{http://soundcloud.com/soundslikerstin/competing-utopias-of-the-cold}

I so wish those gold-rimmed porcelain plates could talk. Golden initials are proof: the dishes on the couch table in front of me are from the now demolished Palast der Republik, the former seat of the East German parliament in Berlin, the so called people's house.

Who has eaten what from those plates? Did they have dry or sweet champagne with their delicious food (most people outside of the Palast could only dream of)? What did head of states, officers and spies talk about over venison and cranberries? And then I realize on the shelves are books from Erich Honceker's private library - apparently the General Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party liked German classics as well as American favorites ...

Where did I find all these things? In Los Angeles! More specifically: at the Neutra Haus museum in Silver Lake.

Two LA institutions make this "train wreck" (curator Patrick Mansfield) of competing cultures, designs, material and visions possible: the Wende Museum and the Neutra VDL Studio and Residences.

They removed all objects from the Neutra House, replaced and complemented them with Cold War artefacts from Soviet Union nations stored at the Wende Museum's vault. None of these objects could have been in this house when mid-century modern architect Richard Neutra lived here in the 60s.

Now the house looks as if the occupants have just stepped away for a moment and could be back anytime. There are sandals next to a towel on the roof top, lemon liqueur is ready to be served and in the master bedroom an open suitcase waits to be closed. Objects seemingly left behind give us room for imagination:

Dad is a pilot for East German's Interflug company preparing his departure to Cuba. Mom is not the innocent housewife she seems to be: she is a spy hiding her Stasi equipment on the roof deck between wild flowers and cocktail lounge. Daughter Hannelore has just played with Western figurines on the living room floor, giving away her East German descent by arranging the Indians as winners in a shoot-out in front of the saloon.

You have to look close to detect the impossible within this collission of cultures. Furniture, appliances, dolls, records and vases made in former Soiet Union nations fit seamlessly into California mid-century architecture. Beliefs and judgements about East and West are constantly challenged because you can't really tell the difference anymore.

It is easy to condemn the Stasi with a distance of many thousands miles and almost 25 years. But who knows who is watching and eavesdropping on us while we are looking down from the roof top at the twinkling waves of Silver Lake?

Scary? Confusing? Disturbing? That's exactly what the curators want.

Go take a look, the installation is open to the public until September 13

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