Harvard Art Museums unveiled a new temporary exhibit Sept. 15 titled “Made in Germany? Art and Identity in a Global Nation” showcasing German art from 1980 and onwards, depicting the culture, identity and feelings of those living in both a divided, post-war Germany and a later unified Germany.
This exhibit features art in a multitude of forms, including collages, furniture, paintings, photography, home movies and documentaries, a slide show and concrete sculptures.
It begins in a small room; one wall has a timeline of events in Germany, beginning with the end of WWII and the division of Germany in 1945 and ending with protests of extremist plans of mass deportation of immigrants from Germany in 2024.
On the wall parallel are two doors on either side leading into the larger portion of the exhibit, with large silver letters displaying the exhibit’s title and an introductory paragraph in the middle.
The door on the left leads to a room only containing a large screen right in the center, with a bench in front. Playing on it is a documentary from 1998 titled “Die leere Mitte (The Empty Centre),” an extended documentary by Hito Steyerl that contains interviews from students, construction workers and others that discuss the divisions and exclusions of people of different races and religions that were still prominent, even after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
The door to the right leads into the larger part of the exhibit. A large black and white composite image on a steel frame with the words “Deutschland wird deutscher” in white is the first thing seen through the door. Meaning “Germany becomes more German,” the piece was part of an original installation in 1992 which was canceled but was brought back the following year in 1993 as a poster campaign in Berlin.
The composite image is of the artist Katharina Sieverding surrounded by knives, and the phrase she laid on top was from a newspaper article that discussed the fear of a unified Germany. The piece was released after the fall of the Berlin Wall and when tensions and violence was high against immigrants. The piece was made for the public to think about what makes someone or something German.
In front and to the right of the frame are two concrete casts with radio antennas that are part of Isa Genzken’s collection “Weltempfänger” or World Receiver. The sculptures elicit different destructive times in German history like WWII and the destruction of the Berlin Wall, but Genzken also made them in reference to the importance of the communication of history and communication between countries and people. More of these sculptures are also seen later in the exhibit.
Behind “Deutschland wird deutscher,” the exhibition continues. On the other side of the steel frame is another screen where 80 color slides are being projected on a loop. The photos were taken by well-known German photographer Candida Höfer and are part of her series “Türken in Deutschland 1979” or Turks in Germany 1979.
The photo slides depict various scenes of the everyday lives of Turkish people in Germany. They had made their lives there after migrating due to labor agreements made to help rebuild Germany after WWII.
Being from Turkey and also being Muslim presented challenges for these migrant workers who continued to remain in Germany long after the rebuilding. However, these slides show how these migrants made Germany their home, becoming a part of German history and communities.
In the next gallery of the exhibit is an installation that takes up the entire room. It is a living room scene made in 2019 by Henrike Naumann, filled with various furniture and decorations flipped on its side. It is set up like a living room, but in this installation, the couch, table and chairs are on the walls and shelves, posters and decorations are on the floor.
Everything in the room fits with designs from the 1990s and post-Wall Germany. However, the title of the installation, “Ostalgie” (Ostalgia), a combination of the German words Ost (east) and Nostalgie (nostalgia), is a term meant to be reminiscent of the German Democratic Republic before it fell with the Wall.
The objects in the room being sold post-Wall and representing the rise of capitalism contrast with the name of the installation. It shows the quick progression through time and a fast change after the fall of the Berlin Wall while also discussing the complexity and trends of feeling nostalgia for a time before the rise of capitalism and the unification of Germany.
In the next room of the exhibit, there is a large printed and framed photo on the wall titled “Brücke Schkortleben” (Schkortleben Bridge) taken by Hans-Christian Schink. It depicts a beautiful green countryside with a few barns and homes and a huge gray concrete pylon of a bridge that seems incredibly out of place.
This photo highlights the increase in construction in post-unification Germany, where so many new structures and buildings seemed to be appearing overnight, vastly changing the previously underdeveloped GDR landscape. It was due to an initiative to physically connect both sides of Germany after unification. However, the placement of this pylon in a green field of farmland tends to beg the question of whether the goal of West Germany was connection or encroachment.
This is an incredibly well-put-together exhibit. It takes the viewer on a trip through time. Even though it’s only a 40-year time period of art, the history behind it goes back much further. There is so much more to know about Germany and its social and cultural history than is taught in schools. This exhibit did an absolutely wonderful job of showcasing so much art and explaining the history that went along with it.
The exhibit is only open at the Harvard Art Museums until Jan. 5. There is so much more to see at this exhibit, this article only discusses some of its highlights. There is more to learn, read and watch at “Made in Germany?” It is absolutely worth a visit.
