Ring of Being

Exterior view of the Ludwigshafen Clinic

The Ring des Seyns is a work of art by the Japanese concept artist Kazuo Katase , which he designed for a new building for the Ludwigshafen am Rhein clinical center . The completion took place in 1999.

Surname

The Ypsilon in the name of this work of art alludes to humanism , in which this letter was often used, e.g. B. on behalf of the State of Bavaria .

description

The Ring of Being is a multi-part installation composed of simple geometric basic elements. On the roof there is a 30-meter-long rod that is guided over a tubular element as a support. At the outer end of the rod, in front of the front wall of the hospital, hangs a red ring with a diameter of 10 meters. In front of the glass facade, the fourth component of the installation is a 25-meter-high, slightly inclined rod made of Corten steel , which inclines towards the facade, but does not touch it. There is another element inside the building: a neon ring that starts to glow at the onset of dusk.

Herbert Köhler writes about the work:

»At the outer end of the elongated wing of the building, where two streets cross, is the Ring des Seyns, a four-part installation made up of simple basic elements. […] On the roof there is a 30 meter long black rod that is guided over a green patinated, tubular element as a support, so that a slope is created. At the outer end of the rod, in front of the front wall of the building, there is a red ring with a diameter of 10 meters that appears to float in front of the building. While these three elements are directly related to the architecture, a 26-meter-high, slightly inclined, brownish oxidized rod made of Corten steel rises in front of the glass facade as the fourth component of the installation . [...] The ring outside also corresponds to another ring inside the building - in the form of a blue neon ring in the glass stairwell dome of the hospital. "

Richard W. Gassen explains the meaning of the installation as follows:

»The inclined stick symbolizes strength and concentration, but at the same time it also stands for the irregular, the disturbance, the chaos. In contrast, the rod attached to the roof, black and lying, symbolizes calm, contemplation, while the green tubular element, the support, stands for energy and strength. "