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Art on Architecture
Rutishauer / Kuhn, Point of View
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General Description
The project "Point of View" is derived from the construction of Schloss Wartensee. That is, the two older parts of the building and the new central tract which, from an architectural perspective, is the connecting element. Through the specific use of Schloss Wartensee, that is as a hotel and conference centre, the multilayeredness of the project "Point of View" is experienced.
Foyer/Entrance
On the window front of the entrance hall a word list, which varies the term "Point of View" lexically, is twice visible. The list can be read when entering from the outside (on the left of the entrance), and when leaving from the inside (on the left of the exit). Composed on glass, both lists are visible from both sides.
Terms such as center point, focus point, point of criticism, quintessential point and so on refer to our individual point of view, to our own position. From the double mirror images, where the same terms are readable and visible from both the inside and the outside, the result is a visualisation of the problematic nature of refer to a position, take a point of view, represent a point of view and so on. This is strengthened by the fact that in each case it provides a different perspective, to a certain extent a visibly opposite point of view, from one's own spatial point of view.
On the rear wall of the entrance, directly in view as one enters, the appearance of the words POINT OF VIEW is appropriate. It represents not only the title of the work, but also that the person entering has turned their back to the images on the front entrance windows. The positioning of the writing on the wall indicates the beginning of a new but not yet completed list while at the same time leaving the wall free to project a personally determined and constituted word list.
1st /2nd Floor
From the entrance hall, as the centre of the work, “Point of View” decentralises to four points on the first and second floors. In the passages from the stairwells to the east and west of the central tract, that is in the places where the new building attaches to the old buildings, four points of view are pinpointed and defined as coordinate intersections. At each respective point where the wall has been broken through to join the old and new buildings a sandstone plate interrupts the oak flooring alluding to the sandstone flooring in the entrance foyer. In each case the exact “Point of View”, that is the coordinates and the height above sea level, is engraved into the stone and filled with lead.
Standing on the coordinate point one has no difficulty defining one's own point of view. However, a question arises about the second point of view, which is visible at the other end of the concourse. This point does not differ in height above sea level but deviates by approximately 12 meters from the coordinates where is one standing. Likewise, the point of view directly above or below does not differ in the coordinates but instead in the height above sea level. So, the individual standpoint differs in one aspect from one point of view but quite agrees with another.
The work "Point of View" derives therefore from a double reference system. In the first system the topic is verbally discussed (word lists); the visitors are asked to think about their own point of view. Furthermore, the installation of the opposite standpoints addresses the importance of communication in the determination of points of view.
In the second system (coordinate standpoint) the point of view is determined geographically, that is technically, on the basis of a global positioning system. The term POINT OF VIEW apart from the communicative persona receives a second, this time clearly defined interpretation, which firstly asks about one's own point of view and secondly that of Schloss Wartensee and the individuals within and leaves both parts to become part of a global whole.
Rutishauser / Kuhn, 1996 |
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Elisabeth Nembrini, Antlers
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Background:
In my work with organic forms, with symmetry and deviation, with "the animal", I encountered the form of the antler. The antler in its different stages fascinates me: soft, sensitive, furry and bleeding during growth (actually, as long as the antlers are "alive") - then later for a short time - hard, smooth and bony. The antler form is individual to each animal. The left and the right are not the same and each year they are new and different. They are extremely alive, yet they are a short-lived and passing phenomenon.
To connect antlers with a castle is obvious. In earlier days it was usual to have deer in the castle surrounds - not in the least to provide prospects for prestigious trophies. However, my fantasies regarding antlers in Schloss Wartensee also have different connections: The ancient and enormous cedar tree with its fan-like branches before one enters the building, mirrors the labyrinth of the corridors and rooms within. These images, together with the historical connection between nature and culture by the deer antler, inspired me to fuse these elements together as a theme in one place.
Antlers should not be interpreted here in the conventional sense as a 'trophy'. They symbolise mental growth and change, while also representing a deeper sensory level, appearing both positive and negative. Growth and change can be important also for visitors to Schloss Wartensee - perhaps in the process of learning and developing, one can discover not only oneself but also something more.
Casts of deer antlers appear all over the old castle walls. In one place they are particularly noticeable as one moves through the area: when moving towards the eastern part of the building from the entrance hall, one passes a row of antlers growing out of the wall from the smallest bud to fully mature. Standing directly in front of the antlers one discovers their shadows. Moving past them the points and planes, the turns in stature and the direction of growth is visible. They can be seen, depending on whether one enters or leaves the building, differently.
When entering the western part of the building, one travels through an ascending corridor. Here one encounters a set of openings in the wall, progressing in form and depth. Through touch, and only with prior knowledge of the antlers in the eastern wing, one recognises that these are their negative counterparts, antler “cavities”, within in the thick walls. Only a small part can be seen and felt from the outside, the rest remains unattainable.
In other places within the castle there is already something similar: arrow slits, "windows". All have a narrow opening widening into a broad cavity. Apart from this relationship, the organic feature of antlers provides a formal contradiction to the architecture. It is possible to form personal and individual associations with what is otherwise an apparently trivial and well-known subject.
Elisabeth Nembrini, 1996 |
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