By Regan Kibbee
- Bernstorff Slot Spark Plugs
- Bernstorff Slot Spark Meaning
- Bernstorff Slot Spark Game
- Bernstorff Slot Spark Plug
Marietta Bernstorff at the opening of 'Ayotzinapa: A Roar of Silence'
Photo by Farhad Akhmetov
If you've driven by the Social & Public Art Resource Center (SPARC) on Venice Boulevard during the last month, you may have wondered about the small banner out front with '43' emblazoned on it in bold black digits.
- Bernstorff Palace in Gentofte, Copenhagen, Denmark, was built in the middle of the 18th century for Foreign Minister Johann Hartwig Ernst von Bernstorff.
- Bernstorff's Park Its official name is Bernstorff Palace Park, but it is popularly known simply as ‘Bernstorff's Park'. The crowned heads of Europe holidayed here when the palace was the summer residence of ‘Europe's father-in-law', Christian IX.
(Hopefully you're already familiar with SPARC's historic 1929 art deco building, which originally housed the old Venice Police Station. If not, there's no time like the present.)
The '43' refers to the 43 college students from Ayotzinapa, Mexico, believed to have been kidnapped and murdered after their school bus went missing on the way to a political protest in 2014. These young men were memorialized in SPARC's recent exhibit 'Ayotzinapa: A Roar of Silence,' organized by guest curator Marietta Bernstorff.
Bernstorff Slot has 593 posts on their Instagram profile. Follow their account to see all their photos and videos.
Bernstorff has a history of organizing community-minded art exhibitions. Originally from Chiapas, the southernmost state of Mexico, she grew up in Mississippi and eventually ended up in Arizona running her own gallery. One of Bernstorff's first shows was an investigation of the Zapatistas, the revolutionary leftist group of mostly rural indigenous people who fought for social and agrarian reforms in Chiapas.
Judy Baca, SPARC's co-founder and artistic visionary, met Bernstorff in 1990 and offered her a job.
'I was one of the few Latina Chicana curators at the time. I showed Chicano art, Native American art, contemporary art — a mix of a lot of things. My main interest was always in social issues, which resonated with Judy,' Bernstorff says.
Bernstorff organized many shows at SPARC in the early '90s. Among the larger ones was 'The Encuentro,' an exhibit about the European invasion of the Americas and 500 years of Native resistance. She also did shows about Mexican women photographers, the renowned sculptor Luis Jiménez, Malcolm X, the Los Angeles riots and Rodney King.
At the time, SPARC was involved in The Great Walls Unlimited: Neighborhood Pride Mural Program. This initiative was an extension of Baca's earlier communally-created Great Wall of Los Angeles, a half-mile long mural in the Tujunga Wash depicting the history of ethnic peoples of California from prehistoric times to the 1950s. Neighborhood Pride artists worked with youth apprentices and community members to produce more than 100 murals reflecting the multi-ethnic diversity of the city.
'I really learned my skills of community activism and outreach at SPARC, watching how they developed neighborhood pride in communities,' says Bernstorff.
In 1994, Bernstorff went to Mexico to curate an exhibit about the Zapatistas. There she met her husband, documentary photographer Antonio Turok, and ended up staying. They settled in Oaxaca, where she worked organizing traveling exhibitions and became a mom.
Last fall, Baca (now working with Executive Director Debra Padilla, whom Bernstorff had introduced to Baca) invited Bernstorff to return to SPARC for a guest residency.
Her first show back after 20 years was 'The New Codex: Immigration & Cultural Memory.' Family members created art about the journeys of loved ones who are some of the more than 1 million immigrants to Los Angeles from Oaxaca.
Bernstorff thinks it's valuable for other Angelenos to know where these neighbors came from and the amazing culture they carried with them, and for those from Oaxaca to feel proud of their culture and keep their traditions alive.
