Deutsches Historisches Museum - Verf�hrung Freiheit. Kunst in Europa seit 1945 - Blog

Bankers on the telephone, bankers shouting, hurried footsteps, and the rustling of clothing: these are the background sounds you would normally expect to hear at the world’s stock markets. For those not at the scene of the action, the rising and falling of stock prices occurs in silence—followed on a ticker.

The Norwegian artist Svein Flygari Johansen, on the other hand, discovered a very individual soundtrack: the Altaelva River.  

The British artists (and twins) Jane and Louis Wilson took their large-format photographs at the former East German state security remand detention centre in Berlin-Hohenschönhausen in 1997. The building, which is now the Berlin-Hohenschönhausen Memorial, was mainly used to intern political prisoners, dissidents, and people wanting to emigrate.

With their title, Stasi City, the artists point to the infrastructural character of this prison. At the point of their imprisonment there, many prisoners did not even know where they were, or whether they were even still in Berlin.  

There are many hundreds of thousands of objects in the German Historical Museum (DHM) collections. They are the source of many of the objects in the museum’s permanent exhibition and many special exhibitions. The Desire for Freedom, however, is an exhibition with objects from across Europe and beyond. Organising and coordinating these loans and ensuring their safe arrival at the museum (and departure afterwards) is the job of our project manager, Rania Sid Otmane. With Berlin being only the first destination for the artworks from elsewhere, her work will continue without interruption. In February it is again ‘time to travel’, this time to Milan. 

Probably the most exciting part of the exhibition for everyone is the installation of the artworks. This is normally planned to take place 10 to 14 days before the exhibition opens. Pieces of art arrive nearly daily from around Europe and around the world. The works are brought to the museum by professional art transportation companies, unpacked by specialists, and stored in the museum interim depot.  

"I wanted to create a painting that you could not enter. You need to stay on the surface."

Tjebbe Beekman has his studio in Berlin Hohenschönhausen. Anyone who immediately thinks of the Stasi (State Security Service) Prison Memorial there is right on. His studio is right next door. The industrial building, where many artists work, exudes a menacing charm. The previously-visited Memorial adds to this impression. The large-format photograph Stasi City by Jane and Louise Wilson from our exhibition also plays it part.