Die Kultur und ihre Nacht

I've gotten into the habit of writing my way into these posts; and while I have attempted not to do that presently, my point, and the topic at hand, is ultimately far too broad not for me to be a bit speculative and indulgent. I want to talk about die Kultur. Admittedly, that is impossible in a blog post. In fact, the point of these Blocker-blogs is to peel back the layers of die deutsche Kultur from an American perspective—so saying this weeks post is about Kultur is a little bit like saying today I am writing about Germany. More specifically I am going to talk about Tübingen's recent "Kultur Nacht," a citywide celebration of the arts and culture, which in my experience, felt quintessentially German. 

So what is "Kultur Nacht"?

"Kultur Nacht" is an annual event put on by das Kulturnetz Tübingen, a regional organization and intermediary for the arts, which for one spring night converted downtown Tübingen into a a display. With well over 100 different acts taking place from 6 PM until Midnight, "Kultur Nacht" offered something for anyone with cultural interests covering: concerts, dance performances, monologues, art instillations, exhibits, VR experiences, every type of theater, fashion shows, and even a rave. While some of these events were only available to purchasers of an 8€ wristband, it was a one time price that was more fair for the scope of the evening. From one street to the next the Altstadt transformed from one type of venue to another and given the beautiful weather almost every restaurant in the city was open late and offering outdoor seating. The city felt as though it were overflowing with every beautiful part of life. And all of this was funded by the local government with sponsorships and volunteers from some of the larger local businesses. 

A Short Description of my "Kultur Nacht"

My first event at "Kultur Nacht" was getting to watch silk dancers hang under the Neckarbrücke to preform a choreographed routine only meters above the water, while boats filled with speakers played the Instrumentals of popular songs. After the end of the routine I watched a few of the free shows, concerts and monologues before meeting up with friends at Hohentübingen, the city's castle and currently a museum administered by the University of Tübingen. Inside, in the wing containing antique marble statues, a jazz quartet was preforming while a fashion show walked along the schultere filled environment. The atmosphere was unlike any show I have ever experienced, and once it was over another show began on the castle thoroughfare which adapted local fairytales with fire twirling. From here I went to the university's paleontology museum where a professor gave a tour of the exhibit, which ended in a sharp and bizarre dance which used dinosaur themed props. Shortly after, still in the museum, a band played American club jazz unter the fossilized remains of creatures that once swam in the prehistoric sea that is now Southern Germany. At this time it was midnight and I had been going to shows for 5 hours, and after watching my bus pull away as I approached the station I walked home and reflected on what I had just experienced. There were too many things going on to see even part of all of them, but everything I saw was well worth it.

Colorful Street Performance

Jazz Rock Fashionshow

Dinosaur Dancer

 

So How is this German?

I wish that like my last post on Wanderung there was an etymology, or artistic movement I could pin the idea of Kultur on but sadly it is too broad. In keeping with this broadness I am going to generalize—a lot. Kultur is important to the German identity because there was not a single unified German state until 1871, so unlike in France or England where being French or English came from living in the same country, being German has historically meant adhering to a set of cultural principles. Barbara Tuckman notes in her explorative history, The Proud Tour: Europe Before the War that the Germans of the 1890s considered themselves the heirs to the Greeks and Romans, and were waiting for the rest of the world to acknowledge their cultural superiority. This is why, for instance, German is considered one of the two great European philosophical traditions. Being familiar with elements of their culture is something that many Germans, even today take a lot of pride in being familiar with. 

I find this to be in stark contrast with the United States where often we take our cultural identity for granted. Considering the US is the biggest exporter of cultural products in the world we find ourselves living in a truly mass culture that often never asks reflection. As a teenager I remember being excited when I heard my neighboring town had commissioned a local artist to make a series of statues to place around town, and I was probably one of the only person under 40 to have ever been to my local art gallery more than once. So this type of thing was right up my alley, but it was also packed. I had to stand at every event I attended because there were not enough seats. Even on my walk home there were still hundred of people in the streets. "Kultur Nacht" was clearly a community event, and a popular one at that. And while I am not a sociologist, I could never imagine something like this happening in my hometown or Geneva, New York.