BOGOTA in BERLIN in TORONTO
“Hauntingly beautiful images bring historic Berlin hotel back to life.”
——A multi-venue exhibition in Toronto
“Bogota in Berlin in Toronto”
Galerie Pierre Léon
Alliance Francais/Toronto
“You Are Sleeping in Holy Rooms”
Consulate General of The Federal Republic of Germany in Toronto
Artist Talk: Theorizing The Hotel
OCAD University/Toronto
“You are Sleeping in Holy Rooms” -Helmut Newton
In 2004 photographer Ted Witek discovered Berlin’s historic Hotel Bogota, host to some of the biggest political, cultural and literary figures of the twenties and thirties. Among them: jazz legend Benny Goodman, avant-guard fashion photographer Yva – and her prized pupil Helmut Newton, who’s prolific and erotic photos were later to become a mainstay of Vogue and other fashion books. During the Nazi occupation of Berlin, which caused Yva’s deportation and eventual murder and Newton to flee the city, the building also housed the Nazi Ministry of Culture and its infamous director Hans Hinkel. Right up until its recent closure, Hotel Bogota continued to attract a who’s who of the art scene — up and coming artists, rock and film stars, and tourists embracing its storied past.For Witek, Hotel Bogota has both inspired and seduced, with its eclectic history, faded grandeur and shadows of days gone by. He photographed there until the hotel shut its doors last November. This autumn, as several Toronto art venues get set to celebrate European history with a Berlin emphasis, Witek’s work will be on public display for the first time. All images are printed on silver gelatine fibre from original black and white negatives.
Best,
Hilda Yasseri
Curator & Design Director, Ted Witek Photography
