In what government and arts officials are calling the most ambitious commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall outside of Germany, a symbolic re-creation of the wall that once separated East and West Berlin will be erected across Wilshire Boulevard in November.
The Wall Project, painted by professional and amateur artists, will close Sunday afternoon traffic on one of the city's busiest thoroughfares for three hours on Nov. 8 beginning at 3 p.m. The project involves the Culver City's Wende Museum and Archive of the Cold War, the city of Los Angeles, the German Consulate General in Los Angeles and other partners, and will be officially announced Thursday.
In a reenactment of the actual events, invited dignitaries will break down selected portions of the Wilshire wall, which will be placed directly in front of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Project leaders plan a live feed of the events between Los Angeles and Berlin, official sister cities since 1967. (Because of the time difference, it will already be Nov. 9 in Berlin, the day the wall came down in 1989).
Professional artists who will participate include "Obama Hope" muralist Shepard Fairey, L.A. muralist Kent Twitchell and Berlin-based Thierry Noir, noted for painting his brightly colored human figures on the real wall in Berlin. Twitchell said that he plans to create portraits of the two presidents who saw the beginning and the end of the Berlin Wall, John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan.
The Wall Project will be made up of two parts: The "Wall Across Wilshire" will have as its adjunct the "Wall Along Wilshire -- Eastside Gallery West," which will have a somewhat longer life in front of the 5900 Wilshire Blvd. building, remaining in place from Oct. 17 to Nov. 14.
During its short existence, the "across" wall will bisect the "along" wall, with one end of the "across" wall ending at LACMA's outdoor installation "Urban Light."
The location is "highly symbolic," said Justinian Jampol, president and founder of the Wende Museum. "It connects downtown to the ocean, those two cultural anchors to the city. Also, going through an area where there are lots of museums and cultural institutions, it's very reflective of what occurred in Berlin, because when that line was drawn through the city, it divided up the cultural institutions."
Symbolism aside, the location is not random: Wayne Ratkovich, owner of the 5900 Wilshire Blvd. building, sits on the nonprofit Wende Museum's board of directors.
