Catalogue for the "MASSIVFRAGIL" exposition in LUDWIG FORUM für Internationale Kunst, Aachen 1996
152 Pages
55 ill., softcover, 210 x 210 mm
german
english
Curators: Wolfgang Becker, Gerhard Effertz
Date of publication July 14th 1996
Editor: Handswerkskammer Aachen
Publisher: Verlag Wirtschaft und Bildung
Printing: Druckerei Erdtmann
Ludwig Forum für Internationale Kunst
Gerhard Effertz
MASSIVFRAGIL
x SPACE
Bandau • Laboratorio de Luz • Julius •
Múnera • Nestler • Prager • Schad •
Šejn • Serra • Weidenhaupt • Zoderer
I
The First Steps
Iron Age.
Rust Dust
Metal. Iron. First tools. Weapons
Adornment. Objects. Art. Time.
The Passing of Time. Rust.
Decay. Then hardening. Unto
steel. The flexible, light. And yet
durable, resistant, supporting.
In the beginning there was a reflection on the material, a reflection on metal, metal sculptures. And the observation that everything in connection with that is almost automatically associated with ideas like size, impact, density, and weight. A massive dimension. But is this a necessity? Don\'t smaller workpieces possess just as great a dimension, in their concentration on the essence, or even, by comparison, perhaps even a greater one? And after all, isn\'t everything based on an error? Especially when we think of steel and its elasticity there is nothing heavy or massive about this material. Architecture and industry, however, which have arisen with steel, possess this huge dimension. A classic case thus of an erratic transfer of meaning.
And then: When we talk about dimensions and architecture, we certainly don\'t mean the material but the space it opens to us. Consequently, this oversized, far-reaching space is actually nothing more than a protest against inner and outer gravity - an expansive claim on one\'s own space.
And beyond metal, speaking of other media, aren\'t there similar things at work like heaviness, density and spatial claims?
Thus, thinking gradually moves towards a reflection on space and the archaic history we write with it. An old story, as old as mankind, archaic in its patterns, motives and forms of expression. As old as iron. Or older?
…
VI
space body
body space
INTRO
Šejn
Serra
…
Extract from MASSIVFRAGIL by Gerhard Effertz.pdf
MASSIVFRAGILxSPACE.pdf
