A bilingual volume celebrating 20 years of Wave-Gotik-Treffen! Anecdotes, memories, side notes and images from two decades of dark underground culture, gathered on approximately 200 pages. WGT visitors, artists and Leipzig locals recount their impressions from the world's largest festival of dark culture. Adding to this are numerous photographs and illustrations to make this tome a commemorative publication and documentation at once. Happy jubilee!
From the preface:Who would have ...
From the preface:Who would have thought that from the subcultural seed planted by a few unsuspecting Leipzig Goths would grow to become the most eminent festival for the Dark Scene worldwide? That which began with a few hundred visitors in 1992, today draws more than 20,000 people to Leipzig over Whitsun weekend, coming from all over the world: Canada, New Zealand, USA - the appeal of Leipzig as the Mecca of the Dark Scene extends well beyond Europe... The textsgathered in this volume illuminate the WGT from various perspectives: the large and the small events in front of, behind and on the stages find mention, memorable as well as mundane experiences of artists and visitors, who interact with one another like at no other event of this magnitude - from the scene for the scene. Some pieces show how the WGT has already influenced many a life story and it is foreseeable that Leipzig will remain a magnet for the Whitsun gathering of the sensitive. The fact that the familiar character of the Treffen has not been lost in spite of all of the necessary professionalisation (and the often bemoaned commercialisation), is due to the commitment and consistency of the organisers, who year after year balance the fine line between idealism, artistic ambition and economic viability, without losing sight of their vision. Here's to hoping that the first 20 years are only the first chapter of this legend!
