Retail Refugees

What do you get when you cross a high-profile art gallery with a video shop?  Image Movement in Berlin.  This is  shop where you can browse DVDs as if you were in a gallery, browsing works of art- after all, what is video and film if not motion art?…

Aside from Sprüth Magers´ innovative concept behind the base operations and inventory of the shop, they have developed a program whereby allowing the artists, which include Cindy Sherman, John Baldessari, Ed Ruscha, and Andreas Gursky among others, to identify their favorite flics and have them categorized and sold.  The result is an inside look into the psyche and mind of some of the great artists of today.  Additionally, the shop has an extensive and obsucre list of other titles from video art, music, and design genres.

The first time I visited the shop, it was past closing time but as I saw people filling up the space I entered anyway.  What I found was that the shop transforms into an intimate place for screenings some nights, and the stairs that one descends to enter (the shop is half way below ground), double as seating once the screen is pulled down and the movie begins.

The concept of Image Movement plays directly into the idea that luxury moments and true enjoyment can be had from a quiet night at home.  While throwing oneself on the sofa with a bowl of popcorn is comfortable, it can also be cultural with the help of shops like Image Movement.

Visit the shop