Focus 2002.tif 26 FoC1l.l 011 Germ:lD Studies Monwnental Drape.ry: T he Aesthetic Evolution of the Wrapped Reichstag' Eleanor Mosemann O eaflne-Claude and Christo's If/rapped RekhJIog, Projut for Berlin (1995) takes as its object the German parliament building. Several layers of confljcting historical significance surro und the Reichsng, causing am­ biguity in Germany about the status of me building as a national symbol. Considered (ro m a German perspective, the building bears the contradIC­ tory marks o f the eras of constitutional monarchy during the Wilhelmine Empire and the wild phase of parliamentary democracy in the Weimar Republic, as well as the one-party rule of Hillcc's Third Reich_ Funher­ morc, in a divided Berlin the Reichs1ag's location itself took on symbolic meaning. POSt-war boundary lines spli t the building between East and West, with o nc of its towerS situated in the Soviet occupied wne. Once I.he Bedin \''(Iall was constructed in 1961, the Reichstag remained visible from the East but until 1989 it \\'3.5 physically inaccessible to EaSt Germans. T hese historical circumstances and inherent symbolism of the building auracted the Christos to the suggestio n of wrapping the Reichstag. [n 1972, Christo began creating the first o f over one hundred drawings, collages and scale models I.hatJcanne-Ciaude would sell 10 fund the project T hese designs also becam e the crucialLOols the artists would use as dlCY mel with German politicians, imellecruals and businesspeople in their twenty-foUl" year long struggle for permission to wrap dIe Re.ichstag.1 During d,e pw jeds planning period the artists enCOuntered repeated op­ position from Germans who feared that the proposed wrapping would insult dIe digniLy o f a building bUl"dened by itS history. In this essay I will show how dIe «tasteful" appearance o f the final design enabled the project's approval by parliament and yet simultaneously contributed to the perva­ sive reluctance on the part of many Germans to address the ambiguities o f their nation's past I will argue here tbat the Christos' d rawings. collages and models undenvem an extraordinary metamorphosis berween dle first' drawing in '1972 and the long-awaited event in 1995. I will demonstrate that the earliesl designs looked ma rc like packaged reru se and less like a 28 Foatl on Germ:m Studies dignified building. Successive design modifications. however. shifted the visual e ffect o f the lJ7rapptd Reirhlla,g toward a classicizing aesthetic. lllUs the pro jecl, which originally appeared as a building held host2ge by ropes and fabric, was mtnsfo rmed into an ho mage to the Relchstag. its wrapped appearance makmg reference to wh:ul read as ClassICal d rapery.) Lo order to UlU5ttate the complex relationship of the design's evollltJOn to dle l~ropptJ /Vl(hslt«} receptio n, I will contextualize the pro ject ill terms o f the paLti­ cal criticism the Christos encountered during the plannmg phase poor to installation, demonstrating how the late d esign came intO agceement with a trad itio n o f Western aesthetics known to educated Germ ,lIlS- r will set l.he symbolic building's acstheticization against the If/mpptJ Rlirhst,«spopular reception in order to provide a deepened reading o f lhe pOlencial fo r his­ to rical remembrance at stake in the Chnstos' pro ject. T he Cluistos d\er1\selves trace the form o f the d esIgn to their early wnpping projects o f the t960s. including Ptxkot! lin a TaiU and PTIl)td for (} Wrapptd PHWi& BmUb,!/ These images of packaging were mate­ ri21.i.zed in the 1968 WrapfNd KNltJlhalle 8m" Sll ilt!rlarJ and the 1969 MH­ $(JON of COflUntp6raryA rt, IVropp d, Chito.gI1 ' T he placement o f the ropes on these buildings and objects gives dle impression o f constnction and con­ tainment. This visual associatio n with binding, together with the verbal connotatio ns o f packaging, wo uld be levied against the IfYrapp'd &itrutag by opponents. The earliest designs for the IlYropptd & lth$tag. for example a 1972 collage,' bear a strilcing :resemblance to the early wrapped objects. T he basic contours o f the Reichstag are visible beoC2 th the fabnc: me four com er towers, the prominent portico with its inscription on the west fac;ade, and two mounds where roofline decoration is positio ned. The ropes are looped over cadl o ther at irregular poinrs and none are absolutely parallel to d\t: ground, dipping down under the force of the imc.rsecting lines. The large spaces between the ropes are o f varying size and shape., adding ro dle impression of ra.ndomness and chance. With this eady design, a trend be­ gan for ensuing sketches to evoke a sense o f disorder and the haphazard. In a 1974 coUage,' a view from the southwest conbnues the sense o f prevailing disorder. The random placemenr o f ropes and their knots as weU as bulging fabric between the ropes give the wrapped bu Ildmg a strong appearance of encasement o r constrictio n_ By masking the IWO courtyards flanking the central Plenary Hall, Ule design implies UI:lt the bUlldmg i~ being co ncealed beneath its wrapping, as though the actual fo rm and nmc­ tio n o f the building were secondary to me aims of the artist s. The fo lds in Monumenta1 Dcapecy 29 the collage faboc are 110 t connected to real architecrural fcatlltes on the Reichstag itself, giving lhe building a bulky appearance reinfo rced by the sketchy shadows lOcllcaled in charcoal. A 1977 colbge,10 showing the Reichstag with a plan o f the build­ ing below, continues the predominant themes