40 Days of Birthday: Day Twenty-Two

Felt Suit, 1970
Joseph Bueys

I was spoiled again today and went out on my own for a solo adventure. The only reason I count being alone a luxury is because I was headed to the Hamburger Bahnhof Museum of Modern Art, and while my husband would have enjoyed it, my son would not be amused. This way, I could take all the time I need while my son and husband play at home. My journey was bookended by two hefty bouts of sewing for the two baby birthday parties on Sunday and I was proud of myself to have, once again, dropped everything and do something for me.

Photography was not allowed at the Martin-Gropius-Bau so I didn’t bother bringing our nice camera, which was a shame since it seemed to not be an issue at Hamburger Bahnhof. Though there was a clear sign at the front depicting a cell phone with a slash through it, I followed the lead of others and took pictures with my iPhone.

The Hamburger Bahnhof is a huge space, being an old Bahn station over a hundred years ago, but there is little that lets you know this history. It has been converted to a several winged gallery, often awkwardly so, forcing you to retrace your steps, follow empty corridors and cross through the gift shop to get to the different exhibits.

I hadn’t checked out what was going on there before I went and was excited to see a Robert Rauschenberg exhibition had just started today. I’m keen on his work collaborating with theatre artists and choreographers during the 1960s and the exhibit was showing several films throughout its run, documenting this period. In the same wing hung the Warhols and the Lichtensteins, but what made my jaw drop were works from Cy Twombly and Anslem Kiefer:

Thyrsis, 1977
Cy Twombly
Photo source found here

Lillith am Roten Meer, 1990
Anslem Kiefer
Photo source found here

Lillith am Roten Meer, 1990
Anslem Kiefer
Photo source found here

I was told twice during my first ten minutes there to not stand so close to the paintings. On the one hand, I appreciate the lack of stanchions in front of the pieces, yet it’s all too tempting, especially with mixed media work and thick, juicy brush strokes. The first guard was very polite about it, even joking that she knew I would not touch the painting, but because others had, she was forced to tell me. The second guard bluntly demanded that I distance myself by an additional meter.

I moved on to the Martin Honert exhibit next which was more interactive and sculptural. Again, guards had to constantly tell people not to actually stand amongst the plastic people or touch the tiny house. For a second I considered placing my birthday crown on the head of a small polyurethane man for a photo opportunity. I considered that the artist would have loved my doing this or would have felt completely disrespected. I couldn’t take the chance that it would be the latter so I aborted my mission. This says nothing of the scolding I would have received from the guards.

Group Photo of Prefects, 2012
Martin Honert

The annex section of the museum housed an interesting exhibit on architecture which I went through maybe too quickly but I’d already been there for two hours at this point and the Joseph Beuys’ were waiting. What I love about the Beuys pieces is that they challenge your perception of beauty. What I also loved was how I believed none of his work had anything to do with beauty. It’s angry, raw, industrial, found, and decaying. I got slapped in the face. I was repulsed. I fell in love.

40 Days of Birthday: Day Twenty

Paul Newman, 1964
Photographed by Dennis Hopper

We set out as a family today to see Dennis Hopper: The Lost Album at the Martin-Gropius-Bau Museum. This was my first time at the museum. I hadn’t seen Dennis Hopper’s found photographs and only know him for his film work so I wasn’t especially excited to see the exhibit as much as I was to see the Gropius-Bau.

For Nicholas to come along, this outing was perhaps more expensive than some of the others—expect the zoo—but I was able to get a reduced rate being a student. They let Lennon in for free. The museum is beautiful with an ornate outside façade that had clearly taken some damage in WWII. Two decapitated statues, covered in suet, standing sentinel at the entrance.

Lennon was in his stroller and as soon as we walked into the Hopper exhibit and slowed things down to look at the photos, he was ready to get out and crawl around. Nicholas tried holding him for awhile but then just let him crawl through the exhibit. He charmed all the museum guards, luckily. I would say the only complaint people might have—and it’s perhaps a big one—is that Lennon was talking loudly and continuously. We hurried through.

Martin Luther King, Jr., 1965
Photographed by Dennis Hopper

Hopper’s lost photos are beautiful. He was at the epicenter of hip and had access to some beautiful iconic artistic scenes of the 1960s and 70s. I was excited to see his photos from the New York avant-garde performance scene—maybe before its figures became iconoclastic.

Niki de Saint Phalle (kneeling), 1963
Photographed by Dennis Hopper

We barely made it out of the Hopper exhibit in one piece and there were definitely elements I breezed through for the sake of my son. Unfortunately, we had also purchased a ticket to the Mythos Olympia: Kult und Spiele in der Antike exhibit on the first floor. I knew Nicholas would be interested in this as a historian. Lennon had no interest whatsoever. We began together in the first room of the exhibit and quickly decided that we should go through one at a time, taking turns hanging out with Lennon in the museum foyer. I raced through first.

There was a man with his two middle school aged daughters viewing the exhibit with the audio guide and headphones. I would have appreciated the audio guide at this exhibit, which essentially is a collection of artifacts from the ancient Olympia shrine in Greece. I always try to engage with genuine interest in this kind of exhibit: I want to be transported to the ancient time of the artifacts. Today my enthusiasm waned pretty quickly, however, looking at the small bits of metal and stone behind glass. I think the audio guide might have helped me stick with it for longer. Of course the exhibit has lengthy descriptions of the artifacts and statues all over the place that I didn’t have time to read, worried about Lennon. I realized that were I to do this day over, I would have come alone, purchased the guide and strolled for hours in both exhibits. I also look forward to taking Lennon to museums when he’s old enough to share that experience with me.

After a cookie and a drink, Nicholas and Lennon finally made their way through Mythos Olympia. Our take away was that Lennon was unequivocally too young to take to museums. 

Source for Dennis Hopper's photo's found here.