PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA, THE: DOCFEST 2007: PETER EISENMAN: BUILDING GERMANY'S HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL {LONG VERSION}
Summary
One in a series of evenings and special screenings presented as part of The Paley Center for Media's eighth annual Documentary Television Festival. Held at The Paley Center in New York, this evening focuses on "Peter Eisenman: Building Germany's Holocaust Memorial" (2006), the documentary about the long, complex creative process of the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe art project in the center of Berlin. Host Ron Simon (curator, The Paley Center for Media) offers opening remarks and introduces film director Michael Blackwood, who introduces the documentary. (For synopsis and credits, see ACCNUM 129864.)
After the screening, Simon sits down with Eisenman and Blackwood. The conversation touches on such topics as: the film's structure and the decision to include several prominent German figures; Blackwood's "omnipresent" filming schedule over nearly a decade, owing to the project's many stops and starts; why journalist Martin Walser is a "key character" in the film, and explanation of the Parliament vote that confirmed the project; Eisenman's praise for Blackwood's "sang-froid" in creating the film, as he himself survived the Holocaust in Berlin; the film's personal aspects and connections to Blackwood's previous documentary "We Were German Jews" (1981); the mid-project departure of artist Richard Serra and his eventual praise for the finished product; Eisenman's thoughts on the so-called "eternal" nature of the memorial; elements left out of the documentary, including the first "drafts" of the memorial and the involvement of Secretary of Culture Michael Naumann; the controversy surrounding the involvement of the Degussa company, which was discovered to have created the gas used in the concentration camps; why Eisenman eventually changed his mind about the existence of the "Ort," or the place of information at the memorial; and the inclusion of scenes of German people visiting the memorial, with Blackwood noting the importance of preserving the story of the Holocaust once all of those who lived through it have died.
Questions from the audience then lead to a discussion of the following topics, among others: explanation of the two competitions held by former Chancellor Helmut Kohl and the first two versions of Eisenman's vision, and how the project was severely compromised by Kohl's departure from office; how the construction of the memorial eventually became required under the law; Eisenman's original intention to allow graffiti from visitors, which was then shut down by the German government; hints about American distribution of the film; why the memorial was intended to be "insinuated into everyday life" of Berlin citizens; Eisenman's views on the idea that the memorial should not single out the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, and why he now feels "Exterminated" is a more appropriate word than "Murdered"; Berlin residents' original idea for a much smaller project, with comparisons to Rodin's "The Burghers of Calais" sculpture commemorating the Hundred Years' War, and why they had to fight for their ten-acre space; the decision to place the museum underground and how it has proven to be too small; the use of carefully selected photographs of real families; and comparisons to the September 11th memorial in downtown Manhattan in terms of money and public interest.
Details
- NETWORK: N/A
- DATE: October 28, 2007 5:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:44:36
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:91902
- GENRE: Seminars
- SUBJECT HEADING: N/A
- SERIES RUN: N/A
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Ron Simon … Host
- Michael Blackwood … Panelist
- Peter Eisenman … Panelist
- Helmut Kohl
- Michael Naumann
- Auguste Rodin
- Richard Serra