Awilda (Salzburg)

Awilda

Awilda is a marble sculpture in the Dietrichsruh in the complex of the University of Salzburg in the old town of Salzburg . It was created in 2010 by the Catalan artist Jaume Plensa as part of the “ Art Project Salzburg ” .

The artwork

Awilda

The eighth work for the “Art Project Salzburg” is a monumental, five-meter-high head of a girl with Caribbean facial features. It was made of white marble from Spain . The figure exudes an extraordinary calm and something puzzling. The sculpture seems as if it is growing out of the ground and thus unites distance and closeness in equal measure. For the viewer, the work of art clearly represents a female head, but it creates irritation. Plensa created this irritation by not making the head out of one block, but out of twenty individual marble slices, all of which are of the same height but have different diameters. These plates were placed on a steel rod anchored in the ground. This makes the head seem to swing, to spiral upwards and to flow up and down. For Jaume Plensa, however, the individual layers not only have reasons of form, but also of content. They characterize “layers of humanity” in Salzburg that the artist had observed over centuries. In the process of creating the work of art, the following thoughts were important for Plensa: “Awilda comes from Santo Domingo. She is one of those people who came to Europe in search of a better life. My goal is to bring a portion of the future in the midst of our old traditions with your face. The extraordinary history of the city of Salzburg consists of layers of humanity that overlap. A deposit. Awilda represents the enormous capacity that an anonymous person has to help build daily history, even if this is usually masked by big names and political events. Everyday life turns into something supernatural. A festival of the people. ”(Jaume Plensa) This thought also led Plensa to the decision to set up the sculpture in the“ Dietrichsruh ”. The place is very busy and a meeting place for students from all over the world. Since the head is at an entrance to the university, it is also a place for getting to know each other, for knowledge, openness and research. For Plensa, this is the perfect setting for Awilda.

background

This work of art can be traced back to an initiative of the Salzburg Foundation. This was founded in 2001 as a private initiative and sees itself as a modern form of patronage. This project, which does not receive any public subsidies, aims to inspire international artists for the city of Salzburg and to encourage them to create a specific work of art for a location of their choice. The invitation was followed by artists such as Manfred Wakolbinger , Anselm Kiefer , Mario Merz , Marina Abramović , Markus Lüpertz , James Turrell , Stephan Balkenhol , Christian Boltanski , Erwin Wurm , Brigitte Kowanz , Tony Cragg and also Jaume Plensa. This project was financed by and is owned by the Würth Group .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Information board in the Dietrichsruh
2. ^ Salzburg Foundation

Web links

Commons : Awilda  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Description of the work of art by the Salzburg Foundation

Coordinates: 47 ° 47 '54.9 "  N , 13 ° 2' 39.3"  E