Spoon family

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The spoon family (2016)

The spoon family is a historical neon sign with a movement effect. It is located in the Leipzig district center-south , Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse 36, on the site of the former VEB Feinkost Leipzig, whose products were advertised. The facility has been a listed building since 1993 .

description

A family with father, mother, son and daughter is depicted on a board about 12 m wide and 7 m high, sitting around a semicircular table, each with a plate in front of them and a spoon in their hand. Their outlines are marked by linear colored light elements. By regularly switching the light elements for arms and spoons between one position facing the plate and one facing the mouth, the impression of a steadfast spoon is created.

For the lighting elements (from 1999 fluorescent tubes , from 2011 LED lighting), 194 meters of glass tube in the colors blue, red, yellow, green and colorless were installed in 197 individual parts. The power consumption is around 4.1 kilowatts. The daily commissioning of the system for 90 minutes takes place via a timer and is also possible for a fee via mobile phone.

history

The establishment of the spoon family

According to legend, the then Yugoslav communist head of state Josip Broz Tito is said to have addressed the dreary color scheme of the GDR at a state meeting with the general secretary of the SED Central Committee, Erich Honecker . SED boss Honecker then initiated the party initiative “Leipzig - City of Water and Light” in order to counter the omnipresent gray with color.

In 1973, as part of this campaign, the two graphic artists Theo Hesselbarth (1938–2006) and Jürgen Mau (1941–2015) were commissioned to design a neon advertisement for VEB Feinkost, which is located on Karl-Liebknecht-Straße. The " Go-West-Cowboy " advertisement known from Las Vegas (USA) served as a template, as did a portrait of a family from the graphic artist's circle of friends. The technical implementation was carried out in 1974/75 by the production cooperative of the trade (PGH) Neontechnik und Anlagenbau, Leipzig, which today operates under the name NEL Neontechnik Elektroanlagen Leipzig .

The preservation of the spoon family

With the closure of VEB Feinkost in 1991, there was no longer any operator of the spoon family and it began to deteriorate. It stayed that way after it was granted monument status in 1993 as the first step in safeguarding its preservation. A citizens' initiative made it its business to preserve the spoon family. In 1996 the IG Löffelfamilie (since 2008 Löffelfamilie eV) was founded. A large-scale donation campaign brought in 108,000 DM, including 20,000 DM from Arend Oetker , and the renovation by NEL Neontechnik Elektroanlagen Leipzig could begin. On December 29th, 1999, it was “spooned” again.

The ongoing operating costs and a further refurbishment of the system in 2011 with the conversion to more cost-effective LED technology made it necessary for the Löffelfamilie association, to which a number of companies belong in addition to individuals, to raise further donations and to continue to rely on them. In the end, it was therefore switched to paid activation by mobile phone.

A protest banner against the eviction of the Black Triangle, which was attached to the wall of the houses of the spoon family, damaged several fluorescent tubes in the spring of 2019. Since the perpetrators escaped undetected, the association made an appeal for donations to cover the repair costs.

literature

Web links

Commons : Spoon Family  - Collection of images, videos, and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ List of cultural monuments in Leipzig-Zentrum-Süd , ID number 09299233
  2. ↑ Spooning by phone & SMS. Retrieved December 9, 2018 .
  3. ^ Association of the spoon family. Retrieved December 9, 2018 .
  4. ↑ Article on the evacuation of the Black Triangle in the LVZ. Retrieved March 7, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Article on the call for donations in the LVZ. Retrieved March 7, 2019 .

Coordinates: 51 ° 19 ′ 35.9 "  N , 12 ° 22 ′ 23.8"  E