the space above

Urban space in central Berlin is all about creating historical references where there were none. Rebuilding the Stadtschloss is a sign for the frantic search for an idea of the historical. It seems to be this spatial evocation of history that Allora and Calzadilla had in mind for their piece in the Temporäre Kunsthalle. Positioned at the future entrance of the Schloss, they artificially reduce the height of the hall to one third, creating a new, claustrophobic area. A nonvisible tapdancer is doing his performances on the upper floor. The dancer is representing the dance of history, haunting the Kunsthalle just as German history is hauting the area, because of and despite all the postmodern efforts to architecturally reprogram the city's collective memory.