''Berlin'' is a

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

on the

Tauentzienstraße Tauentzienstraße (colloquially: ''der Tauentzien''; en, Tauentzien Street) is a major shopping street in the City West area of Berlin, Germany. With a length of about , it runs between two important squares, Wittenbergplatz in the east and Brei ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, the capital of

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. First conceived in 1985 and unveiled by the husband-and-wife

sculpting Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

team of Brigitte Matschinsky-Denninghoff and Martin Matschinsky in 1987,Berlin (skulptur) - Berlin: von A bis Z
(in German) the sculpture's principal motif, a "broken chain", was meant to symbolize the severed connections between

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...

and

East Berlin East Berlin was the ''de facto'' capital city of East Germany from 1949 to 1990. Formally, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet sector of Berlin, established in 1945. The American, British, and French sectors were known as ...

due to the construction of the

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (german: Berliner Mauer, ) was a guarded concrete barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and East Germany (GDR). Construction of the Berlin Wall was commenced by the government ...

.Bildhauerei in Berlin - Berlin, 1985-87
(in German) After the Wall was dismantled, the sculpture was bought by the city from Matschinsky-Denninghoff to commemorate this period in German history.

History

''Berlin'' was one of eight sculptures designed during "Skulpturenboulevard Kurfürstendamm" (''Boulevard of Sculptures: Kurfürstendamm''),Skulpturenboulevard - Berlin: von A bis Z
(in German) an event commissioned by the city of West Berlin to celebrate Berlin's 750th

anniversary An anniversary is the date on which an event took place or an institution was founded in a previous year, and may also refer to the commemoration or celebration of that event. The word was first used for Catholic feasts to commemorate saints ...

in 1987. Of the eight sculptures unveiled, three were allowed to remain past the anniversary year (''Berlin, Pyramide,'' and ''Cadillacs in Form der nackten Maja''); the city and

Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank AG (), sometimes referred to simply as Deutsche, is a German multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Sto ...

acquired ''Berlin'' after its original lease had expired. For the event, the sculptors were allowed free rein to decide where on or around the Kurfürstendamm to erect their work. The Matschinsky-Denninghoffs chose the Tauentzienstraße in front of the

Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche The Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church (in German: Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche, but mostly just known as Gedächtniskirche ) is a Protestant church affiliated with the Evangelical Church in Berlin, Brandenburg and Silesian Upper Lusatia, a regi ...

, which was heavily damaged during the Bombing of Berlin in World War II, as the place to build and unveil their sculpture. The sculpture consists of four steel tubes extending upwards. Each is about two meters in diameter, reinforced with a concrete base. For about half a meter, one of the two ends on each side tilt, then change direction completely, looping but not touching, symbolizing the closeness and isolation between the two sides of Berlin. The surface of the tubes are covered by chrome

nickel Nickel is a chemical element with symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive but large pieces are slow to ...

steel, which can darken or shine depending on the time of day. Describing the meaning and impact intended by the ''Berlin'' sculpture, Brigitte Matschinsky-Denninghoff said, "The sculpture is accessible from all sides and thus perceivable to viewers.

hat is A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

emphasized is the direction West-East and East-West. Our sculpture is specifically designed as a big, 'organically grown' gate, forming a double arch which is not just necessary and practical, ut aninvigorating emphasis...we are trying to communicate something of Berlin's situation in a symbolic way."

References

{{coord, 52, 30, 12.2, N, 13, 20, 19.1, E, type:landmark_region:DE-BE, display=title 1987 establishments in West Germany 1987 sculptures Monuments and memorials in Berlin Outdoor sculptures in Berlin Steel sculptures in Germany Works by German people Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf

History

See also

References