o f conce:oa.lmcm and ran­ do mness.. The twO courtyard s remain obscured by faboc. All evolUtlon has begun, however, in the lines representing the play o f shad ows o n lhe fu~­ ric which now seems to conform to vertical axes rathe r. than bulges as 111 ea: lier designs. Along the roo fline, the architecruraJ detaIls o f the four towers and sculp tures are given mo re specific shape_ Desp ite these design modifications lhe ropes still run diago nally across the fa c;:ade, roof and portico, maintaining dle impression o f a building that ll2.s been covered and tied up o r contained in a sack. Ten yCMS later, in a 1987 collage,l1 Christo dlllllnished the pro mi­ nence o f the ropes while he s tressed the vecticahty of the play o f lIgh t and shadow c~ted by dle folds. The architecrural forms benea th the fab ric were s till am culal'ed 10 block.y forms, but the covered surface o f the bUl ld~ ing now appeared relatively ordered and reguw compared to previous draw­ ings. Christo's choice to add a map showing the Berlin Wall coursmg past the Reicbstag anlplified the tension between the symbolic building and its positio n on the threshold o f east and west. After a few years' hiarus from the project, Christo resumed creat­ ing drawings and collages when, in 1991, Bwldestag PresKlelll RJtll SUSSlUuth eX"pressed her interest in helping dIe Chcistos rC2hze theL[ plans..12 I argue lhalthe lV'ropfNd Reith$/nis disnncdy dignified, transformed design encour­ aged politicians to supportthc project, for cxample Ilenbert Sc.llarrenbroich (C D U parliame ntary delegate), who had been a staunch w tlC o f the Chrisms' propoS2.l. 'nle culo:unatio n o f the Chcistos' camp:ugn fo r official permissio n fo r their installatio n was signaled by the unprecedented pad.l3- mentacy debate and ro U-call vote tn February 1994, when delegates were asked to decide o n the cons timtio naliry of the artists' use of a government blllldUlg. I descobe the debate as unprecedented, beca use II was the fi rs t time that the German Paruament had direcdy addressed an arusnc project. IJ The break from traditional voting protocol, wluch typically nUlS along party lines, added further significance to the event. T he roll-call vo te points to a lhcme that has been an age-old subject o f discllssion amo ng hlsmrians of art. referring back to Kant's influential CritiqUl oj jutl,gU/1tI11 (1790): tas te is a matter of individual assessment; even the State as an entity representing 30 FoC1tS on German Studies the people cannot enforce a unified perception of taSte. ft is plausible that Bundestag delegates were aware of the Kmtian inteHecruai r.rndition and may have seen themselves as implicated in the potential conflict of public and private use o f reason. 14 Their consideration of the constitutionality of the proposed wrapping had to be balanced with consideration of constitu­ ent opinion as well as consideration of the aesthetic effect of the Wrapped fuichs/a!, in irs final design. Given thara majority of the delegates voted in favor of the ff7rapptd Reichstag, and given that several former opponents were persuaded to suppon the project, I believe that the c lassicizing ap­ pearance played a pivo tal role in rhe successful outcome of lhe parliamen­ tary vote. In the parliamentary debate, as in the two decades le2ding up to it, opponents twisted translations o f the official project ti tie, 'Wrapped Reichstag." to equate wrapping with the negative connotations of " pack­ aging" in an attempt to StOP what dley described as defamation of the symbolic building.l~ Critics interpreted the projea as trying to package history neady as though to sto"[e it forever in the past, an impossible task to be sure. rn spite of the dignified connotations of the o ffi cial German title I/trhiiUter fVichslat6 some Germans used the verb wrpacktn., or to pack up, to describe the act o f wrapping. T he derogatory use of t'erpackmpoints to opponem s' fears d-.at the artists' manipulation will desecrate the R.eichstag. [n attempting to pin down the effects the Christos' fabric would have on the symbolism of the Reichstag, commentators considered the artWOrk's effect on Germans as a people caught up by their h istory. Andreas [-(uyssen descnbed a useful, albeit very particular and sub jective, model fo r explaining Germany's relationship with its past. As he explains, Ge[­ many has gone through a deve lopment from restitu tio n (Wiedergutmachung") for crimes comnu tted d uring dIe war, to reconcili­ a tion CVersahnung'') epitomized by Willy Brnndt's stil ted effor ts at the Warsaw Ghetto Monunlent, to a search for redemption CEriosung'') ex­ lubited in the proliferation of monuments in Germany (Huyssen 182). Huyssen evokes the term EIl/sOF!,lll1l, used by critics o f Ge rmany's monu­ mental obsession, a term that encapsulates a dynamic I belie\'e contributed to some politicians' skepticism of the Wrapped Rdchm.g. En/Jl)Ftlllll,. a play on words which ironically refers to the public disposal o f radioactive «his­ tOrical" waste, neat1y takes cace of complicated memories suc[Ounding a national symbol, effectively replacing them with aesdletic memories of a monument charged with its past. Verpack£ll ultimately suggests "taking care Monumental Drapery 31 of" the memories associated with lhe Reichst.ag's history. Brandishing tins term in opposition to dIe Christos' project, critics exposed the underlying fear tlIat tile Reichstagwould not be honored, but instead wou ld be "dealt with" and discarded from