She talks about the history of California, formerly part of Mexico, and of the prejudice towards immigrants, even though all of us — with the exception of Native Americans — are basically immigrants.
'Understanding cultural memory is vitally important to breaking away from racism and ignorance,' she says.
Bernstorff Slot has 593 posts on their Instagram profile. Follow their account to see all their photos and videos.
Bernstorff has a history of organizing community-minded art exhibitions. Originally from Chiapas, the southernmost state of Mexico, she grew up in Mississippi and eventually ended up in Arizona running her own gallery. One of Bernstorff's first shows was an investigation of the Zapatistas, the revolutionary leftist group of mostly rural indigenous people who fought for social and agrarian reforms in Chiapas.
Judy Baca, SPARC's co-founder and artistic visionary, met Bernstorff in 1990 and offered her a job.
'I was one of the few Latina Chicana curators at the time. I showed Chicano art, Native American art, contemporary art — a mix of a lot of things. My main interest was always in social issues, which resonated with Judy,' Bernstorff says.
Bernstorff organized many shows at SPARC in the early '90s. Among the larger ones was 'The Encuentro,' an exhibit about the European invasion of the Americas and 500 years of Native resistance. She also did shows about Mexican women photographers, the renowned sculptor Luis Jiménez, Malcolm X, the Los Angeles riots and Rodney King.
At the time, SPARC was involved in The Great Walls Unlimited: Neighborhood Pride Mural Program. This initiative was an extension of Baca's earlier communally-created Great Wall of Los Angeles, a half-mile long mural in the Tujunga Wash depicting the history of ethnic peoples of California from prehistoric times to the 1950s. Neighborhood Pride artists worked with youth apprentices and community members to produce more than 100 murals reflecting the multi-ethnic diversity of the city.
'I really learned my skills of community activism and outreach at SPARC, watching how they developed neighborhood pride in communities,' says Bernstorff.
In 1994, Bernstorff went to Mexico to curate an exhibit about the Zapatistas. There she met her husband, documentary photographer Antonio Turok, and ended up staying. They settled in Oaxaca, where she worked organizing traveling exhibitions and became a mom.
Last fall, Baca (now working with Executive Director Debra Padilla, whom Bernstorff had introduced to Baca) invited Bernstorff to return to SPARC for a guest residency.
Her first show back after 20 years was 'The New Codex: Immigration & Cultural Memory.' Family members created art about the journeys of loved ones who are some of the more than 1 million immigrants to Los Angeles from Oaxaca.
Bernstorff thinks it's valuable for other Angelenos to know where these neighbors came from and the amazing culture they carried with them, and for those from Oaxaca to feel proud of their culture and keep their traditions alive.
She talks about the history of California, formerly part of Mexico, and of the prejudice towards immigrants, even though all of us — with the exception of Native Americans — are basically immigrants.
'Understanding cultural memory is vitally important to breaking away from racism and ignorance,' she says.
SPARC's next exhibit, 'Viral: 25 Years from Rodney King,' opens Saturday, April 9. It continues the dialogue about racism, examining the death of unarmed individuals while under police surveillance.
'We're trying to figure out issues of immigration, issues of education, issues of being black,' Bernstorff says. 'SPARC has always dealt with difficult issues.'
Bernstorff sees having a community center like SPARC on the increasingly affluent Westside as an asset for exposing all sorts of people to new ideas and experiences.
'People who make decisions live here. People who are part of the movie industry live here,' she says. 'The great thing about nonprofits is they don't have to filter what they're saying for fear of offending someone; you're going to get straight to the truth.'
Walking around Venice these days, Bernstorff sees the gentrification happening as good for some but not for others who are marginalized. She thinks about how to build a connection with those who are 'working at Google, driving Audis, building multimillion-dollar houses.'
Ultimately, her role as curator is to build bridges that lead people to respect one another and form community bonds, making
for a better city.
