaneurs. Artistic interventions reflect on the representation, uncover the memory of a place and reshape its future identity. The Berlin Wall had a tremendous impact on the identity of the city. Although faded, its afterlife is stimulating a debate on how to memorialize the wall and what does it mean for the future of the city. Instead of having an overall concept, a mosaic of different pockets of memories is found, where commercial, official-representative and grass-root oriented drivers create different artistic interventions. They use various approaches which may be described as ‘heritage’, ‘history’ and ‘laboratory’. This provides an inside view to current debates on the present and past of city. The chapter is presenting the impact of discourses on cityscapes and the role of memory for identity. The conclusions are illustrated with three case studies from the former Berlin Wall stripe. Checkpoint Charlie is connected to the ‘Disneyfication’ and the claimed rise of a ‘heritage industry’ on the Wall. The Berlin Wall Memorial highlights the role of public-representative interventions on memory. East Side Gallery can be understood as a grass-root laboratory, where the past of the place is mingled with current debates on the future of the city.