Twilight –
salons, kerbstones and clubs
The Salon – From diffident to dissolute
Culture, entertainment, dancing and excesses. Not only does the night offer additional time to work, but temptations sometimes stronger than the prospect of being well-rested tomorrow. The origins of urban eighteenth-century night life can generally be found in such cultural events as visiting an opera or play. The social norms governing these events gradually dissolved. Dance venues and ballrooms opened with rhythms reflecting the accelerating speed of life in large cities. Ultimately, in the 1920s these locations became a night-time home for mysterious stories and shadowy figures.
The Salon – From diffident to dissolute
Culture, entertainment, dancing and excesses. Not only does the night offer additional time to work, but temptations sometimes stronger than the prospect of being well-rested tomorrow. The origins of urban eighteenth-century night life can generally be found in such cultural events as visiting an opera or play. The social norms governing these events gradually dissolved. Dance venues and ballrooms opened with rhythms reflecting the accelerating speed of life in large cities. Ultimately, in the 1920s these locations became a night-time home for mysterious stories and shadowy figures.
Stages and stalls – See and be seen
Theatre performances, concerts or a visit to a pleasure garden: in large eighteenth-century cities, the prosperous middle-classes increasingly wanted to enjoy a much richer social life. The times of entertainments steadily shifted to start later. Theatre performances no longer began in the afternoon, but in the evening – or even at night. It was considered a social privilege to enjoy amusements while others were working or recovering from work.
© Museum for Communication Berlin, photo: Philipp Jester
Ballrooms – The flirtation game
The ‘fine society’ meets and greets on the dance floors under glittering chandeliers. The mid-nineteenth century saw the spread of large dedicated dance halls and ballrooms, usually constructed together with restaurants and taverns. Partner dances were subject to strict social norms. Away from them, though, there was still space for cultivated conversation and the one or other tentative flirt.
© Museum Foundation Post and Telecommunication
Dance, dance, dance – The Twenties
The metropolis of Berlin was renowned for its very diverse nightlife. Coffee houses, salons or ballrooms all offered the chance of staying up until dawn. While many venues came and went, Ballhaus Resi became an institution. In many places, the night-time society shared a desire to free itself from conventions, and called for a liberal world. But whether a cabaret number or a revealing ballet interlude, on 1 January 1919, the Berliner Tagblatt newspaper noted: “Berlin is dancing more and faster than ever”.
The kerbstone – Night on the streets
When we leave the walls of our own homes, we step out into the public space of the street. Places seemingly inconspicuous by daylight turn out to have a special appeal in night’s semidarkness. Florescent ads incessantly flash out their messages, red lights awaken clear associations, night owls seek communicative meeting points or use the dark to stay hidden. The street unifies light and shade. Constraints and a lack of borders facilitate freedom and pleasure just as much as they do hardship and a loss of control.
The kerbstone – Night on the streets
When we leave the walls of our own homes, we step out into the public space of the street. Places seemingly inconspicuous by daylight turn out to have a special appeal in night’s semidarkness. Florescent ads incessantly flash out their messages, red lights awaken clear associations, night owls seek communicative meeting points or use the dark to stay hidden. The street unifies light and shade. Constraints and a lack of borders facilitate freedom and pleasure just as much as they do hardship and a loss of control.
The ‘Späti’ – The needs of the night
Big city nights are long. For revellers, shift workers and locals, the ‘Späti’ corner shop that never closes is a safe place of refuge. The all-hours corner shop not only offers all kinds of goods, but also a social network. In this communicative space, it is easy to chat – a place offering contact, care and conversation for locals, tourists and night workers. In a small space, the ‘Späti’ corner shop is a microcosm of the needs of the night.
Photo: Daniel Gregor, 2013
Prostitution – Red light at night
Hookers, harlots, streetwalkers and fallen women – just a few of the clichés for those at work in the dark of the night pursuing ‘the world’s oldest profession’. But what is hidden behind the tabooed perspective? Who gives prostitutes a voice? Who offers help to find a way out of ‘sex work’? Social workers and voluntary associations are in close contact with the ‘scene’ – providing everything from a warming cup of tea to legal advice.
Homelessness – Surviving the night
Life on the streets is hard. For homeless people, night-time is especially difficult. We have all seen homeless people searching for their next meal or a safe place to stay overnight under bridges or in tube stations. Yet often we lack any insight into life behind the clichés or knowledge of the many campaigns, associations or private offers to help that try to make life that little bit easier for homeless people.
Graffiti – Leave your mark on society
You hear the clattering of spray cans and gravel scrunching under the soles of shoes. Those sounds at night become visible the next day – graffiti sprayers have immortalised their names on a wall. The desire to make a lasting mark on society is all too human. A writer also sends out a message to the world – to be read by other members of the scene as well as passers-by. The more visible the location of the graffiti, the more dangerous it is to ‘paint’ – the dark of night is a protective cloak.
Photo: Roger Hecht, 2016
The club – dance venue and free space
Thudding basses, tireless masses abandoning themselves to dance and the feeling of unlimited freedom – everything seems possible. Clubs are part of the party culture and shape nightlife. The ritual of visiting a club begins not on the dance floor, but in the line to get in. If the bouncers let you through, you cross a threshold dividing inside from outside, marking the border of a protected space. Once inside, there’s a community feeling, irrespective of age, origin, or sexual orientation. In this way, clubs are also a projection space for desires and ideals. Enter a microcosmos where everything is allowed – except photography!
The club – dance venue and free space
Thudding basses, tireless masses abandoning themselves to dance and the feeling of unlimited freedom – everything seems possible. Clubs are part of the party culture and shape nightlife. The ritual of visiting a club begins not on the dance floor, but in the line to get in. If the bouncers let you through, you cross a threshold dividing inside from outside, marking the border of a protected space. Once inside, there’s a community feeling, irrespective of age, origin, or sexual orientation. In this way, clubs are also a projection space for desires and ideals. Enter a microcosmos where everything is allowed – except photography!
In the dark – Clubs as a protected space
A night in a club is often more than techno beats, dance and an expanding consciousness. A circle of kindred spirits can generate cultures, movements and calls for change. Celebrating together intensifies a feeling of belonging. The club’s protected space – after all, admission is controlled – allows social or political interest groups to define and consolidate themselves, and create a public profile. In this way, parties can become milestones in the history of a culture.
Photo: Wolfgang Brückner, 1992
Signs of yesterday – Trophies of the night
Rings around your eyes and a lack of sleep are not the only mementoes of partying until dawn. The signs are also visible on your hands, wrists and in your trouser pockets. A good party ennobles the night. To ensure you remember the event and associated incidents, emotions and messages, you collect hand stamps, wristbands, flyers and other give-aways. The ‘trophies of the night’ signal that their bearer is a member of the scene, an initiate or reveller, and preserve that feeling of belonging.
© Safer Clubbing Zürich