Ask, you never know

Three weeks ago, I was leaving the subway in Munich when I saw a guy working on the floor. He had dropped a considerable amount of pinkish painting on the sidewalk and was covering it with some thick papers. Nobody cared about him, everybody was just on their usual hectic state of legs.

A Berlin scene crossed my mind: the artistic action of this summer at Rosenthaler Platz: some artists dropped big amounts of painting on the streets. Cars and bikes later dispersed it, creating a beautiful crossing.

I asked the Munich guy: "Is this art or an accident?". He looked back at me, sort of unsure. Was it a joke or was I making fun of him? "An accident", he said shyly. I wanted to tell him: "Well, stop all the cleaning and leave it like that, let the people, bikes and dogs transform it into art". But he was not listening anymore.

Last night I passed in front of that corner again. Fou! The painting was still there. So I stopped and made a picture. Voilà the difference between Berlin and Munich.

* * *

I was also curious about the people working in these buildings in the Thalkirchner Strasse, in Munich. I had got used to the table dance right in front of the catholic church in Mehringdamm (Berlin), but this Munich mix was much more interesting, since it is nothing less than the Pigalle: "Un p'tit jet d'eau, une station de métro, entourée de bistrots, Pigalle...", said once Georges Ulmer. But in the Munich version of Pigalle you have no fountains, no bistros, no subway... but a church.

Wikipedia instructs you that the Freikatholische Kirche was founded when a Brazilian bishop excommunicated the Pope due to his collaborationism with the Nazis. The highlight of the Wikipage is the last line: "In September 1972, Bishop Ungerer rented a shop for a 'shop church', which became the Free Catholic Shop Church at 25 Thalkirchner Strasse in Munich, as was the fashion in some big towns at that time".

I wonder if this church is responsible for the Pigalle and if there is also some collaborationism with the neighbors.

Ask, you never know... Specially in Munich.

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