historical conscience. The balancing of seman­ tic connotations together w ith the visual impact of the project as it pro­ gressed f[Om the appcacafl.Ce of a package to antique sculpUire enabled its parliamentary approval by alleviating suspicions tllat tile Chrisros were making light of the fears of EIl/.Sorgllnl,- The positive connotations of clas­ sicizing drapery dlllS precluded such negative associations thal mIght have resulted if the design had not been modified, altllough as [ will d iscuss, secondary memory evident in tile published visi to r responses ducatened the ChDstos' installation with a dynamic related to Ell/sorglllig. In tile dlanging social and political atmospherc in Germany after dIe fall o f the Berlin Wall, the Christos' project had a certain appeal of daring accompanied by a design tlut had bemme distinctly dignified. In­ deed i.n Christo's drawings and collages created between 1991 and 1995, coinciding with the artists' increased lobbying actiVity, the basic for m of the design remained constant. A 1995 drawing17 e~cmpl ifies the evolution the design undelWcnt. The folds of the fabric are drawn ill ver tical lines, emphasizing the gathers around the fa<;ade decorations. The blue ropes are understated and give no hin t of constriction, but instead accentuate the building'S forms as Winckelnlann would espouse, as I shall discuss below. The overall feeling of dle drawing is one of stately confidence and classical order, not of randonUless and constriction as in the early designs. As became apparent in the parliamentary debate, nuny politicians expected visitors at the If/rapped Rtichslag to engage in a d eeply contempla­ tive remembrance of the building'S history, thus p romoting a resolution of Germany's complex relationship wid} its past. Tn spite of the elegant tranS­ formation of the R.eichstag through the ChristOs' fabric, in my opinion rhe party-like response of the spectators problematizes thc process of work.­ ing through the conflicting meanings of the building as a national symbol. T ndeed, part of engaging memory is overcoming resistance to remember­ ing in ordec to facilitate the process o f what Freud calls "working-through," or the assimilation imo the present o f memories from a repressed past (Freud 155-56). In theory, by providing an occasion for the Gecn~ people to come together specificall}' for remembering, the Chris[os offered the German nation an opporrunit)' to work dIrough the past lIldividually and as a community. [n practice, however, the tacit desire for uncomplicated 32 FoalS on German Studies mem.ories dlat disavow uncomfortable aspects of Gemun his[oryaids the development of so-called secondary memory. In his discussion of Its lieux tit /J1imoire the French historian and theorist Pierre Nora describes secondary memory as "the acute effect of a new consciousness, the clearest expression of the ten:ocism of historiclzed memory" (14). In dtis description secondary memory pastes irself over primary memory, assig1ling to it tbe very idemity of bti'~ a memory. T he effect is to disconnect the sub ject from the event dIal produced primary mcmoqr. At the Wrapped Rtichs/(JI. specta[O('S young and o ld could develop a new cognizance of the building'S history, a new memory to «replace" any uncertainlY about what tlus build iog means for the German lucian. Tn essence the spectators would be subjected to the trap o f remembering the moment of remembrance, allowing distance to creep in between the indi­ vidual viewer and more direct contemplation of the building's ambiguous cole Ul history. The development of secondary memory of the Reichsrag speciJica1ly as a "wrapped" Reichsrag thus predudes exploring often con­ flicting and generation-specific memories of the paSt itsel£ In contrast to the derogatory twist of the term wrapping into t'trpocktn, I argue that the visual evidence provided by the project designs supports the reading of the Christos' wrapping as drapery,IS a form that can be read in the cOntCl:t of western aesthetics. In describing their project in publications about the If/ropjNd &ichs/og. the ChriStos mention the tradi­ tional depiction of fabric in painting and sculprure of various media,19 a tradition o f which educatcd Germans would be aware. The fab ric used to wrap the Reichstag has a shiny, reflective obverse and a matte reverse, thus by elCtension an inside and an olUslde. This detail contributcs to the func­ tion o f the material as drapery, making the Reichstag into an o bject avail­ able for Contemplation and "disinterested" admiration.XI A u~ptdReichstag implies a utilitarian function o f the fab ric; indeed if the /f/mppd rw.chslag had been merely a packaged building. less fab ric could have been used, thus reducing the volume of necessary materials and expense of die pwjccr. Nonetheless, (he Chris(os chose to provide plenty of fabnc specifically SO that the fabric would fa ll intO artistically rich folds. I contend that die fo lds were essential to the final design and thus constituted ule IIYrapptd Rrkhslag of 1995 by drapery and no t by packaging, as it was in 1972. I argue that parliamentary approval and the popular appeal of the Christos' project depended on an Enlightenment-era discourse on aes­ thetics of classical drapery exemp titled by scholars Winckelmaon (1717- Monumental Drapery 33 1768), Lessing (1729-1781), and Hegel (1770-1831), who each addressed the proper appeara nce of drapery according to his own ideal. It is on ule basis of these three scho