Protest to preserve Berlin Wall grows – Berlin East Side Gallery, Berlin Wall art – Guardians of Time by Manfred Kielnhofer on tour – Spirit Re Gallery

5. März 2013


BERLIN — After facing protests, a real estate developer has put on hold until at least mid-March plans to remove a piece of one of the few remaining sections of the Berlin Wall, and the city’s mayor said Monday that he would try to ensure the structure is preserved.

On Friday, hundreds of angry protesters prevented construction workers from removing all but a tiny piece of the East Side Gallery wall to make way for an access path for a luxury housing project.

Plans called for the removal of a 22-meter (yard) section of the 1.3 kilometer (3/4 mile) stretch of wall, which was painted by artists after the fall of communism and is a popular tourist attraction.

The wall section stood on the eastern side of the elaborate border strip built by East Germany and, when the border was closed, carried none of the graffiti that covered the western side of the wall.

Several thousand demonstrators protested against the construction plans on Sunday.

Work was supposed to resume this week, but Volker Thoms, a spokesman for project investor Maik Uwe Hinkel, said Monday it has been put on hold to allow for further discussions until at least March 18, when a forum that brings authorities together with locals is scheduled to meet.

Over the weekend, Hinkel spoke with Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit. The mayor publicly stepped into the dispute for the first time on Monday, issuing a statement in which he said the removal of the wall section „does not appear necessary.“

Wowereit said that an alternative should be found to the removal, which was authorized at a lower administrative level – by the city district in which the East Side Gallery stands. He said the city government will try to find a solution. ….
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/130303/protest-preserve-berlin-wall-grows

Photographer:  http://www.facebook.com/SpiritRe.Gallery
http://www.facebook.com/timeguards

http://kielnhofer.com

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Manfred Kielnhofer

Guardians of Time by Manfred Kielnhofer Mystique contemporary art sculpture Guardians of Time by the Austrian Manfred Kielnhofer observing and pretending the world. “The Guardians of Time” relates to the idea that since the beginning of time mankind has had protectors, both for historic and mystical reasons. It seems that only man himself is a potential source of danger for his own existence. In his works of art Manfred Kielnhofer deals with the natural human desire for security. Thus his oeuvre reflects genuine exploration, consideration and discussion of current as well as historic moods and sensibilities of his social environment. His works of art captivate with elaborate combinations of light and different technique. http://www.paranoias.org/2012/12/guardians-of-time-by-manfred-kielnhofer http://kielnhofer.com http://timeguards.com http://fotopark.at http://artpark.at http://contemporary-art.at http://lightart-biennale.com http://www.facebook.com/manfred.kielnhofer http://twitter.com/artbeyondlimits http://at.linkedin.com/in/contemporaryart http://gplus.to/contemporaryartdesign https://plus.google.com/photos/102958896899981777265/albums http://www.flickr.com/photos/artbeyondlimits http://www.tumblr.com/blog/contemporary-art http://www.youtube.com/user/kielnhofer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manfred_Kielnhofer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guardians_of_Time_(Art)

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