Onwards and Upwards in the Arts
Travels in the GDR
In the summer of 1974 I had the chance to visit the German Democratic Republic as a member of the International Association of Art Critics. We were being hosted by the East German section for our annual congress. Had I not recently become a Canadian citizen I could not have attended as the American government, of which I citizen before, was not keen on Americans going there. At that time I was not a dual citizen as I lost my American citizenship when I became a Canadian ( I got it back a few years later when the Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional to lose one’s citizenship when you take on another.) Anyway I was happy to go to the GDR and see the evil Communists in action. Getting there was half the fun as getting a visa was not easy even if I was guest of the government. The same was true for other Communist countries, but most Americans could not visit them at all. Oh, the joys of being a Canadian.
I flew from Montreal to Vienna and from there to East Berlin via Inter Flug the state airline of East Germany. Vienna was a gateway to Eastern Europe which I also used to visit Poland in 1975. Actually I had quite a few trips to Vienna, but I will write about them later. The East Germany airplanes on their inter European flights could be converted to bombers. They did get you there, but the safety records were not the greatest. I had a lot of interesting plane flights over the years. You only live once and so I enjoyed while I was young. There were two airports in Berlin at the time East and West. Flying into Western airport was more interesting as you flew over East Germany to get there and landing was a dive bomber approach must less the leaving part that meant getting high fast.
I, and my fellow AICA colleagues, were welcomed with open arms into the GDR and the whole congress was about two weeks in which we travelled all over the country. Don’t get me wrong I, and my fellow western art critics, knew full well of propaganda value of our visit to our hosts. There were critics from other Communities countries at the meetings who were very interesting to talk to as well. Most of the people we came into contact with were true believers in their system. Here is a very important point many people in the GDR were keen Communists. They were rescued by the Soviet Union and most were isolated from the rest of the world. They all had jobs supported by the government; even if it sweeping the streets, a place to live, TV, radio, phone, and something to eat that was a much more then they had in 1945.
So many Americans think that everybody in the world is longing to be free and wants to live in the United States. It is just not true. The result of too many American movies and too little real travel outside their country. Many people have a deep love of their native land even one like East Germany. There were many things very, very wrong with the GDR and there were certainly many East Germans who knew it. One needs to know the world as it actually is not how you think or want it to be. Travel with an open mind is the best way to begin understand the world. Just as on a lower scale as I have stated the way to understand a painting is to look at the real thing. I am not suggesting being duped. No one I knew at this meeting from non-Eastern countries was taken in by the official government line we were fed.
Our host critics and artists were genuinely kind to us and wanted us to talk to them about are own countries. We wanted to talk to them about theirs. These people were not dumb. They had some understanding of contemporary western art and a great deal about European art history. Many of them spoke English and French that are the official languages of AICA. They and we drank a great deal together. Something that usually happens when critics and artists get together. The congress was combination of lectures, panels, and travel throughout the GDR.
I have no doubt that likely some my hotel rooms were bugged and that we were being monitored by the police secret and others as were many visitors to the GDR at that time. It was a police state. I’m sure they found out about my opinion of Monet. We were a pretty much harmless bunch.We were art critics after all. It was the travel around the country that was the most interesting, however, I will take that up tomorrow as this post is long enough.
And So To Bed.
Virgil Hammock, Sackville NB, Canada, 26 January 2026."
More on the fast-moving world that we live in.. a global technocracy.. in 2026 here with this post on X from Palantir:
Palantir on X: "Because we get asked a lot. The Technological Republic, in brief. 1. Silicon Valley owes a moral debt to the country that made its rise possible. The engineering elite of Silicon Valley has an affirmative obligation to participate in the defense of the nation. 2. We must rebel" / X
Indie Media Eastcoast was removed by X..sticker from Greg my friend in England.. here:Greg Hallett | Facebookmore here on what's coming:
Ari K on X: "HONEST PALANTIR MANIFESTO My new AI experiment @dreamina_ai @ElevenLabs song: @Artlist_io Ardie Son - Come Spring Time. https://t.co/hLYTdUyd1O https://t.co/9CCitfUwHY" / X
Travels in the GDR
In the summer of 1974 I had the chance to visit the German Democratic Republic as a member of the International Association of Art Critics. We were being hosted by the East German section for our annual congress. Had I not recently become a Canadian citizen I could not have attended as the American government, of which I citizen before, was not keen on Americans going there. At that time I was not a dual citizen as I lost my American citizenship when I became a Canadian ( I got it back a few years later when the Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional to lose one’s citizenship when you take on another.) Anyway I was happy to go to the GDR and see the evil Communists in action. Getting there was half the fun as getting a visa was not easy even if I was guest of the government. The same was true for other Communist countries, but most Americans could not visit them at all. Oh, the joys of being a Canadian.