la.rs' ruminations o n drapery Ulat I wish to ground my interpretacion of the IFrappd l"{eichstog as an aesthetically success ful artwork. Learned Germans of 1995 would have been aware of ule aes­ thetic tradition in whicb these three scholars playa part, makmg Il plau­ sible [hat politicians would bave been pred isposed to favor a classicizing appearance o n lhe baSIS of Gearutn intellectual heritage. Furthermore Ulcse politicians, for whom a draped Reichstag met aesthetic expectations. no longer had to worry about the envisioned spectators at the ff/mpptd Ivichsfag dcveloping wrong perceptions of a building that would serve as UIC re­ newed seat o f parliament soon after the Christos' fabric was removed. For Winckelmaon, as he wrote in his t 755 RqkCtiOllS ulllhe Illlilo­ lion of Gnek IV'orks in PaiNting and SculplJlrt, drapery belongs to die three characteristics o f antique works, the first 1:\1.'0 being beautiful nature and noble contouc (3 1-33). Foe him~ the fo lds of the drapery should harmo­ nize with the whole, fo llowing the gentle curves of the nude body. Natu­ rally, \Vinckelmann wrote about the human form, and not about d l'apcd architechlre, but nonetheless his observations regarding graceful drapery can be applied to the If/rapped fuichslog. Winckelmann valued thin, light, veil-like drapery Ulat does nOt conceal the beauti ful contour of the body underneath the cloth. He criticizes the heavy folds and dIe stiffness of the " modttns,'" who were, for him, his eighteenth-cenrury conrem potaries. If one were to conslder ule individual folds of the IVrapptd R4ichJlog, one might mistakenly identify the fo lds as heavy al1d massivc. 1 believe, how­ ever, that Winckelmatln would regard the effect of the whole rathcr than die individual parts. ff one were to regard the IPrapped Reich.Jit./f, in its en­ tirety, dIe fo lds appear to flow naturally from the contours o f the building. falling in small folds resulting from larger folds. The drapery gives the building the appearance of a lightweight objcct, not Wallot's massIVe Slone edifice that it is in actuality. For Winckelmann, drapery sho uJd reveal the contour and strucnllC o f the body bencadl ule fabric. The Chnstos' ch-ap­ cry, sturdy [hough i, may be, hugs die contours o f the Reichstag, revcaling its form and making it stand out againsr the surcoundingskyline, into which it bad faded over thc years as it sunk inro publ ic subconscious and became atl o bject taken for granted, but not one necessaci1y revered for ItS hIstori­ cal comcnt, let alone I ts form. Whereas Winckelmann desired that the body remain visible under 34 FIIl'MJ 011 GermfUJ Studies its dcapery, Lessing mainr.tined that t veiled object necessarily disappears. 10 his treatise on the famous sculprura1 group. LniJaJOIt (1766), Lessing WTOtcof the freedom mherent in U1.vlsibilJ ry: <'Ibis invisibility [of .. he baltle between the godsJ gives the imagination free rein to enlarge the scene and enVIsage the persons and actions of the gods on a gtander scaJe than the lnea5urc of ordmary men" (66). In contemplaring the activIties o f tile gods who are by nature invisible to dle human eye, the mind is free to formulate the narrative and arrange the action. Similarly, when me Reichstag dons the Chris!Os' drapery, the building becomes invisible to the o bserver, whose imagination is then free to associate lhe Reichstag with a higher level of existence or a grander scale than just a building o r just an «art happening." For Lessing, the veil func tio ned as a signal for the viewer; he 2dvised his readeahip that "you muSt imagine your.;eh'CS that he rthe veiled hero] is invisible" (68-69). This relates to the Wrapped &ichsta,g. whereby the Reichsug remains visible in its contours, as Wmcke!marul would have had it, bur the viewer should lake an active role in the process and lm1gioe that the building is mvisible. thus compleung the veiling process in his or her mind. As an invention that allows a certatn action to uke place unseen, d1e veil serves as a means to an end; action enabled by diS2blmg of vision_ \1;/hat should diS2ppear or become InVisible when the Reichsug IS wrapped depends on the subjectivity of each speculor. As a tool of veiling. the ChriStOS' wrapping alerts the viewer that what can be seen physically is nOt usually seen fully. Tn contrast to Winck:elmann and Lessing. Hegel connected the need for freedom to drapery as he expressed in his treatise Ae.rlhtliu: Lu- 11Irt.I on FintArl(published 1835-38). He suggested that artists should [(eat drapery according ro aechitectural principles. w hereby the body undel'Oea!.h the d rapery should be able to move freely as though in an architecmral environment constructed of fabric (746). He wrOle dut " the mantel espe­ cially is like a house in whIch a peeson is free to move" (747). H e favored clothing pinned ar one point which allows lhe fabric fO hang sllOllfane­ ousl)" falling in folds and free formations dUf depend o n the weaver of the fabric (747). T he C hristos' fabric IS mdeed fixed on the rooftop o f the building and secured once aro und the top of the fac;ade and o nce at rhe bonom, splitti.ng the e levatio n o f dle building auspiciously into thirds. 