New art show focusing on Louis Armstrong’s 1965 East Germany tour announced
In 1965, jazz legend Louis Armstrong toured East Germany amidst cultural tensions arising from the East German government’s crackdown on perceived Western influences.
This influential tour, which bolstered the East German jazz scene, is now the focus of a new exhibition titled I Have Seen the Wall at Das Minsk, a museum in the former East German city of Potsdam.
While many Western cultural artefacts faced bans in East Germany, jazz navigated a complex space due to its African-American roots and the backdrop of racial oppression in the US. Armstrong’s tour, which saw 16 sold-out concerts in nine days across the German Democratic Republic (GDR), reaching around 45,000 fans, was officially sanctioned due to his “activism against racism”.
The exhibit’s title recalls Armstrong’s response during a Berlin press conference when questioned about the divisive Berlin Wall. He said: “I have seen the wall, and I’m not worried about the wall; I’m worried about the audience I’m going to play to tomorrow night! … forget about all that other bullshit.”
Co-curated by jazz pianist Jason Moran and Paola Malavassi, the exhibition not only chronicles Armstrong’s historic tour but also explores broader themes like the tension between personal and political realities and the transformative power of music.
It features a mix of art, personal items from Armstrong’s collection, tour photographs, and recordings from the jazz icon’s meticulous audio diaries. A notable piece at the exhibit, an installation by Glenn Ligon, reflects on racial tensions in the US, drawing a connection between Armstrong’s song, ‘(What Did I Do to Be So) Black and Blue’, and the 1964 Harlem Riots.
Moran summed up Armstrong’s tour impact, emphasizing jazz as a representation of freedom. The exhibit, which aims to revisit this critical period in jazz and world history, runs at Das Minsk from September 16th 2023 to February 4th, 2024.
