Twenty years ago yesterday, the Berlin Wall essentially fell. Sure it came down bit by bit over the course of a few weeks, but November 9, 1989 was the day it was removed as anything more than a physical obstacle. This seems like it should have been a bigger anniversary in the US than it was, particularly given our tendency to create “anniversaries” before history places events in proper context (which in itself is a philosophical debate for another day for people far smarter than I). As the fall of the Wall has rightly come to symbolize the end of the Cold War, I can’t help but think it would have been a bigger deal here were we not in the midst of so much national and global uncertainty.

But the Germans definitely outdid themselves, with public art that was both massive and intimate. First, these enormous marionettes (which have been floating around the web for a few weeks now) must be seen: http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/10/the_berlin_reunion.html

And more recently, huge dominoes from contributors all over the world traced the path of the Berlin Wall for a Festival of Freedom, before they were symbolically knocked over. http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevejohnson/galleries/72157622758838216/

- Kyle Cavanaugh