'nus acrangemenrof ropes directly conlraSlS With the constomoH evident in ea.rlier designs. where d1e wopped blUJding coO\'Cyed the artothesis of &eedom. Hegel wrote mat "[ ... ] the body is o ne thing. the c10thmg an- Monumental Dr2pcry 35 other. and the latter must come into Its own independently and appear in its freedom" (747). He ifldicates clut drapery sho uld not be subservient to, nor rcstric tulg o f the body, rather thai drnpery should allow freedom of body movemem as well as freedom of the drapery ftom the body. The Reichstag's dope.ry had a life of ItS own, played out in the Uldtvidu:u folds that fall according to therr will, unencumbered by metaphors o f constric­ tio n. These principles of freedo m central to Enlightcnmelll p hilosophy were apparent in die Christos' final design as well as the ultlflur.e installa­ tion, which were thus in keeping wi th traditional expectatio n s regarding the appropriate form o f drapery. A fair .. ssessment o f the peolecl's recep tion eeqmres determining the source of the widespread expec tatioil iha t die If/ropjJtd Rtuh;/otwould .. ffeet a change in Geanan lusto n cal consciousness. T he artists and art con:unemators made statements concemUlg the rJYrapptd Rtlch.r/~j poten­ llal role as a public catalYSt for con frontmg 1.11d even ecsolvUlg Germany's difficult past. T he art historian Wieland Schmied set the stage. perhaps, for later commentators on the mOaVlltlons undedymg the If/ropPtll RLichJ/o!, when in 1977 he posed the questions: How will the people - and here, people become the public - ee~ act? Wil! they realize th at the example of !.he wrap pmg - and dierefore d1e emphasis o n a historical building - nOt only touches a chapter of oue history, but touches Our German presence, our everyday life, in whid1 we live quite comfortably and widio ut tOO much thought? [ ... 1 Ne thoughts betng activated or only emo­ tio ns provoked? (5) Sclmucd acknowledged the complexi ty of the proposed rVrapptd Reichslag as affecting a level of conscio usness deeper than a supeeficial reference to die history of dIe Reichstag. li e believed lhat " lrough the Christos' action not only the complexities of the ReidlStag's reputation would be made manifest, bur also a ktnd of communal need for soul­ searching amidst a growing complacency. Geciurd Ullmann staled in 1994 IllS view of dIe effect the Chnstos' pro ject would luve: "\Vhether p rag­ nucic or idealistic, Christo's ambi&'llous wrapping in no way unlocks itself dlCOugh the veiling and urueashingof state symbols. T he prOVOClllve con­ tent of this acoon Les in the mobli1zauon of concealed national feelings" (55). T his expectation of a " moblllZ2tlon of concealed naoonal feelings" 36 FDl'UJ on Ger DJ:HJ Studies echoes Schmied's suggestion that the rVmpptd RlkhJI(lg will touch a Ger­ man presence lived withaur questioning the Jlo/usq1l0. Christo and Jeanne.Claude, however, made no specific dauns about the project's abiliry to affect anything more than piqued percepnons of the building's identity. Despite what I rcad as Christo's persistent reluctance to concede [0 the diverstty of responses Germans would have to the lV'rnpped &i.hJIot, he nonetheless relished the vehement reacnons to his highly con­ tested project. When asked in 1994 if his project Iud an "emouonal ratio­ nale," Christo responded: 1 am so excited that I can create so much turmoil in the German psyche [ . .. J all aboman ar:texperience. How the people are resisting the an experience. How they are mired up in the art experience [ ... J of course, that is something that would attract a 101 0 f passion, cou1d tum in all kmds of directions, arouse all kinds of emocions; and can mirror in some way the German angst and soul, and t.he feelings of Germans right now. (qld. in CoutU(e 27·28) In effect., Christo answers heee Sclunied's 1977 question of whether the rVropptd RJithJlog activates thoughts or p rovokes emotions. 1 would argue, on the basis of his statemems, that Christo was more interested in provok­ ing emotions rather than prOlllOtlng concentrated d iscussions of Germany's role in recent history. 10 spite of the artists' seerrungly imenbQnal ambigu­ ity, political conunenlators' pubLshed statements perpetuated the assump­ tion that d\e Wrapped &urutt« would affect a public conversation about Germany's pasL It is my interpretation, however, that lhe IVropped Rlifhslo!. feU short of this implicit p resupposition and. funhermore, the elegant appearance of the draped blUldang con tribmed to the emergence of sec­ ondary memory, as discussed above. The realized r17ropped Rti.hslat- o n view to the world from 23 June to 6 July, 1995, was true to rhe fmal design and yet appears 10 have arrived at an even more classicizing aesthetic than the latest drawings suggested. The basic forms of the Reichstag were accenruated by dle placement o f the ropes around dIe struCn!re_ T he fabric was puUcd taut over tlle comer towers and sculptures and gathered again by ropes that secured die fAbric against dle bwlding, allowillg the folds to fall freely to the ground. The emphasis 10 the final installatio n had shifted emphatically to vertical lines. The only elements that interru pted this vertical d irection were the twO sets Monumental Drapery 37 of inconspicuous ropes e~tendi ng arou nd the gi rth or the building. T he u ltimate appearance o f the IlfImpptd Reichsla!, secured its reputation as an intenucional sensation. Over the course of the planningproc~ the name If/npptd RrkhJlt.