CLIENT
PANKOW COUNCIL, BERLIN
LOCATION
MENDELSSOHN BARTHOLDY HIGH SCHOOL, BERLIN
MATERIALS
SOLID SPRUCE WOOD, LAMINATED, WAX-OIL VARNISH
IMPLEMENTATION COSTS
EUR 136,000.00
“L‘art pour l‘art”, or “art for the sake of art”, which the French philosopher and politician Victor Cousin declared in the mid-19th century and according to which, art was intended merely as an end in itself, “detached from all aims alien to it” (trans. German Universal Lexikon, online, 2019), defines itself by its own uselessness, although this is now only one of many perceptions of art and how it should be. Today, one can bathe in, recline on or walk through artworks, as well as wearing or even eating them.
Above all, art that is bound to a specific location and affects certain realities is often the result of concrete intentions, goals, appropriations and uses. Thus it is surprising that the genre of “art in architecture”, which by definition affects real locations, is almost exclusively dedicated to a lack of purpose, often even a lack of aims.
The artwork “Pausenheimaten” explicitly formulates its uses and aims.
“Pausenheimaten” (“Breaktime homes”) is the design of two contrasting wooden sculptures entitled “GANZ DA” (“ALL THERE”) and “KURZ WEG” (“BE RIGHT BACK”) in several repetitions. The aim is to offer temporary homes or refuges to pupils at the Felix Mendelsohn Bartholdy High School. Our own experiences teach us that schoolchildren usually leave classes in one of two moods. Naturally, these two moods can be expressed in countless different ways. There is a rather extroverted mood, where one has an urge to express or learn things, but above all communicate. These pupils can use the cluster “GANZ DA” as an appropriate space to express themselves. Alternatively, one can start the break in a more introverted fashion: as preferred by those who are contemplative, tired or simply want to give their minds and voices a break. These pupils can use the other cluster “KURZ WEG”, providing both a space and protection.
IMPLEMENTATION 2018 – 2021