East Side Gallery Berlin: Topic

Preserving 1990

Gradually the state of the East Side Gallery deteriorated as it was damaged by exhaust fumes, illegal graffiti, and Wall-souvenir hunters. The artists restored it several times at their own expense or with the help of public and corporate donations. Thanks to the dedicated campaigning of the artists involved in the East Side Gallery e. V., the state of Berlin and the district of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg agreed to pay for the Gallery’s renovation in 2008 / 09. The paintings were removed, either whole or in pieces, and the crumbling masonry was repaired. Subsequently, most artists repainted their artworks on the Wall. Some, however, did not participate.

"They don’t really relate to life today anymore."

Kiddy Citny, 2021 (artist: Qui baise qui)

Birgit Kinder restored and retouched her painting several times. For the Gallery’s restoration in 2009, it was completely removed and painted a new.

To copy or not to copy?

Top: Jim Avignon’s painting of 1990 in the East Side Gallery / Below: The 2013 version

Some artists did not take part in the Gallery’s restoration. They were critical of the idea of reproducing public art from a particular time and place, 20 years later. Jim Avignon, for example, painted an entirely new picture — a panorama of life in Friedrichshain by day and by night. Others said that removing their paintings infringed their copyright. Siegfried Santoni, Bodo Sperling, Barbara Greul Aschanta, Karin Porath und Christos Koutsouras did not copy their artworks. Their paintings no longer exist; in their place the Wall is painted grey and white.

No longer to be seen: Siegfried Santoni’s Trilogie — Maschine Macht (Trilogy — Machine Power)

"I think it’s good, I could copy it forever!"

Margaret Hunter, 2021 (artist: Hands & Joint Venture)

No longer to be seen: Barbara Greul Aschanta’s Deutschland im November (Germany in November)

What do the artists say?

The East Side Gallery’s restoration in 2009 raised questions about monument authenticity, the concept of public art, and the artists’ perspectives: Should the paintings be preserved as testimonies to the events and thinking of 1990? Or does art in urban spaces need to be topical to be relevant? What does art and a monument like the East Side Gallery mean to those who created it?

Die Tanzenden

Painter and sculptor Sabine Kunz painted her artwork Die Tanzenden (The Dancers) on the Wall in 1990 while completing her studies at Burg Giebichenstein art college in East Germany. In 2010 she renovated her painting true to the original, seeing no reason to change it. In this way, she contributed to the East Side Gallery being created a second time.

Sabine Kunz: „Die Tanzenden“

Additional information:
The debate around the Gallery Preserving the East Side Gallery

Your visit to the East Side Gallery

Topic

Artormonument?

Preserving 1990

To copy or not to copy?

What do the artists say?

Die Tanzenden