« maintained a tenuous balance between negative and positive connotatio ns despite [he de1iberale misuse by opponentS wanti ng to lhwart the p roJccl 1n removingovcrtJy negative metaphors in the hand llllgof dIe fabric, dIe £ealized Wrapped Rluhstot- encoutaged people to anleraCI widl each odlcr under positive circumstances, resulting in the double...edged sword of re· newal and denial. In the fanal analYSIS, the invItation forplarfu lness rather than communal remembn llce at the [Propped R.i:ith,lIa!, alt:racled five mil· lion spectators to Bcdin_21 In a year o f increased German self.scrutiny, coinciding with the fifty-year anniversary of the end o f World War n and the Holocaust, the If/ropfHd ~lChsloj lightened the mood around the build­ ing. a1though perhaps to the detnme.ot of GernW! lustoncaJ conscIous­ ness. \"hile secondary memory of rhe Rcichstag as t.he scene of a twO­ week long celebration has screened out any dark menlOaes of the bwldlOg's hislOry, the event enabled the smooth rerum of parliament to Berlin in 1999. T his percep tion is eremplafied by Sir Norman Foster, architect of lhe renovations and new dome, who nOted that fo r hun the removal of the If/rapped Rlichsto,gl fabric signaled the removal of lustory's weight from the Rcichstag, thus smoothing the transicion of the buildlllg UItO the next phase of its ius[ory (Welfmg 183),U The Chrisros' project, I argue, could never h:l1ve dazzled the crowds. had It not been for the VIsual assocrauo ns con­ jmed by lhe tnosformed design, which enabled parlnllnemary approval Despite my reading of the lt7ropptd RtjrhJt~ as a blockage to memory, the 11lternational anentio n Berlin received as a result of the Christos' cndcavor largely redeems the project from dismissal o n critical and politica l ground s. T he rJYropped Ivichs/a,gwill go down in Berlin h.lstory as the arrjsnc celebra­ tion of a city eager to renew its reputation as the dignified capital of an undivided German nation. Bryn Maur Colkge Notes 1111is essay IS conde.nsed from my Master's thesiS wnttcn at Bryn Mawr CoHege under the direction of Professor Christlane I lerte!' I extend to her my sincere gratitude for her advice and guidance, without which this arllcle would 38 FoCUJ 011 German Studies not have made it intO prim. She patiently guided me through two semesters of work on the thesis, plus a semester of graduate seminar work Oil eighteenth­ cennll:Y German art and Enlightenment scholarship. [ thank Professor Barbara t-,{iller Lane, whose graduate seminar on Modem Architecture helped me to re­ formulate several of my assertions about the Reichstag and irs history. This essay began as a term project for Professor Lisa Saltzman's graduate seminar on memory and post-war art. My thanks to her for her comments on earlier versions o f my work. I These drawings, collages, and scale models are caHeered in one volume along with facsimilies of the Christos' correspondence with politicians and schol­ ars as well as photographs documenting meetings with these individuals and the fmal project installation in June and July, 1995. See Chrirto alld j eaIllJe-Cloudt: VedliUlter/Wrapped Reichrtag Berlill 1971-1995. New York and Cologne: Taschen, 1996. Hereafter cited as "Chris[Qs, 1996." 3 My analysis presented here deepens a reading of the Wrapped ReichJtag designs that other art historians alluded to in describing the appearance of the final installation. jOlff1ld of the Alts correspondent George Aemaos praised the Reichstag project pointing out that "[ ... 1 the decisive factor in its success was the use of the fabric [which made the Reichstag look] like an ancient statue lit in the clearing of a wood" (Armaos 28-29). David Galloway made passing reference to the Rcichstag's wrapping as drapery: "The o rchestration of those shifting effeC"t$ was achieved by the wind [ ... J which could turn the heavy folds into delicately rippling draperies" (86). Gen Doy's brief and particular discussion of the Wr~d Rtichstag in her recently published book Dmpery: Classicism and Barbarism ill Visual Cu/lurt supports my argument here. Her interpretation o f the wrapping is concerned with the moment of revelation when the drapery is removed, a process she links to the public unveiling of sculpture and the packaging of consumer goods (179-180). 4 Package 01/ a Tabu, 1961; Collection Jeanne-Claude Christo, New York; for iUustration see Jacob BaaI-Teshuva. ~ Pro/ect for a Wrap~d Public Building, 1961; Collection Jeanne-Claude Chris[Q, New York; for illustration see Baal-Teshuva, 139. 6 Wropped Kullithalk Bel"ll, S wit?!flond, 1968; see photograph of installation by Thomas Cugini in Baal-Teshuva, fig 33. 7 Mllullm qf ContemjMraty Arl, Wrapped, Chicago. 8 Wrapped Rtichstog, Projulfor Bi:rlin, 1972; Collection Allan E"rumkin, New York; for illustration see Chnstos, 1996: 18. 9 !f7rapped Reichstag, Prf!iutfor Berlin, 1974; Private Collection, Germany; for illustration see Christos, 1996: 35. 10 Wrapp~d Rtichrtag, Projutfor Bmin, 1977; Private Collection, Europe; foe iUustracion see Christos, 1996: 55. 1\ lf7rapped Reichstag, Prqjut for Berlin, 1987; location unknown; for Monumental Drapecy 39 illustration see Christos, 1996: 120. 