“TeePee” is the name of the village in Berlin that is surrounded by construction fences. It consists of a good 20 tents, 50 residents – and a chief.

“TeePee” is the name of the village bordered by construction fences in a prime waterfront location. It consists of a good 20 tents, 50 residents – and a chief. The man with the Viking stature and gray-white hair is around 50 and calls himself “Flieger”.

“My apartment was crushing me, so I got out of here,” explains Flieger as he tightens ropes on his Indian tent. A chain with the finger-length tooth of a wild boar dangles around his neck. Flieger attaches the rope with slow, deliberate movements. “I didn’t set up TeePee to protest against rising rents, my approach is social, not political,” says Flieger, pointing behind him to where numerous young people are hammering away at their improvised dwellings. “I welcome the world here!”

Some people refer to the TeePee residents as “Spree Indians” because many of their tents are reminiscent of Native American tepees. Perhaps also because, in the eyes of many residents of the neighborhood, they are resisting the increasing takeover of the last open spaces by investors whose residential towers reach right up to the edge of the tent village. Its paths are neatly swept and separated from the flowerbeds by stones. “Creative, not chaotic” is how life should be here, says a young Lithuanian as he carries wood past fliers to his hut.

This poverty-stricken jet set profits from what society has left over, from returnable bottles and soup kitchens, from old building materials that they put together to make chic huts. Founding father and chief Flieger feels visibly at ease when he sees the international youth scurrying around him. He is not bothered by the fact that they are living their social experiment on public land that they have occupied rather than paid for.

Before Flieger set up the first tent at TeePee, he had already set up the “Cuvry” a few kilometers away – also on the Spree. Berlin’s first favela, as it was called by the local press, has since emerged there – with all the social problems that such a settlement of corrugated iron huts entails. “The drunks set each other on fire, it got too much for me,” says Flieger, explaining his “move”. In TeePee, on the other hand, order prevails and the dropouts don’t live there without rules. “No alcohol in the kitchen” is one such rule, which is emblazoned on a notice on the kitchen door. “Well, not everyone sticks to it,” says a young man with dreadlocks. Nevertheless, everything works well, even without an elected head. Problems are discussed once a week in plenary sessions and solved together.

But the increasingly limited space in Berlin is making itself felt even in a place like TeePee. “We are not a caravan park. Everyone is welcome here!” explains Flieger proudly. But when asked, it becomes clear that this means visitors and not new residents. The improvised tent village is very popular – and therefore already full.

Find out more from September 1 in Baumeister 9/2014.

Photos: William Veder

The Gothic period not only saw a transformation in architecture, but also in visual media – from painting and stained glass to written culture. This article examines the aesthetic developments, symbolism and historical significance of the visual arts of the Gothic period.

The Gothic style, which originated in Île-de-France around the middle of the 12th century, developed in its full bloom between the 12th and 16th centuries and spread throughout Europe. Gothic was characterized not only by its architectural innovations – pointed arches, ribbed vaults, buttresses and large windows – but also by a profound change in artistic expression. Art and visual culture became more closely interwoven with light, space and human perception. Light was no longer considered only in terms of architectural calculation, but as an essential element, almost as a medium that brought colors, forms and symbolism to life. The role of religious patrons – universities, monasteries, bishops – and the growing bourgeoisie also played an important role in promoting works of art that were both instructive and aesthetically impressive. Workshops, cooperatives and specialized artists (painters, glass painters, illuminators, stonemasons) also developed, perfecting techniques and developing regional characteristics.

Gothic painting developed between the 12th and 16th centuries and was initially characterized by meaningful painting, where composition and colouring primarily expressed religious meanings. Giotto di Bondone marked a breakthrough towards naturalism in the 14th century: In his frescoes in Padua – especially in the fresco cycle of the Cappella degli Scrovegni – a new depth is evident: exemplary is the scene Lamentation (The Lamentation of Christ, ca. 1305), in which Giotto conveys the grief over the dead Christ particularly sensitively through gestures, facial expressions and the arrangement of the figures. The richness of detail in “The Dream of Joachim” also testifies to how Giotto depicted people and landscapes with a greater naturalness and sense of observation.

Simone Martini also contributed to the fusion of emotion and religious imagery with her elegant style. In north-western Europe, Jan van Eyck and Rogier van der Weyden had a significant influence on late Gothic painting, particularly with the development of oil painting, naturalistic depiction of space and sharpness of detail. One of van Eyck’s most outstanding examples is the Madonna of Canon Joris van der Paele (ca. 1434-36): Here, it is not only the fine execution of the fabrics and vestments that impresses, but also the delicate depiction of facial features, reflections of light and the careful spatial construction of the sacred interior. The Lucca Madonna (ca. 1437) also shows the clear effect of light and surface on materials and clothing, for example in the royally exaggerated depiction of Mary and the infant Jesus.
The so-called “soft style” also developed in the late Gothic period. Figures of the Virgin Mary were made particularly frequently in this style and are also known as “Beautiful Madonnas”. The depictions of Mary in this style are generally soft and the robes usually have round and flowing hollows, making them appear increasingly three-dimensional. A well-known example is Stefan Lochner’s “Maria im Rosenhag”, which was created around 1448.

The Gothic period also developed independent painting workshops in Poland: Krakow, Wrocław and Toruń became centers for frescoes, panel and glass painting, often with Byzantine influence, especially in icon painting. The Beautiful Madonna of Toruń is a typical example of the emotional “soft style” of the international late Gothic period and is considered a model work of late medieval sculpture. (It shows Mary in an elegant standing pose, holding the infant Jesus delicately in her arms, with softly flowing robes and an idealized beauty).

Gothic cathedrals used glass as a theological medium: window cycles such as those in Chartres – famous for the “Chartres Blue” and the “Blue Madonna” – made biblical stories visible even to the illiterate. A concrete example: The Rose Windows of Chartres Cathedral – in particular the West Rose (ca. 1215) with the theme of the Last Judgement – show Christ in the middle as Judge surrounded by angels, the apostles and scenes of the Resurrection. The north rose windows are home to Mary and the Christ Child in the center, surrounded by the kings of Judah and prophets of the Old Testament – a pictorial program that is both instructive and magnificent. The Sainte-Chapelle in Paris with its huge glass surface (around 600 m²) offers another spectacular example of how light and color can be used to create the spiritual atmosphere of a sacred space.

Gothic sculptures broke away from the rigid forms of the Romanesque period and increasingly resorted to moving, emotionally charged figures. The “soft style” of the late Gothic period in particular ensures a tangible spirituality and human closeness. A concrete example of this is the Beautiful Madonna of Krużlowa: a wooden sculpture made of lime wood, created around the beginning of the 15th century; Mary stands in contraposto, holding the naked baby Jesus, who is carrying an apple – the drapery of the robes is soft and lush, Mary’s face gentle and at the same time idealized. The Danzinger Madonna, created at the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries, and the “Crescent Moon Madonna” from Silesia (ca. 1410-1420) also show a great closeness to the viewer through their curved posture, dynamic drapery and the elaborate imagery of hair, face and body, emphasizing the human figure of Mary in an idealized but sensually tangible sense.

Gothic minuscule originated as an acute-angled, broken script in the High Middle Ages – it replaced Carolingian minuscule as the main script and became more widespread through book printing. The term “Gothic majuscule” is less commonly used in palaeography; it often refers to decorative capitals or uncial script, which played a major role in initials and inscriptions.

Read more: An exhibition at the ALBERTINA Museum in Vienna shows how Gothic artists shaped the art of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.