I flew from Montreal to Vienna and from there to East Berlin via Inter Flug the state airline of East Germany. Vienna was a gateway to Eastern Europe which I also used to visit Poland in 1975. Actually I had quite a few trips to Vienna, but I will write about them later. The East Germany airplanes on their inter European flights could be converted to bombers. They did get you there, but the safety records were not the greatest. I had a lot of interesting plane flights over the years. You only live once and so I enjoyed while I was young. There were two airports in Berlin at the time East and West. Flying into Western airport was more interesting as you flew over East Germany to get there and landing was a dive bomber approach must less the leaving part that meant getting high fast.
I, and my fellow AICA colleagues, were welcomed with open arms into the GDR and the whole congress was about two weeks in which we travelled all over the country. Don’t get me wrong I, and my fellow western art critics, knew full well of propaganda value of our visit to our hosts. There were critics from other Communities countries at the meetings who were very interesting to talk to as well. Most of the people we came into contact with were true believers in their system. Here is a very important point many people in the GDR were keen Communists. They were rescued by the Soviet Union and most were isolated from the rest of the world. They all had jobs supported by the government; even if it sweeping the streets, a place to live, TV, radio, phone, and something to eat that was a much more then they had in 1945.
So many Americans think that everybody in the world is longing to be free and wants to live in the United States. It is just not true. The result of too many American movies and too little real travel outside their country. Many people have a deep love of their native land even one like East Germany. There were many things very, very wrong with the GDR and there were certainly many East Germans who knew it. One needs to know the world as it actually is not how you think or want it to be. Travel with an open mind is the best way to begin understand the world. Just as on a lower scale as I have stated the way to understand a painting is to look at the real thing. I am not suggesting being duped. No one I knew at this meeting from non-Eastern countries was taken in by the official government line we were fed.
Our host critics and artists were genuinely kind to us and wanted us to talk to them about are own countries. We wanted to talk to them about theirs. These people were not dumb. They had some understanding of contemporary western art and a great deal about European art history. Many of them spoke English and French that are the official languages of AICA. They and we drank a great deal together. Something that usually happens when critics and artists get together. The congress was combination of lectures, panels, and travel throughout the GDR.
I have no doubt that likely some my hotel rooms were bugged and that we were being monitored by the police secret and others as were many visitors to the GDR at that time. It was a police state. I’m sure they found out about my opinion of Monet. We were a pretty much harmless bunch.We were art critics after all. It was the travel around the country that was the most interesting, however, I will take that up tomorrow as this post is long enough.
And So To Bed.
Virgil Hammock, Sackville NB, Canada, 26 January 2026."
More on the fast-moving world that we live in.. a global technocracy.. in 2026 here with this post on X from Palantir:
Palantir on X: "Because we get asked a lot. The Technological Republic, in brief. 1. Silicon Valley owes a moral debt to the country that made its rise possible. The engineering elite of Silicon Valley has an affirmative obligation to participate in the defense of the nation. 2. We must rebel" / X
Indie Media Eastcoast was removed by X..sticker from Greg my friend in England.. here:Greg Hallett | Facebookmore here on what's coming:
Ari K on X: "HONEST PALANTIR MANIFESTO My new AI experiment @dreamina_ai @ElevenLabs song: @Artlist_io Ardie Son - Come Spring Time. https://t.co/hLYTdUyd1O https://t.co/9CCitfUwHY" / X