12 Sussmuth was formally introduced to the Christos' Wrapped Reichsfag project in 1989 when she was given a copy of the book Christo-Der Reichltag (edited by the Christos' colleagues Michael Cullen and Wolfgang Volz). In September of tha t same year she intimated that she liked the project, but could not comm1t to supporting it yet. November 9, 1989 the Berl in Wall fell and on October 3, 1990 Germany was reunited. In June 1991 the Bundestag voted to move the capital and the seat o f the Bundestag back to Berlin. One month later, SUssmuth declared her commitment to helping the Christos realize the Wrapped RtichIlag (see chronology in Baal-Teshuva, 37-38). Based on this sequence of events, I suspect that for Siissmuth, it was more the turn of political events that led her to support the project, rather than the sheer appeal of the project's aesthetic. U The German Grundguetz (Constitution) protects free expression in .Article 5 (§ I, Satz I) from which flows the guarantee of the freedom of art ''Art and science, research and teachi.ng ace free" (Article 5, §3, Satz I). See Germany, Deutscher Bundestag, Gnllldgesetzfor die BwltJesrepublik Dtlttschfand; Die GTll!ldrechu, Art. t-19. Bonn: Deutsche I3undestag, 1998. I3eyond tllese specifiC references to the freedom of art and expression, the Grulldgmtz is silent on the usage o f a federal building in a work of art. Thus the Christos and their project managers in Berlin could not have foreseen the tangled political path ahead of them that would ultimately lead to a parliamentary debate about the fate of the project. " Kant states that as long as a person's public use of reason (meaning published statements) does not directly conflict with the requirements of a civil post, that person is free to express his opinion. He warns, however, that as soon as a person's public use of reason infringes on the person's private (meaning official) duties, that person must give up his office. Although he states that the "entire fair sex" lacks the competence to think for tllemselves, and tllUS cannot achieve enlightenment by their own volition, it is nonetheless clear tllat women can become enlightened individuals (see Kant, "\'\!hat is Enlightenment" 54-60) . IS In particular, opponents who participated in the Bundestag debate on 25 fiebrurary, 1994, filmed the title of the project against itself. Dr. Burkhard Hirsch (F.D.P.) was one of the project's opponents who craftily turned the Wrapped Reichi/qg into the Packaged Reichrtag through his critical remarks. He stated, as recorded i.n Christos, 1996: "Now Mr. Christo is coming and packing (verpackt, 208) everything" (2 18). He continues, " \).lhy don't we also pack (verpacken, 208) the Brandenburg Gate if it pleases the artist? [ ... 1 There is nothing to pack (zu verpacken, 208) and tllere is nothing [Q wrap (zu verhlillen, 208)" (2 18). TIle meaning of the German word 'vcrpacken' has a negative connotation in this context: "to tie together in a parcel" (Grimm 956). Interestingly, the ti tles· of art journal essays also contributed to the misuse of the project ritle JPrapped Reichsiag. Por example, Gerhard Ullmann makes direct reference to the semantic trick mentioned above that would apply to the early designs fo r the W1llpped Rtichstog. 40 FOCUf on Germ;w Studi es (Ullmann 55). Tht: turn of phrase In such titles suggests the degree to which the name of the Christos' project was as signifiamt as its content and :appearance. 16 Supporters of the Chrutos' proJect underscored POSitive translations of the title to emphasize "veiling" and the nOhon of honoring the bUlldmg. \Vie­ land Schrrued's descnpuon of the Chnstos' motlVes for wrapping the Rcichstag reflects this asp«t of the semanoc twiSt. He explains that Christo "depnves us of familiar objects by wrapping them lUld thus {by} making them stn,nge and mysterious he makes us cunous. Rediscovered lTom their wrappings, we see them WIth a new awareness, new eyes" (Schmied 2). SImply changing the name of the project, however, could not resolve the ml:(cd meanings surroundtng the act of wrApping this national monumen t. 11 Wfl#JPd Ra'chSItf:, Pniea/or &ri", 1995, Private Collection; for Illustra tion see Christos, 1996: 249. \I Inherent in the term drapery is a direct relationsh ip with art, the twO are conjoined by aesthetics. \Vhtle the basic definition of "to drnpe" is "to cover with, or as with, doth or drapery; [0 h:ang. dress. or adorn with drapery" (OED 64 1) , the more frequendy used connot.l.noo of the word is "'to arrange or adJust (clothmg. h6J\gmgs, etc) in graceful o r arttsnc fo lds" (OED 64 I). Along the ume hoes, "dr.aperf means "the anisnc atTaIlgement of dommg m pamnng or sculp­ ture" (OED 641), and "the stuff WIth which anything is draped, or arttstically covered; clothmg or hangings of any kind, especU1ly the dothmg of the human figure in sculpture or painting" (OED 64 1). Whereas ''wrapping'' carries the dou­ ble-sided meaning o f en folding and at the same rime restricting or dISg..IISIng. "drapery" cacries the positive connotations of artis tic intentIOn and enhancemen t. The difference between the uses of the two words is significant to the W~d Reichll'!. given the changing appearance of the design over time. I' St:e fo r example press releases In Baal-Teshuva 8-9 and Chriflo & Jronne. CJaMdt: VtrlJlillkr/Wftl./JPtd Reithltog. Berlin, 1971·1995: 93. • Kantdefines beauty as something that mvites "disinterested pleasure", meaning a pleasure free from need (see Immanuel Kant, Criliqlle oj JIltf,lIIenf). In this sense. the very beauty of the IPropped Reidutt.g encouraged viSitors to step back from the need to situate oneself III relation to German hiStOry, creating a kind of internal sublime distance that Kanuan disinteres tedness provides. I argue that precisely this disinterested pleasure In the IPrapped Reichs~ as an aesthetic object: allowed for development of a blockage to memory m the form of secondary memory. JI Spectator commentary recorded extensively in articles from DII Zal 7 July - 14 July 1995; FrrmJifmer A1f&cmolft ZeilNIfg 28 June - 8 July 1995; TAZ - Dil T~lll,,& 26 June - 8 July 1995, BerUn edlnon; and DtT