Deutsches Historisches Museum (Exhibition hall) by I.M. Pei
If you haven't figured it out yet (after following my Berlin travels), I am a total museum junkie. I'm not sure what it is, but it's kind of like my nice quiet place to be, like how people enjoy going for walks in the park. Or like reading a book, because it's like flipping through a magazine, except here you are walking through one.
Okay, I'll admit that I didn't go to the Museum for German History because I was keen on learning about German history. I totally went for the beautiful glass building across Palais Am Festungsgraben. Heck, I think I could even skip out on the content of the museum itself and just check out the building. Super modernist, minimal, and clean, walking in was like entering the Louvre in Paris. It has that same kind of space and natural light filling it. (Surprise, it's the same architect)
zeughaus
The Museum for German History has two entrances from two buildings. The glamorous glass one is the exhibition hall, dedicated to temporary exhibitions, and the main building (which I had never noticed before) holds the original collection and is an old armoury, in fact, the oldest building on the street.
atrium
The museum itself was pretty alright, it wasn't an overload of information, and definitely kept things brief while covering all aspects of the shared history between Germans and Europeans. I was on a time limit because I was meeting a friend for the temporary exhibition in the other building, so I didn't have time to actually read anything unless it caught my eye. (which is probably why I wasn't exhausted by heaps of information). But some cool things to note, a portrait of Mozart's and his family, a really shiny silverware collection, and an exotic Turkish tent. My flatmate said that there was a collection of hats, but I didn't recall seeing it.
bust
fancy mosaic floors
Both a Christian symbol and a political emblem
chain mail
1. Acquamanile in the shape of a head 2. 10-15kg
Charles V, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation.
suit up!
1. Grenadier, The Potsdam Giants. "Taller recruits had an advantage over shorter ones in loading the long rifles. Exclusively long guys served in the Potsdam Giants" The guy on the right was sent to Berlin as a gift in exchange for a room. 2. Emperor Leopold
Black Keys!
1. German flying bomb, 300kg. It's almost as tall as me. 2. Longcase clock, Mozart family portrait
war items, the display reminds me of the Jüdisches Museum
A rotating viewing machine. Like a giant viewmaster you cannot control
Fashioning fashion, LACMA
The current temporary exhibition is from LACMA, and was surprisingly really good. Fashioning Fashion is about the European dress from 1700-1915. The medium sized space was fulled with luxury haute-bourgeoisie clothes and fascinating fabrics and timeless décor (because like Coco Chanel says, fashion changes but style endures!). The exhibition begins with a visual timeline of the transforming silhouette. The transition from the male leggings and long jacket to the fine tailored suit was not as exciting as the the transition from the cumbersome female get-ups to the simple dress. It then goes to display textiles (woven effects, silks and printed cottons), tailoring (custom mades to the demands of vanity), and trim (embroidery, quilting, and lace).
Inside, there are no title cards with descriptions, just a reference number that coordinated with a booklet you picked up at the door. It's like listening to an audio guide, but instead you followed through the space with a book in hand and instead of people looking glazed over and spaced out as they absorb auditory information, everyone's faces were in a book.
Tourists visit the Battlefield of Waterloo
The super cool thing about the Fashioning Fashion exhibition is that it is linked to the permanent exhibition side of the German Historical Museum. Usually, temporary exhibitions are standalone from permanent exhibitions so this was an interesting fusion. There is a line of bright green dots on the floor leading to small parts and details found in paintings or mini figures --drawing parallels from the garments on the life sized mannequins in the temporary exhibition to the context of cultural history in the permanent exhibition.
Look! the lady in the painting is wearing the SAME DRESS being shown in the temporary exhibition!
1. Hinged kitchen doll, female gender roles embodied. 2. Men's suit from the "Journal des Dames et des Modes" That guy has four pockets in the vest, three in the trousers, and five in the jacket.
Ad poster for Kloss & Foerster. The turban, inspired by The Arabian Nights and the French fascination with Orientalism.
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