Berlin Wall inspires artwork on display in Copley

The "Wall," a fine art exhibition commemorating the 20th Anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall is scheduled to be exhibited at USD. It is sponsored by both Copley Library and the Department of Languages & Literature.
Curator and USD alumnus Samir Chala said the strength of the exhibit is "in expressing some of the darkness of that period, but also in highlighting the good that came out of the destruction of the wall and the prosperity of unified Germany."
As Berlin celebrates a "year of remembrance" honoring those who helped tear the wall down, the "Wall" exhibition will showcase a variety of artwork. This will include paintings, photography and poetry - all of which were created in response to the fall of the Berlin Wall 20 years ago.
The eight international artists featured in his exhibit are O. Yordanov, Morgan Derrick Mia, Shon Kim, Jacob Susko, Jerrell Conner, Brittni Cute, Sophie Pardo and Anthony Santos. All of these artists come from diverse backgrounds, representing regions from South Korea to our own San Diego.
Nevertheless, their common ground lies in their passion to relate the pain and suffering of the Germans who lived in Berlin during the Cold War through their art.
The "Wall" exhibit's original form incorporated music as well as the above fine arts listed. Steven Gurevitz, a London-based music producer and writer, in collaboration with another writer, Jay Pulenthira, created music for the exhibit that embedded past speeches of Winston Churchill, President Obama's last speech to Germany, as well as recent interviews of German citizens who lived in Berlin before the wall came down and now live in London.
However, since the "Wall" is being shown in a library, the music element had to be taken out. The Gurevitz and Pulenthria music can still be heard at gallerywithoutborders.org and will be available for download on iTunes as well.
Additionally, the music will be played at other venues as the "Wall'' exhibition will be traveling to UCSD and other locations to celebrate this historic event.
The exhibit was organized by Gallery Without Borders, a subsidiary of KIN Agency for the Arts. In regards to KIN Agency for the Arts. Chala said they "believe in creating a strong global art community to help lessen the impact of poverty worldwide through art, education and outreach."
The themes of Kin's exhibits are connected to USD's social justice initiatives. Chala describes them as "related to some aspect of poverty or human rights issues, and a substantial portion of any sales proceeds goes directly to the charity funded at each show. We also represent a select group of artists who are talented and passionate about leading and transforming the global art world in the 21st century."
He hopes "students walk away with  valuable insight into a historic moment that not only changed again the map of Europe but also an event that promoted freedom, democracy, peace and justice."
Chala also wants to address those who were too young to remember the fall of the Berlin wall or were not even born yet. "These historic events need to be remembered, and instead of just showing a photo or having students read a book, we hope that the art will leave a memorable artistic event that will raise awareness and questions for USD students, staff, and faculty," he said.
"The Berlin wall came down on Nov. 9, 1989. I knew that USD and its educational environment would value this historic event and want its community to remember those who never made it in seeking freedom, peace and justice."
The "Wall" will run Nov. 9 through Nov. 25 at Copley Library.