TOW #20: Nicht das, was Sie Erwarten (Visual Text)

In Frau Wilson’s room there is a poster that I have found interesting since 9th grade: it shows grass and a shovel, except where the grass has been dug out, there is not soil, but rather a layered cake! The poster is for the Jewish Museum in Berlin, which I had the privilege to visit last summer. The poster’s goal is to show potential museum-goers that the museum is not what one would expect of a Jewish museum in Germany.

The image on the poster is certainly rather surprising. Under the grass is cake? Of course, logic would say that is not so, but cake is for most people a more pleasant option than dirt. That appears to say that even if the Jewish museum is not what you would expect, it is something better. The words at the bottom of the poster below the name of the museum say “Nicht das, was Sie erwarten," which is German for “Not what you would expect.” The positioning of the words is key, as it allows the viewer to take in the image, to be confused, and then to have their eyes travel downward and realize that is the point. Ultimately, if the viewer is curious, the museum hopes that curiosity will make them decide to visit. Important also is that the shape of the building is shown on a small logo, as that is part of what makes the museum so unique: it is not only a visual experience relying on facts to carry a message, but also a spatial experience. The building is a zigzagging form with a straight line that cuts through the building, creating voids the architect says demonstrate “that which can never be exhibited when it comes to Jewish Berlin history: Humanity reduced to ashes." Not all that can be grasped from the poster, but the form on the poster gives the viewer an inkling of what they will discover when if they visit. More simply, the poster is brightly colored, using vibrant green and pink to catch the attention of someone passing by. Before anyone can even be drawn to appreciate the message and have their curiosity piqued, they must think to look at it in the first place. The bright colors serve that purpose.

Ultimately, I believe the poster achieved its goal, as when I found out we were going to the Jüdisches Museum Berlin last summer, I immediately thought of the poster and was rather excited. I was curious to see how the museum would be anything but what I expected, and I was not disappointed! Not only was the poster unique, but also accurate to the experience.