Aarron Walter

Saturday evening was Lange Nacht der Museen here in Berlin, an annual event that opens the doors to all of the cities major cultural institutions late into the night. Special performances and events take place in and around the museums including art and music performances, poetry readings, special exhibitions, guided tours, and activities for children. For 12 euros, you can get into as many museums as you like, all of which are linked together by a bus system shuttling visitors from place to place as part of their admission fare.

The events outside the museums were every bit as engaging as what was inside. At the Gem?§ldegalerie, an impressive pyrotechnic display lured visitors from afar to the museum. Classical and contemporary music ignited the space while flamethrower devices atop the roof and around the museum shot streams of fire into the air in time. A large flamethrower array burst a massive fiery charge above the crowd at the crescendo of songs.

At Potsdamer Platz, a building facade was transformed into a screen displaying media art works. Giant florescent bulbs in circular and linear shapes serve as massive pixels of the display. I stood mesmerized by the imagery for some time.

A highlight of the evening for me was an installation by Cai Guo-Qiang entitled Head On at the Deutsche Guggenheim. A large drawing of swirling dust and silhouettes of wolves begins the piece. In front of it stands a lone, snarling wolf, poised to spring forward into a large pack of wolves running, and leaping in an arch above the ground, ultimately crashing into a glass wall. Each wolf is quite carefully crafted with what appears to be real fur. The piece captures the motion of the pack suspending dozens of wolves in mid air until their bizarre demise at the wall.