70 years of art in architecture in Germany
For 70 years, state-commissioned art has enriched our lives and our everyday lives. Art in architecture can be found in almost all federal, state and municipal institutions, yet only very few works are generally known. The travelling exhibition "70 Years of Art in Architecture in Germany" presents almost 60 works at the Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg (BTU) - including sculptures, wall works, installations and plaza designs. The works are by well-known artists such as Hans Haacke, Jenny Holzer, Rebecca Horn, Per Kirkeby, Sighard Gille and Walter Womacka. They were created for federal buildings, embassies and authorities, as well as educational, research and scientific institutions in both parts of the republic and reflect the historical and political development of Germany. The selection is complemented by a series of projects from Cottbus created by Gerhard Bondzin, Rudolf Sitte, Dieter Dressler with Heinrich Jungebloedt, Kurt Heinz Sieger, Jürgen von Woyski, Sergej Michailjuk, Hester Oerlemans and Renate Wolff as building-related art in Cottbus.
The exhibition "70 Years of Art in Architecture in Germany" was commissioned by the Federal Ministry of Building by the Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning in collaboration with the office of schmedding.vonmarlin and Studio Krimm. It has been touring Germany as a travelling exhibition since 2021 and has now been shown in 14 federal states.
The exhibition
The exhibition is divided into ten chapters: three chapters follow a chronological dramaturgy to present the art on buildings from the founding phase of the two German states and to highlight the art created as part of the differentiation of the state system in West and East and the expansion of the joint capital Berlin after reunification. These include, for example, Max Lingner's "Aufbau der Republik" from 1953 on the Haus der Ministerien in Berlin, Hannes Schulz-Tattenpach's "Aufsteigender Phönix" from 1953 on the Bundeshaus in Bonn, Walter Womacka's "Aus der Geschichte der deutschen Arbeiterbewegung" from 1964 on the Staatsratsgebäude in Berlin, Henry Moore's "Large Two Forms" from 1966 to 1969/1979 on the Bundeskanzleramt in Bonn and Eduardo Chillida's "Berlin" from 1999 on the Bundeskanzleramt in Berlin.
The remaining chapters focus on specific aspects of the genre, for example art in architecture at embassies and foreign branches or in the military. These include Renate Wolff's "Great Journey" from 2006 for the German Embassy in Mexico, J&K's "Glory to the Unknown" from 2016 for the Goethe-Institut in Cairo and François Morellet's All-Over Structures from 1976 for the Helmut Schmidt University in Hamburg.
Others address the diversity of federal institutions or convey art as a commentary on the content of the reprogramming of historically charged buildings, for example Via Lewandowsky's "Red Carpet" from 2002 for the Federal Ministry of Defence in Berlin and "EINGEGANGEN am..." from 2011 at the former Ministry of State Security and today's Stasi Museum in Berlin by raumlaborberlin.
A further chapter is dedicated to the creation of art in architecture from the competition to completion, while another section deals with care and maintenance issues and the loss of artworks. The exhibition is complemented by a media station showing films and interviews with artists involved in the creation of artworks, as well as a chapter on construction-related art in Cottbus.
The Cottbus examples include three works on the BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg campus and five works in the city of Cottbus. In addition to the large-format facade work by Gerhard Bondzin for the former "Clara Zetkin and N. K. Krupskaya" teacher training college, which today houses the BTU's Faculty of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Urban Development, the murals by Renate Wolff for the main building and the installations by Hester Oerlemans scattered across the campus are presented. They are complemented by works from the urban context, such as the murals by Rudolf Sitte, Dieter Dressler with Heinrich Jungebloedt and Kurt Heinz Sieger, which were created for important buildings on the city promenade and, like the Sorbian fountain by Jürgen von Woyski or the wedding procession by Sergej Michailjuk in the Wendish Quarter, take up Sorbian themes.
The contributions for the Cottbus chapter were compiled by Prof Dr Sylvia Claus, Professor of History of Architecture at the Faculty of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Urban Planning at BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg, and her students in collaboration with the Sorbian Institute.
Catalogue
A catalogue has been published to accompany the exhibition which, in addition to the projects and texts presented in the exhibition, embeds the building-related works of art in the historical and political development of Germany and contains overarching contributions on art in architecture in the context of the History of Art and Architecture and German-German exchange. The richly illustrated catalogue has been published by Deutscher Kunstverlag in German and English and includes contributions by Horst Bredekamp, Sigrid Hofer, Beate Hückelheim-Kaune, Anna-Sophie Laug, Constanze von Marlin, Horst Seehofer and Martin Seidel.
Art in architecture
Art in architecture has a long tradition in Germany, dating back to the 1920s. After the Second World War, the promotion of art was one of the first cultural policies in both German states, so that in 1950 both the German Bundestag and the People's Chamber of the GDR decided to involve visual artists in state building projects. Since then, art in architecture has been realised at all levels of the state in the Federal Republic: in federal buildings for institutions of national importance such as government and federal authorities, embassies and schools abroad, the Federal Armed Forces and the Federal Police, as well as for nationally important cultural and scientific institutions, but also in the buildings of the federal states and local authorities, each according to their own regulations. A similar procedure was followed in the GDR, although after the dissolution of the federal states, a standardised set of rules for architecture-related art applied at both state and district level, which also allowed for artistic designs in places of work, leisure and living.
Vernissage
The exhibition will open on Thursday, 17 October 2024, at 6 pm at the Information, Communication and Media Centre (IKMZ) of BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg, Platz der Deutschen Einheit 2, 03044 Cottbus
Speakers will be:
- Prof. Dr Gesine Grande, President BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg
- Beate Hückelheim-Kaune, Head of Department A at the Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning (BBR)
- Dr Carola Neugebauer, Head of the Competence Centre for Regional Development (KRE) at the Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBSR)
- Prof. Dr.-Ing. Bernhard Weyrauch, Dean of the Faculty of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Urban Planning at BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg
- Prof. Dr Sylvia Claus, Professor of History of Art at the Faculty of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Urban Planning at BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg
Afterwards:
- Tour of the exhibition with Prof. Dr Sylvia Claus and Dr Ute Chibidziura
- Opportunity to chat over bread and wine
► Supporting programme for the touring exhibition "70 years of art in architecture in Germany" (German only)
Further information
Exhibition "70 Years of Art in Architecture in Germany"
18 October - 26 November 2024
Opening: 17 October, 6 pm
Opening hours: Monday - Friday
Monday - Friday: 9 am - 10 pm
Saturday - Sunday: 9 am - 6 pm
Free admission
Venue
Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus - Senftenberg
Information, Communication and Media Centre (IKMZ)
Platz der Deutschen Einheit 2, 03044 Cottbus
Project management Exhibition
Dr Ute Chibidziura
Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning
Department A 2
T +49 (0) 30 18 401 8117
Ute.Chibidziura(at)bbr.bund.de
Press contact
Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg
Ilka Seer
Press Officer
T +49 (0) 355 69-3612
presse(at)b-tu.de
