Genesis (installation)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Genesis is the title of a planned installation by the artist Markus Lüpertz at seven stops on the new Karlsruhe tram route currently under construction . The private project, which is financed exclusively through donations, is highly controversial in terms of content and structure.

background

The Karlsruhe tram is currently being expanded to include another line, some of which will run underground . Work on the seven underground stops has been going on since 2010. According to the idea of ​​the initiator Anton Goll, the boards should be installed there. The former managing director of the Staatliche Majolika Manufaktur Karlsruhe, Anton Goll, is behind the idea, and the Badische Neuesten Nachrichten described him as the “engine and intellectual father” of the project. According to the Stuttgarter Zeitung , the estimated costs for the project should initially amount to around one million euros. In the meantime, this estimate has been revised downwards to between 500,000 and one million euros; this is possible u. a. by a clear fee waiver on the part of Lüpertz. Groll collects sponsorship money in the Karlsruhe economy.

Planned installations

Markus Lüpertz wants to design 14 works of art for the future seven stops of the underground tram . To this end, Lüpertz planned a cycle in which he depicts the biblical creation story (“Genesis”) with its seven days of creation. The installations consist of ceramic reliefs two by four meters in size . They are to be produced at the ceramic manufactory Majolika Manufaktur Karlsruhe .

Political decision and controversy

General criticism

Karlsruhe's Lord Mayor Frank Mentrup (SPD) and the municipal company Kasig, which is building the tunnel for the new railway, signaled their approval of the project. At the beginning of August 2017, the Karlsruhe municipal council decided with 28 yes to 17 no votes to approve the project. However, the city sets conditions for the implementation: the installations should be temporary and initially only hang in the stops for six years. After that, the municipal council wants to decide whether they should stay on site. The financing for Genesis will come entirely from private donors.

The project is controversial in Karlsruhe. In particular, the non-transparent procedure, according to some observers, has been criticized, as there was never an invitation to tender or a competition for the project. The SWR editor Marie-Dominique Wetzel said of the criticism of the project: And then there is a young art scene that says, now quite provocatively: 'Please no old men with biblical topics!'

Many Karlsruhe residents are critical of the fact that the initiator of the Goll project is the former managing director of the ceramics factory that will benefit economically from this contract.

At the Regensburg “Ash Wednesday of Artists” in February 2018, Lüpertz commented on the reactions in Karlsruhe with the words: “There, the entire artist community was outraged about the idea. God may punish them. "

Festival "7 days is not enough"

As a reaction to the city's decision to install Lüpertz's religious art in public space, the Karlsruhe regional group of the Giordano Bruno Foundation called an “interdisciplinary festival on the borders of science, philosophy and science” under the title “7 days are not enough” Art ”into life. In cooperation with well-known Karlsruhe institutions such as the Center for Art and Media , a series of different events, including lectures, exhibitions, competitions and further training, took place under this heading from March to September 2018.

According to the organizer, the aim of the festival was "to emphasize the magic of reality and [to] present a plea for an enlightened worldview". A special focus was on evolution as a central principle in the emergence of the diversity of life.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Decision on Lüpertz Works: Controversial Art for Karlsruhe Underground | Baden-Württemberg | SWR news . In: swr.online . ( swr.de [accessed on August 6, 2017]).
  2. ↑ Stuttgarter Zeitung, Stuttgart, Germany: Ceramic panels by Markus Lüpertz: Art for the Karlsruhe underground . In: stuttgarter-zeitung.de . ( stuttgarter-zeitung.de [accessed on August 6, 2017]).
  3. ↑ Star artist Markus Lüpertz is to design the Karlsruhe U-Strab . In: Baden's latest news . April 29, 2017 ( bnn.de [accessed August 6, 2017]).
  4. ^ Theo Westermann: The sponsoring association presents itself . In: Baden's latest news . Badische Latest News Badverarbeitung GmbH, Karlsruhe February 17, 2018.
  5. ↑ Stuttgarter Zeitung, Stuttgart, Germany: Ceramic panels by Markus Lüpertz: Art for the Karlsruhe underground . In: stuttgarter-zeitung.de . ( stuttgarter-zeitung.de [accessed on August 6, 2017]).
  6. ^ Controversial art project - Markus Lüpertz and the tiles of Karlsruhe . In: Deutschlandfunk Kultur . ( deutschlandfunkkultur.de [accessed on August 6, 2017]).
  7. ↑ Mittelbayerische.de: My God, this Lüpertz! In: Mittelbayerische Zeitung . ( Mittelbayerische.de [accessed on February 16, 2018]).
  8. ↑ 7 days are not enough (festival website). gbs Karlsruhe eV, accessed on February 17, 2018 .
  9. ↑ 7 days are not enough - festival program. gbs Karlsruhe eV, accessed on February 17, 2018 .