Brandenburg State Museum for Modern Art / Cottbus diesel power station
| Brandenburg State Museum for Modern Art | |||
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| Coordinates | 51 ° 45 ′ 34 " N , 14 ° 20 ′ 20" E | ||
| country | Germany | ||
| Data | |||
| Type | Diesel power plant | ||
| Primary energy | Fossil energy | ||
| power | 1.1 MW (1500 hp) | ||
| Project start | 04/04/1927 | ||
| Start of operations | April 1, 1928 | ||
| Shutdown | 1959 | ||
The art museum Dieselkraftwerk Cottbus (full name: dkw. Kunstmuseum Dieselkraftwerk Cottbus) is an art museum in the Brandenburg city of Cottbus and the only museum for contemporary art in the state of Brandenburg. It is located in a former power station building east of the old town in Goethepark .
history
The museum was founded in 1977 as a department of the Cottbus district museum . Initially operating as a gallery for contemporary art, it was named Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Cottbus in 1984 . It was the third re-establishment of an art museum in the GDR. The choice fell on Cottbus, as the city was one of the few district cities that had not previously had an independent art museum. After the state of Brandenburg was founded, it became a state museum in 1991 and it was renamed Brandenburgische Kunstsammlungen Cottbus . Since mid-2004, the museum has been working alongside the Cottbus State Theater under the sponsorship of the state-owned Brandenburg Cultural Foundation Cottbus . The last name change took place in April 2006 in anticipation of the future location in dkw. Art Museum Dieselkraftwerk Cottbus . In 2008 the museum moved from its old location, a residential and commercial building on Spremberger Straße in the old town, to the new quarter, the former diesel power plant in Goethepark on the eastern edge of the city center. The reopening took place on May 8, 2008. The collection now comprises around 30,000 works of fine art and includes paintings, hand drawings, prints, photography, poster art and sculptures from 1900 to the present day.
Architecture and history of the power plant
The diesel power plant was built as a substation and peak load power plant in 1927 and went into operation on April 1, 1928. The system was designed by Werner Issel (Berlin), who designed over 60 power plants during his creative period, some of which are exemplary of the power plant architecture of the 1920s, such as the Klingenberg power plant in Berlin (design together with Walter Klingenberg ). The electrical equipment came from AEG .
Functionally, the system was divided into two sections: the machine and transformer house was home to the diesel generator set with a MAN - large diesel engine with 1,500 horsepower, which drove a DC generator. There were also rotating converter sets (combination of electric motor / generator) for converting DC to AC voltage in peak load operation. In the switch house, the energy was distributed to the city's 3 kV substations. In addition, a 20 kV transmission line was introduced from the Trattendorf large power station, via which the base load was also supplied. Another converter was used to convert from AC to DC voltage to supply the city trams. The stair tower was used to introduce the overhead line.
The power plant was decommissioned in 1959 because, according to the opinion of the time, a decentralized energy supply was no longer considered appropriate. In addition, the expansion of the grid was so advanced that the peak load supply could be dispensed with. The diesel generator set was dismantled so that the machine house could be used as a transformer workshop.
The industrial monument, which is unique in terms of its architectural value in the state of Brandenburg, was converted into an art museum from 2004 to 2008 and the outer facade with its cladding made of 4.6 cm flat iron bricks was preserved. Inside, an exhibition area totaling 1,250 m² was created, which is divided into three rooms in the former machine house and three rooms in the old switch house. The conversion costs were 8 million euros.
collection
After its establishment, the collection initially concentrated on the areas of painting, sculpture and graphics. Later the subjects of photography and poster art as well as artist books and book objects were added. This diversity is also evident in the house's description of itself as a museum for contemporary art, photography and posters.
Until the 1990s, the areas of painting and sculpture were exclusively art from the former GDR or by artists who were based in eastern Germany after the political change in 1990. Today the collection ranges from Dresden Expressionism to the present with over 30,000 works . This includes an extensive graphic collection with hand drawings, prints, artist books, roller blinds and collages. The photography collection is the most extensive collection of author photography in the new federal states in terms of both quantity and quality. The photo collection, initially limited to the East German regions, has since 1993 opened up to contemporary trends in West Germany and other countries. As early as 1980, an international collection of poster art was taken over on permanent loan . Donations and purchases also increased the company's own poster collection. Exhibition series such as Posters of the World were able to show international trends in this area.
Every year more than ten temporary exhibitions are shown that are dedicated to the work of individual artists or present thematic aspects. The spectrum ranges from classic modern art to contemporary art and includes all branches of the house. In addition to works of art from the region, the museum also shows works by internationally known artists. The highlights since the fall of the Wall include exhibitions on Arnulf Rainer , Andreas Müller-Pohle , Joseph Beuys , Klaus Staeck , René Groebli , AR Penck , Andy Warhol , Camille Graeser , Emil Schumacher , Emil Nolde or Edvard Munch and Marc Chagall as well as Pablo Picasso . In 2010 the exhibition Color Worlds took place in the art museum Dieselkraftwerk Cottbus . From Monet to Yves Klein. Works of classical modernism from the art museums in Krefeld can be seen.
literature
- Frank Schmitz, Florian Bolk: Art Museum Dieselkraftwerk Cottbus. Stadtwandel-Verlag, Berlin 2008, ISBN 978-3-86711-050-1 .
- Ursula Böhmer, Falk Jaeger: Art Museum Dieselkraftwerk Cottbus. Anderhalten Architects. Jovis Verlag, Berlin 2008, ISBN 978-3-939633-82-2 .
