Alexander Platz
The works that comprise this show were submitted in partial completion of the requirements of Berlin: Capital of Modernity, an interdisciplinary seminar taught by Professors Karen Hornick and Fred Smoler, in the summers of 2008 and 2009. Students in this class study Berlin as a center of some of the most horrifying and moving events in modern history as they simultaneously confront the contradictions of modern life in Berlin—buying food at the Turkish markets near their apartments a few feet from the footprint traces of the Wall, exploring the city’s seemingly infinite number of art and historical museums, attempting to gain entry to a dancehall that everyone refers to unironically as the “greatest club in the world,” grappling with the emotional impact of a visit to a Nazi concentration camp just beyond the city limits.
Throughout the exhibit are homages to pre-WWI and Weimar artists strongly associated with Berlin, particularly Käthe Kollwitz, John Heartfield, and the Bauhaus group. One may also spot the influence of contemporary German artists, especially photographers such as the Bechers and Wolfgang Tillmans. A constant in all the work is the students' awareness of themselves as late witnesses to life in this haunted but still vital place.
- Karen Hornick