Spir:gd26 June - 8 July 1995 attest to the effects of secondary memory on viewers and underscores the pa-cepnon of most Interviewees that the Wropptd Rtidllltf! transformed the Retdls­ tag uno the backdrop for an o.:tended party and not, I would argue, for commu- Monumen tal Onpecy 41 nal remembrance. ll T his volume offen a well-documented histOry of the Reichstag's most recent reconstrucnon, mcludmg photographs of the compeuoon entries for the new dome design. Workds Cited Armaos, George. " It's a Wrap." Trans. Tony Mozer. Plih/i,Art &U(1I1 (Fall/ Winter 1995): 28-29. BaaI-Teshuva, Jacob. Ed. Christl): The Reimrtag (1l1d U,VOII Pnyuu. New York and Munich: Pres tel, 1993. Cbrilto and jwll llt·Ckllld4: VtrlJnUter/lf7l'lIpped Rekhsu« Bedin 1971·1995. New Yorkand Cologne: Taschen, 1996. CbriskJ.: Projul for IPrappd Reimsttg. Berlin: CoIJatp, D,UJ,IJngl, Srale A'lode! and PhokJgruphs Nowllbu 15·De«nt1wr 10,1977, exh. cat. London: Annely Juda Fine Art, 19TI. Couture. Andrea M. "Government Approved hckage: Chnsro to \'(Irap Reichstag." Pllb5eArt Rnie»,(Spnng/Summer 199~): 27-~. Cullen, Michael. "Das Reldlstagsgebaude: Ein baugeschlCht!.cher Uberbuck." Klein, Braun, Schroeder and Hellmann 235. Ooy, Gen. Drapery: Clauidsm and Barbarism in ViIlltl! Clilillrt.. London: LB. Tauns, 2002 Duden.: das grofo l17iJrtmum tier tklltsdxn SpradH. Mannheun: 1976. Freud, Sigmund. "Remembenng. Repeaung and Worlung-Through." Standard Edthon. VoL 12 London: Hogarth, 1958. Galloway. DaV1d. "Packaging the Past." Art in Allltdrq 83 (November 1995): 86. Grimm. Jacob:and Wilhelm Gnmm. DtMudJu 1176rtnbllch. leiPZIg: HIIUI, 1860. Gnmc/geleltfiir die 81111desrtplilik DeJluthlonti Bonn: Deutscher Bundestag. 1998 H cgd, Georg Wilhelm Friedridl. Anthllia: I...«INns on Fm, Art (1835-38). Vol. 2. Trans. T M. Knox. Oxford: Clarendon, 1988. Huyssen, Andreas. "Monumental Seduction." New German C"lique 69 (Fall (996): 181-200. Kant lmmanueL "An Answer to the QucSbon: '\'(fhat is Enlightenment?'" Trans. 1'1. B. ___ . Critiqlle of JN~!!Itlll. Trans. Werner S. Pluhar. Indianapolis: Hackert, 1987. Nisbef. KoIII: Political WriJiJlgI. Ed. 1·lans Reiss. ~ ed. Cambridge: Cambridge U P, 1991. 54-60. Klein, Ansgar, Ingo Braun, Christiane Schroeder, and KaJ-Uwe H ellmann, cds. #&tVI, Symbohk und Politik: O,e Ik.tchsragsverhliliung als Oenkansroll Opladen: Leske & Budnch, 1995. Lessmg. Gotthold Ephrnim. U1oaJ6J1: All E1J~ Oil 1M Lmtlflof Pailfulfg and Poetry 42 Fot'NS on Germ:m Studies (1766). T rans. Edwa~d Allen McCormick. Baltimore and London: Johns Hopkins U"P, 1984. Nora, Pierre. "Bet\l;ccn L\lemory and History: w Lieux de Mb!llJire." Reprutllfa­ tio"J 26 (Spring 1989): 7-25. Schadeke,Jurgen. Der Deutsche Raw/tag: Guchichtt u"d Gtgenlnm eillU BaHwerkJ. :Mlinchen: Piper, 1994. Ullmann, Gerhard. "Der gefesselte Reichsrng." 117u4, Baulfl & Wohnen 81.48 (May 199-1): 55. Wefing. Heinrich. Ed. "Dem DlIIudxn Vo/ke"; Der Bundestag im Bntinu Rdchstogsgd14ut4. Bonn: Bouvier, 1999. Winckelmann, Johann Joachim. Rgkctio1lS on the imitation oj Greek Work; in Painting and Sm/pllm (1755). Trans.. E lfriede Heyer and Roger C Nonon. La Salle: Open Court, 1987. W4rtahNCh der deutschen Cegenll/(lmspnuhe.. Berlin: Abdemie der Wissenschaften dec DDR, 1974. T he Socialist and Post-socialist Jugend1veihe: Symbol o f an Evolving East(ern) German Identi ty Anna Saunders D n 1990, after a life-span of merely 40 years, the German Demo­ cr:ltIC Republic (GDR) ceased 10 exist. Duang Ihis short lifetime, the state went 10 great length s to create amongst its cirizens a strong G DR identity, in order to secure their loyalty and devotion, and thus the state's very future. This proved necessary nOt only due to the mental and physical insecurities left in the wake of the Second \'{!orld War, but was further heightened by the presence of West Germany, and the need to "compete" for legitimacy. In the attempt to form a new emotional bond will} its people, the GDR tllUS developed a rigorous program o f national fes tivals, rOllstng demonst:rations of state loyalty and ritual ceremorues designed to In fi ltrate every-day life, to compensate for rhe lack of firm historical foundations, and to provide a substitute for religious celebrations. As the GD R ma­ nlred, so lOO did its ceremonies developulg increasingly quasi-religious characteristics. A soclalist naming ceremony, for example. was lI11roduced as an alternative to baptism, couples could get married at sooahsl marriage ceremonies. and a harvest festival was adopted as a state occasion (Neubert 194-95). In 1958, the First Secretary of the Socialist Uni ty Party (SED). Walrer Ulbricht, also announced ten "Gebote der soztalistiscben Moral", by which all GDR citizens were to abide, and socialist ideology even sub­ scribed to the concept of an "aftcr.life": the fu ture utopia of commu­ nism.1 A "state-religion" thus rapidly formed, aiming nor only to challenge me role of ule Protestant atld Catholic churches, whose beliefs and inde­ pendence proved to be a morn. i ll the side of lhe GOR, hut also LO create loyalty to the socialist state amongst its citizens, thereby promoting a Strong nationaJ identi ty. T he J"!,tlfdlJ!tiht was the ultimate example of the WAy ill which religious symbolism was employed to both these ends. As-a socialise equiva­ lent to religious confirmatio n., in which 14-ycar-olds swore an oath of loy­ alty to the socialist state, it clearly aimed to d raw young people away from the grasp of the Christian community, whi.lst also imbuing them with the