At the end of April 2016 a proposal was made for the campus of Koblenz-Landau University in Landau in the Palatinate as part of an art-for-architecture competition. The campus is accessed through two buildings of approximately equal height, connected by steel girders. These steel girders were originally intended to support a photovoltaic installation, but this option was not carried out. Instead it is planned that the support structure will be the basis for an artistic design.
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view from the south
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view from the north
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Conception:
The proposal is for an art object that gives a clear optical signal – as a stimulus to thought, as a cheering impulse and as an image for identification. “Geistesblitz” is simultaneously the title and the theme. The choice of motif is a common point of reference for all who teach and learn. This signal stands for the spontaneous idea, the innovative notion, for intellectual grasp, precise comprehension and clarity of thought, but also for critical lateral thinking, an independent mind and the meeting of impulses from various sources. The object “Geistesblitz” is conceived as charging the space. By means of its formal tension it equates the open space with the free space of the mind. This generates an optical magnet that confronts passers-by daily with the idea of the brainwave. The visual vocabulary is so unambiguous that it requires no comment.
Materials / Execution Technique:
The object “Geistesblitz” consists of two sharp-angled shapes that are attached to the steel-frame construction and screwed firmly to it. They mutually support each other in that they are firmly interconnected through a slit. The material consists of sheets of light metal that possess the necessary rigidity thanks to a composition of several layers. The sheets are coloured in two different shades of yellow in a wet-paint process, and provided with UV protection and a dirt-repellent layer.