I was thrilled with this assignment. Until that moment, I had never done public sculpture.
The choice of location proved to be a difficult task for me. For about two months, even before starting this course, I started looking for a place that would inspire me. I didn't want to do something in a big city, for example, in my place of birth, Moscow. Or in Shanghai, where I lived for two years. Yes, these are important places for me, but the small village in which I live in Germany charms me more. Here people do not run on business, or in the bustle of a big city they solve problems or stand in traffic jams. No. Here people live, develop and enjoy life. I think in such a situation people will have more opportunities and desire to perceive art. While I may be wrong, statistically all significant cultural events take place in big cities. And yet, these are my feelings.
The place I live in is a small town with a population of 35,000. Locals say that this city is the geographical centre of Europe, and if a resident once left his hometown, he will certainly return here to spend his old age.
Blick auf St. Ingbert © Stadt St. Ingbert, Michael Haßdenteufel · CC BY [Photography] At: https://www.urlaub.saarland/Media/Orte/St.-Ingbert#/article/037c2d8c-6692-4e18-904e-a08cb26d33a9 (Accessed 26.01.2022)
The city originated as part of the metallurgical industry and coal mining. In addition, there was a cotton-spinning factory and a woodworking factory. The old buildings are built of red sandstone, which is the dominant material in the soil of this region. The family of the construction entrepreneur Wittemann (1819-1869), to which my name belongs, has built many buildings of red sandstone in Art Nouveau style. And in general, this city is very cosy with parks and reservoirs.
For my public sculpture project, I was choosing between the central street, the future territory for development and the future art centre. But as a result, I did not want to fill the already busy streets with an additional monument or wait for the city to find the money to form the final draft of the new parks and buildings.
And again, I thought for whom is this sculpture? For older people sitting in a cafe for coffee? For businessmen busy with their affairs? For adults who are fond of art?
This is how I came up with the idea of teenage children. This age, in my opinion, is incredibly important for the formation of the worldview of the future adult. Therefore, I chose a place in front of the Leibniz Gymnasium.
This site for my sculpture project is located at the intersection of two roads named after famous local artists - Elisabeth Koelle-Karmann and Albert Weisgerber.
Prozession in St. Ingbert, Albert Weisgerber, 1907 [Photography] At: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Ingbert#/media/Datei:Prozession_in_St_Ingbert_Albert_Weisgerber.jpg (Accessed 26.01.2022)
The reasons for choosing this place were:
1. Bringing colour into the daily routine of schoolchildren. Living in Germany, I noticed the limited love of citizens for colour. I don't know what is the reason for this, but the most popular colours, for example, when choosing a car, are black, white and grey, as well as in clothing and construction.
2. Creating a place for meetings and communication. Since I pass by the school every day, I see how youth after classes or in the evening will certainly gather there. But after the building closes, entry is prohibited on its territory, and the whole environment becomes, as it were, unfriendly. And yet, young people seem to be attracted to this place and therefore large groups hang out near the entrance to the building or near the nearby monument dedicated to the memory of the First World War victims.
3. Provocation for extraordinary thinking. This school is named after the outstanding German scientist, mathematician, philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. And one of the features of this erudite was that he thought outside the box and tried to go his own way. So I am putting this idea into common materials and how they can be used.
Christoph Bernhard Francke - Bildnis des Philosophen Leibniz (ca. 1695)
4. A historical place for my family. Opposite this school is the house where my husband was born and raised. This bakery, formerly our family's, is where pupils buy fresh buns between classes. Just, the place is needed to stay outdoors during recess on a sunny day.
And one more motivation, probably not significant for the rest, as it seems to me, but completely pissing me off. These are the trash tanks that stand in front of the main entrance to the school. I hope that with the installation of the sculpture in this place, people will not have a place for garbage in this place. How can you install something that is related to waste and garbage in front of a beautiful, historical and main entrance?! That's just terrible! What example is that for young people?
Drafting/ideas:
Bibliography and references
1. https://www.st-ingbert.de/ [online] At: https://images.app.goo.gl/JfQbd2FZpCzxEUtv8 (Accessed 26.01.2022)
2. St. Ingbert At: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Ingbert#Bildung_und_Wissenschaft (Accessed 26.01.2022)
3. Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz At: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gottfried_Wilhelm_Leibniz (Accessed 26.01.2022)
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