Thursday, May 14, 2015

Neues Museum as a "Frozen Ruin"



The picture below is of the outside of the Neues Museum. This picture captures the notion that the museum is a "frozen ruin" by examining three physical observations. The first is that part of the outside has been restored by referencing the original brick making techniques, aesthetics, and other construction techniques. This was done to preserve the look and feel of the original building. The second is that bullet holes can clearly be seen on the columns. These bullet holes show that the museum survived tough times, but has still managed to survive and rebuild, just like the people of Berlin. The final observation is the crane in the background. Although this is not part of the museum, the crane symbolizes that Berlin is always changing and rebuilding while still keeping original elements of the city. The same can be said for the Neues Museum.  


2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love the observation about the crane. It is easy to over look them or think of them as a nuisance but I agree with you. They do sort of symbolize change and growth which is also important in a city. As a side note, do you think that leaving some of the damaged areas exposed takes away from the museum because its contents are not related to this time? Or do you think it enhances it?

Amanda.Filipchuk said...

I feel that exposing the broken or damaged parts of the museum enhances it. These parts show the museum itself has an interesting history. It also shows that the museum is proud to display some of this history to the viewers otherwise it would not be exposed.