Stele of tolerance
The Stele of Tolerance is a social sculpture by the artist couple Karl-Martin Hartmann and Kerstin Jeckel , which has been distributed worldwide since 1994. The sponsor of the project is the non-profit association Netzwerk Stelen der Toleranz e. V., which is based in Wiesbaden . The project is under the auspices of the European Parliament .
idea
The starting point for the stele designed by Hartmann and Jeckel was the idea of creating a universal symbol for tolerance, similar to the red ribbon as a symbol of solidarity with those infected with HIV and AIDS . The artists wanted to draw attention to the socio-political significance of tolerance, as exemplified by the declaration of principles of tolerance by UNESCO in 1995.
The stele was designed in the early 1990s and was given its final appearance by 1994. It consists of a steel construction with two vertical profiles that are connected at the top by a crossbar. The steel structure is protected against corrosion by hot-dip galvanizing . Inside the profiles are the red glass elements made up of several layers. The two outer panes are made of six millimeter thick single-pane safety glass , and in the intermediate layer there is an opal Lambert glass , a handcrafted antique glass . The three glass levels are combined to form a composite. The standard height of the steles is six meters, but the height and other construction details can vary.
history
Hartmann and Jeckel initially designed a 60-meter-high, red glass stele, which, in accordance with Land Art, was to be erected above the city of Wiesbaden on the Taunus ridge near the Platte hunting lodge , so that it could still be seen from a great distance when the view was right to promote tolerance. In addition to support, there was also criticism from local politics and the preservation of monuments of the project, as it would affect the landscape . The supporters included the Wiesbaden CDU member of the Bundestag and later Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Kristina Schröder , while the critics included the FDP politician and former Hessian monument curator Gottfried Kiesow . Despite the building permit , the construction has not yet taken place: Since the total costs of around 900,000 euros, which were supposed to be raised through donations, were not financed even after 15 years, the idea of the large stele was put on hold in 2009 for the time being. The six-meter-high model of the stele on the plate, which was repeatedly affected by vandalism , was dismantled again in the course of this.
Since then, the friends' association and the artists have been increasingly trying to set up the smaller, six-meter-high version of the Stele of Tolerance in prominent locations around the world in order to build up an international network of supporters of tolerance in the long term. Meanwhile (as of 2019) there are more than 20 of these steles in eight countries, including Braunschweig , Geisenheim , Kfar Saba , Betlehem , Breslau , The Hague , Tallinn , Tavarnelle Val di Pesa and in the US state of Wisconsin . The stele in The Hague has already been visited twice by important representatives of the Dutch state: in 2017 by Queen Máxima of the Netherlands and in the following year by Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte .
In 2014, the Stele of Tolerance and the Friends' Association celebrated their 20th anniversary with an exhibition in Wiesbaden City Hall .
November 16, which was proclaimed International Day of Tolerance by UNESCO , has been celebrated annually since 2016 with a lecture on the subject of tolerance. In 2016, the Hessian Minister of Culture, Alexander Lorz , spoke , and the following year, the sociologist Necla Kelek. After these first two lectures had taken place in the hall of the city council in Wiesbaden's town hall, the lecture by psychologist Ahmad Mansour was moved to the integrated comprehensive school Alexej von Jawlensky in 2018 .
Project The window
The sister project The Window on the Stele of Tolerance was temporarily on view on the Rhine in the UNESCO World Heritage Middle Rhine Valley : From 2007 to 2010 Hartmann installed a red glass window he designed in the ruins of the Gothic Werner Chapel in Bacharach to draw attention to the problematic history of the building and to set an example for tolerance. Under the title tolerance in mind many personalities have stayed out of politics, religious communities and from the scientific lectures on the subject of tolerance in ruin under the temporary installation , including Gerhart Baum , Winfried Hassemer , Necla Kelek , Bernd Kortländer , Ruth Lapide , Leo Trepp and Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul .
literature
- Tolerance in mind: Karl-Martin Hartmann's project in the Wernerkapelle Bacharach in cooperation with the Wernerkapelle building association. Published by Bauverein Wernerkapelle Bacharach e. V., University printing house H. Schmidt, Mainz 2010, ISBN 978-3-935647-49-6 . (Documentation of a series of lectures (2008/09) on the subject of tolerance, including contributions by Gerhart Baum, Winfried Hassemer, Necla Kelek, Bernd Kortländer, Ruth Lapide and Leo Trepp.)
Web links
- Official website of the friends' association
- Report and documentation about the installation The window in Bacharach (PDF file)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Website of the support association Network Steles of Tolerance e. V. (accessed on January 15, 2019)
- ↑ Website of the Förderverein , accessed on January 15, 2019
- ^ Report on Kristina Schröder's website , accessed on January 16, 2019
- ↑ Report of the Frankfurter Rundschau from 2009 , accessed on January 16, 2019
- ↑ Report by Wiesbadener Kurier from 2014 , accessed on January 16, 2019
- ^ Website of the association , accessed on January 16, 2019
- ↑ Report on the website of the Förderverein from 2018 , accessed on January 16, 2019
- ^ Report by the Wiesbadener Kurier , accessed on January 16, 2019
- ↑ Documentation of the Jewish communities in Rhineland-Palatinate about the project , accessed on January 16, 2019
- ↑ Report on the lecture series, prepared by Bauverein Wernerkapelle Bacharach , accessed on January 16, 2019