Ken Kobland's "Berlin/Nilreb: Tourist Journal" depicts the city of Berlin, evoking the experience of the traveler and calling attention to the Berlin Wall, which was removed a year after this work was made. The video shows several events occurring in "real time," such as a film playing on an airplane, children playing soccer in a park, or a nude woman seen lying in bed as her image is reflected in a mirror. Street scenes of contemporary city life and architecture are incorporated with images from Walter Ruttman's 1927 film "Berlin: Symphony of a Great City." At one point, a speech John F. Kennedy gave in 1963 denouncing Berlin serves as a voiceover. The work ends with the clutter of a desk being cleared to reveal a miniature model of the Berlin Wall. Artificial snow falls, covering the model and the room that houses it. Approximate date: 1988