Bernstorff Palace
Danish: Bernstorff Slot, in Gentofte, Copenhagen, Denmark, was built in the middle of the 18th century for Foreign Minister Johann Hartwig Ernst, Count von Bernstorff. It remained in the possession of the Bernstorff family until 1812. In 1842 it was bought by Christian VIII. For many years it was used as a summer residence by Christian IX until his death in 1906.
Since then and until recently, it was used by the Danish Emergency Management Agency as an academy for non-commissioned officers but it has now opened as a hotel and conference centre.
Architecture
The palace was designed by the French architect Nicolas-Henri Jardin who had been brought to Denmark to complete Frederick's Church in Copenhagen after the death of Nicolai Eigtved in 1754. It is one of the earliest examples of Neoclassical architecture in Denmark. The elaborately decorated two-storeyed building was completed in May 1765 at considerable cost. At the time it had four small decorative garrets, attics with decorative vases and a wide balcony on the roof ridge itself. On the garden side, there is a dome-covered projection rising the full height of the building.
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The palace's many rooms were modest in size and intended primarily for domestic use rather than for display. Most are panelled with parquet floors, large mirrors and decorated ceilings. The four rooms on the south side have overdoors decorated by Johan Edvard Mandelberg.
Bernstorff left Denmark in 1770, after being dismissed by the regent, Johann Friedrich Struensee. The estate remained in his family's hands until 1812 but was then sold on several occasions. It was about to be demolished in 1842 when Christian VIII bought it and charged Jørgen Hansen Koch with its comprehensive renovation. A mezzanine was added and the layout of the first-floor rooms was changed.
Fitting Jardin's decorative style, Norwegian marble fireplaces are to be found in three of the larger rooms. A sign above the entrance reads: 'Honesto inter Labores otio sacrum' or 'Reserved for honest rest during periods of work.'
Recent history
Crown Prince Christian with wife Alexandrine and son Frederik at Bernstorff Palace
In 1854, Bernstorff Palace was placed at the disposal of Crown Prince Christian who adopted it as his preferred summer residence. Indeed, it was to become a popular retreat for the royal couple and their extended family during the king's long reign. Visitors included Tsar Alexander III of Russia and Edward VII of the United Kingdom. In 1888, after the Nordic Exhibition, Queen Louise bought the timbered Swedish pavilion and had it fitted out as guest quarters.
On Christian IX's death in 1906, Prince Valdemar of Denmark inherited the palace, continuing to use it as a summer residence until his death in 1939.
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Since then and until very recently, it was used by the Danish Emergency Management Agency as an academy for non-commissioned officers. On 1 May 2009, after an agreement with Gitte Jensen and Kirsten Nielsen, Bernstorff Palace opened as a hotel and conference centre.
The palace gardens
The palace's extensive gardens were laid out are in the Romantic landscape style which had just been introduced to Denmark in the 1760s. In addition to the lawns and woods, they include a rose garden, an orchard and a tea house.[5] It is believed that Jardin who designed the palace was also responsible for their design, especially as his plans refer to the emergence of landscape gardens as a new trend in Denmark.
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The Bernstorffs who took great interest in the gardens, planted apricots, peaches, grapes, rare apple and pear trees, cherries and plums in their kitchen garden together with rare varieties of cucumbers, artichokes, lettuces and melons from France and the Netherlands. They acquired a host of rare trees and bushes for the gardens including chestnuts, acacias, holly, tulip trees, plane trees, medlars, azaleas, barberries, quinces and lilacs, many of them completely new to Denmark at the time.
Most of these exotic varieties had withered away by the time Christian IX bought the estate in 1854. He charged Rudolph Rothe, the royal garden inspector, to replace them with Danish oak and beech which can still be seen today.
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The beautiful Swedish Villa in the gardens was built in 1888 in the classic Swedish timbered style in connection with the Nordic Exhibition. Run by the Swedish Villa Foundation, it is used for art exhibitions, concerts and as a café.
Kilden: Wikipedia
