In Berlin the “Golden Twenties” have long been remembered, nostalgically, as a time of cultural and political regeneration. But today Germany's capital dreams the dreams of that decade particuarly vividly. The city's current reputation for creativity, diversity and nightlife mean that the comparisons are as endless as they are inevitable. People are drawn to Berlin now just as W.H. Auden, Bertolt Brecht, and George Grosz were then.
“Dancing on the Volcano”, an absorbing exhibition inspired by a 1938 film of the same name, further extends the flattering parallels. Both periods are seen as a kaleidoscopic mix of rise and decline, misery and luxury, light and darkness. To illustrate these themes, the exhibition mingles consumer goods and vintage clothes with paintings, drawings, posters, photographs and sculptures—around 500 pieces from 200 artists.
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