Assignment for Wiemar
CONCEPT FOR PUBLIC ART IN WEIMAR
After delving deeper into the history of the site and reading up on it, the project felt like a perfect opportunity to re-imagine the story of Weimar. Since Weimar Republic was one of the oldest democracies in the world to have a liberal leaning it inspires me to look through the windows of the many classical buildings that abound in the area and see the history of people of Germany. Also, after reading through the information about Carl Alexander it was abundantly clear that he was more interested in preservation and extension, and not war. Someone who is called the ‘guardian of classicism’ with the time-tested policy of ‘wait and see’ inspires me to make something not too loud but strong in its subtlety at the site. The pictures from 1938 talks a lot about how a public square becomes a game-changing landmark in the history of Weimar.
As an architect, I have been greatly influenced by the 20th-century architecture that flourished after the legend Ar. Walter Gropius’ school of thought. Bauhaus movement was a turning point in the way people perceived art, design, and architecture! The existing public square is a measure of development the city has seen till now. It remains a landmark for visitors and locals to celebrate the town. It is the beating, pulsating heart of the city.
My concept is called ‘Through the Windows’. The classical backdrop of the site is allowing us a priceless glimpse into the history of the area. My idea is to install modern windows (a glass slit) on columns (crucial element from the classical era) jutting inside the base at the existing locations in the garden and paved area. The glass panels can also become a display area or a futuristic screen for cell phones and its projections.
There could be a variety of images and data projected on the screen or shared via wifi. For example, sharing knowledge about art, culture and writing. Ideally the images should have something to do with the history of the city and the ethos of Carl Alexander. The people will be moved by their own curiosity to know what is happening around. The idea will also provide a platform for other artists and street artist to exhibit their artwork in such a unique location. The notion of art in galleries and museums is slowly fading, and a space like this will help a lot of emerging artists. There is so much potential in the site in order to be develop it in an Urban context as there is a youth center and a cinema around the site. Keeping a statue or a sculpture simply won’t do it justice in today’s world.
What I am trying to achieve is show the movement of the ethos of Carl Alexander and the city into the 21st century. A confluence of the beauty of its past and the grandeur of the future to come. Together as a series of columns the grid will look like windows in perspective which will also act as a metaphor for representing the past to now!
The ‘window of opportunity’ (pun intended) that my art intervention would provide to the people and artists would bring the different level of interactions between regular citizens and artists. Strangers could become friends, an idea witnessed through one of the windows would stir a change in their mind and heart, and hopefully, bring a little change in the global consciousness.
Art in the public realm has to be meaningful and take the responsibility of handling all kind of emotions. But most importantly it needs to be democratic in nature to give the all-essential freedom of speech to each individual. We as artists and educators of tomorrow should work for humanity, our designs and art should always try to build the connection that can transcend mere language and ephemeral concepts like nationalities and religion. Art should unite, and street art should unite with even more vehemence than anything in a gallery.
