Picassoplatz (Münster)
The Picassoplatz is a square in the center of Münster in Westphalia . It was named after Pablo Picasso , the greatest Spanish painter of the 20th century.
investment
The square itself is located within the old town of Münster on Königstraße directly opposite the Pablo Picasso art museum , which at the same time borders it on the eastern side. On the opposite western side there is a boundary in the new building of the Westfälische Vereinsdruckerei, whose old building from 1899 also represents the northern boundary. In the south, the new building of the Kettelersche Hof from 2007 forms the end of the square.
When planning the design of the square, which began in 2005, the wishes of “green” and public seating areas were identified as part of a public survey. The problem, however, was that at that time it was still unknown what the development around the square would ultimately look like. Against this background, the architect Robert Niess designed a design with which he took first place in the state competition "City makes space - NRW makes space".
The central element and at the same time the specialty of the square is a larger-than-life likeness of Pablo Picasso made of cobblestones, which extends from the graphic museum across the Königstraße and the square. Red granite from Vietnam , basalt from the Eifel and concrete stone from Münster itself were used for the paving . All stones used have the same size of 23.9 × 23.9 cm.
In contrast to the originally desired greenery, there is only a single black maple tree as an accent in the northwest corner of the square. A more intensive green space is located on the opposite side of the Kettelersche Hof with the Kolpingplatz . So-called "pixelchairs" are used as seating options: concrete cubes of different colors firmly anchored in the floor. The flexible seating originally planned by the architect was not implemented due to security concerns and the possibility of simple theft.
criticism
Criticism came initially from Claude Picasso , the son of Pablo Picasso and at the same time administrator of his legacy. He did not like the originally intended portrait, which is based on Robert Capa's portrait photo from June 14, 1951, so that a revision of the draft became necessary. In contrast to the original design, the revised and ultimately approved design shows the artist not with a bared upper body, but with his trademark, a striped sweater.
As the paving progressed in August 2009, there was increasing criticism from the population. So the portrait is practically invisible from the ground. It can only be recognized from a higher position, for example on the third floor of the Pablo Picasso Münster Art Museum, which is not accessible to visitors. According to the architect, however, this is intentional and the design, which at first glance appears confused, is intended to have a mysterious effect on the viewer.
The Association of Taxpayers in North Rhine-Westphalia therefore also criticizes the expenditure of approx. € 500,000 for the design of the square as a waste of tax money.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Picasso's heirs reject portraits on the square on Königsstrasse ( memento of the original from January 17, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. - ruhrnachrichten.de of April 21, 2008
- ↑ Great perplexity at Picassoplatz - Westfälische Nachrichten of August 7, 2009
- ↑ Confused design is intentional ( Memento of the original from January 17, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. - ruhrnachrichten.de from August 5, 2009
Coordinates: 51 ° 57 ′ 36.2 " N , 7 ° 37 ′ 33.5" E