David Bowie exhibition at the Gropius-Bau in Berlin
Berlin-Schöneberg, Hauptstraße 155. A 7-room apartment in an old building in the west of the divided city. At the height of the Cold War and Germany's "Hot Autumn", a British artist, already a superstar in the United States, sought a kind of personal refuge. According to music critics today, it was David Bowie's most creative period. During the years 1976 to 1978, the Hansa-Studios on Potsdamer Platz - right next to the Berlin Wall - saw the production of the "Berlin Trilogy": the albums "Low", "Heroes" and "Lodger".
The key ring for the Schöneberg apartment is one remnant of this creative era. It is one of the 300 exhibits on show in the David Bowie exhibition housed at the Martin-Gropius-Bau since 20th May. The "Victoria and Albert Museum" curated the multimedia exhibition in London, with the international communication agency "Avantgarde" staging the stay in Berlin.
Avantgarde engaged Neumann&Müller Veranstaltungstechnik to plan and realize the lighting for the exhibition and to install the media equipment for the multimedia show. N&M was also responsible for setting up the sound equipment provided by Sennheiser. Project manager Philippe Lefranc also realised the lighting for the opening of the exhibition, which was attended by a host of stage celebrities as well as the German foreign minister Steinmeier – who also made the speech to mark the official opening.
Besides personal collector's items belonging to the 67-year old exceptional artist, the exhibition also features music videos and film sequences, handwritten lyrics, set design models, personal photographs, hand-drawn self-portraits and advertising photos. Visitors can also see 60 outfits from Bowie's stage shows including the Ziggy Stardust jumpsuit from the 1972 tour and the red patent leather platform-soled boots worn during the "Aladdin Sane" tour.
The sound is of course an important element of the exhibition concept. In collaboration with Sennheiser, the curators created a visual voyage of discovery which features top-class sound quality and impressively combines visual and acoustic components. Special "guideports" provide visitors with the soundtrack to match the exhibits and videos.
A separate section in the Martin-Gropius-Bau has been dedicated to Bowie's time in Berlin. 60 new exhibits have been included here, some of which are on public display for the first time and which illustrate the singer's artistic development; people and places that were important to him at the time are also featured. Incidentally, the other key to the Berlin apartment belonged to his pal Iggy Pop, with whom he shared the seven rooms for a while. In an interview with the Tagesspiegel newspaper, Bowie told how his flatmate always used to empty the fridge and how he had to go the KaDeWe department store to restock it. Apparently, Major Tom occasionally had to deal with problems of a pretty earthly nature...
Photos: Avantgarde/ Nilz Böhme; Thomas Bruns