Berlin Wall's fall will be memorialized across Wilshire 洛杉矶纪念摧垮柏林墙二十周年

Written by Elissa Glickman

Wednesday, 12 August 2009 00:00
- Last Updated Sunday, 04 October 2009 04:58

A wall, painted by pros and amateurs, will stand for three hours to mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Cold War era symbol.

WALLED OFF: An artist's rendering, left, shows what the Wall Pxrxoject may look like whe /n it is up. By Diane Haithman
August 12, 2009

In what government and arts officials are calling the most ambitious commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall outside of Germany, a symbolic re-creation of the wall that once separated East and West Berlin will be erected across Wilshire Boulevard in November. The Wall Project, painted by professional and amateur artists, will close Sunday afternoon traffic on one of the city's busiest thoroughfares for three hours on Nov. 8 beginning at 3 p.m.

The project involves the Culver City's Wende Museum and Archive of the Cold War, the city of Los Angeles, the German Consulate General in Los Angeles and other partners, and will be officially announced Thursday. In a reenactment of the actual events, invited dignitaries will break down selected portions of the Wilshire wall, which will be placed directly in front of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Project leaders plan a live feed of the events between Los Angeles and Berlin, official sister cities since 1967. (Because of the time difference, it will already be Nov. 9 in Berlin, the day the wall came down in 1989).

Professional artists who will participate include "Obama Hope" muralist Shepard Fairey, L.A. muralist Kent Twitchell and Berlin-based Thierry Noir, noted for painting his brightly colored human figures on the real wall in Berlin. Twitchell said that he plans to create portraits of the two presidents who saw the beginning and the end of the Berlin Wall, John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan.

The Wall Project will be made up of two parts: The "Wall Across Wilshire" will have as its adjunct the "Wall Along Wilshire -- Eastside Gallery West," which will have a somewhat longer 1 / 2

[size=24]Berlin Wall's fall will be memorialized across Wilshire[/size]

Written by Elissa Glickman

Wednesday, 12 August 2009 00:00 - Last Updated Sunday, 04 October 2009 04:58

life in front of the 5900 Wilshire Blvd. building, remaining in place from Oct. 17 to Nov. 14. During its short existence, the "across" wall will bisect the "along" wall, with one end of the "across" wall ending at LACMA's outdoor installation "Urban Light."

The location is "highly symbolic," said Justinian Jampol, president and founder of the Wende Museum. "It connects downtown to the ocean, those two cultural anchors to the city. Also, going through an area where there are lots of museums and cultural institutions, it's very reflective of what occurred in Berlin, because when that line was drawn through the city, it divided up the cultural institutions." Symbolism aside, the location is not random: Wayne Ratkovich, owner of the 5900 Wilshire Blvd. building, sits on the nonprofit Wende Museum's board of directors.

From Oct. 23 to Nov. 7, 40 wall panels, all 11 feet tall and 3 feet wide, will be painted on the grounds of the Page Museum at the La Brea Tar Pits in Hancock Park, adjacent to LACMA. Thirty of those panels will be used to construct the Wall Across Wilshire, and the other 10 will form the Wall Along Wilshire.

The work of graphic designer and political illustrator Fairey will be part of the "across" wall, along with the work of graffiti artists working with ArtStorm LA and arts students at the Otis College of Art and Design, USC, CalArts and USC. Twitchell and Noir will paint an additional 10 panels for the Wall Along Wilshire, doing most of their work in front of the 5900 building. The public will have the opportunity to observe the artists at work in both locations.

Jampol said the painting done on the Berlin Wall circa 1989 "was not art, it was a political act. It was not about showing the finished artwork, it was dynamic." He said that so many artists wanted to make their mark on the Berlin Wall they often began painting over another artist's work before the paint was dry.

Los Angeles officials had to sign off on closing Wilshire. "We do this all the time," said Councilman Tom LaBonge, whose district includes the project site, mentioning a recent NASCAR-related event at the nearby Petersen Automotive Museum that also required the temporary closure of Wilshire. "Wilshire is the backbone of all the buses in the city, but . . . having had the experience of this closure near Fairfax for the Petersen, I knew it could happen."

Los Angeles German Consul General Wolfgang Drautz, who moved to Los Angeles just weeks ago, said that the Wall Project is the largest Berlin Wall anniversary commemoration that he is aware of outside of Berlin. Germany plans to donate as much as $40,000 to the effort, which Jampol estimated could cost $500,000.

"Look at the map -- that we are doing this here on the West Coast, in California, is symbolizing that it's not just a narrow, transatlantic relationship between Washington, D.C., and Berlin," Drautz said. "We are really looking forward to an event where all American cities can celebrate with us."

diane.haithman@latimes.com
Copyright © 2009, The Los Angeles Times
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Tuesday, November 10, 2009

陈凯一语: Kai Chen's Words:

Sarah Palin stands out as the only American Politician today in articulating the purpose and principles of the United States as the founders intended. I wish there were more people like Ronald Reagan and Sarah Palin in the world today. We need them desperately. --- Kai Chen

佩林女士是今天在美国政界唯一突出的为美国建国精神高声唱赞的政治领袖。 我为像她与里根那样的自由的斗士而自豪并希望更多的自由的斗士们站出来为美国的建国原则与精神呼喊。 --- 陈凯

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Sarah Palin/Commemorating a Victory for Freedom
佩林评柏林墙倒台

Sun at 11:35pm

Twenty years ago, the ultimate symbol of the division between freedom and tyranny was torn down. The Berlin Wall was constructed for one purpose: to prevent the escape of East Germans to the freedom of the West. The Wall’s cold, gray façade was a stark reminder of the economic and political way of life across the Soviet Union’s sphere of influence in Eastern Europe.

Ronald Reagan never stopped regarding the Berlin Wall as an affront to human freedom. When so many other American leaders and opinion makers had come to accept its presence as inevitable and permanent, Reagan still hammered away at the Wall’s very premise in human tyranny, until finally the Wall itself was hammered down. Its downfall wasn’t the work of Reagan alone. Our president’s actions were joined with the brave acts of many individuals who stood firm and united in facing the Soviet Union. The Berlin Wall came down because millions of people behind the Iron Curtain refused to accept the fate of enslavement and their supporters in the West refused to accept that the “captive nations” would remain captive forever.

Though that long, tragic episode in human history had come to a close finally with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, it wasn’t the “end of history” or the end of conflict as some had hoped. New conflicts confront us today throughout the world which call for courage and resolve and dedication to freedom. The new democracies and market economies that have emerged in Central and Eastern Europe still require our friendship and alliances as they continue to seek security, prosperity, and self-determination. But as we reflect on present and future challenges, let’s take time to celebrate the anniversary of this awesome victory for freedom. The downfall of that cold, gray concrete Wall should be a lesson to us in hope. Nothing is inevitable. Tyranny is no match for the hope and resolve of those who work and fight for freedom.

- Sarah Palin