Careum 1
Urs Eberle, House of Four Elements, 2004
The artist selected four locations on campus for his intervention: the atrium and three stairways (the main, south and north stairways). His choice of colours represents the four elements – fire, water, earth and air. In the main stairwell, an oracle dedicated to fire is depicted on the wall. Eberle sees his art as an extension of architecture, a sort of walk-in spatial sculpture. Thanks to Eberle’s painting, this functional edifice has been given a colourful touch that appeals to the senses.
The text in the stairwell (translation): “I am fire. Light and energy; I bring life, strength and happiness. I am heaven and hell; I destroy, burn and consume. I create new life and transform. I am the sun of the earth and no one can subdue me as long as I am.”
Photo of text in stairwell
Photo of heaven and hell text
Careum 2
Urs Eberle, Birth and Decay, 2007
The artist systematically developed the colour theme and symbolism introduced in Careum 1. The 15-metre long wall in the entrance area is the focal point of the work. Visitors are welcomed and ushered in by the vibrating pink wall. The colour of the wall symbolises a number of things and, together with the seven words emblazoned along its length, the wall raises a lot of questions.
The seemingly never-ending wall gives the impression of a sea of flowers, with birth and decay in the middle. Pink represents youth, love and romance. Emotion, gentleness, tranquillity, modesty, fragility.
The inlaid words, which seem to float like fragments of thought across the pink wall, reinforce the impression. They do exactly what they appear to be saying to us: connect-attack-dissolve-rework-research-recognise-change.
The stairway itself, meanwhile, is painted grey and purple in an attempt to restore the equilibrium, giving a sense of transience. Purple is also one of the colours of theology, the colour of reflection and humility. Differences melt away. Purple connects the sensory with the spirit, feelings with the mind, love with renouncement.
Photo of text in stairwell
Careum 1 Cafeteria
Annelies Strba, Pema Choeky (Flower of Joyful Teaching), 2005
This work is based on film clips from a farm garden in Horgen (near Zurich), which the artist has known since her childhood. Depicted are kaleidoscopic compositions of colour flowing into one another – a cheerful interplay of colours. The two pictures, which are only vaguely reminiscent of flowers, form a pair – one unit. Vivid and highly emotive, they give the open space of the cafeteria a sense of dynamism. With these works, the artist creates a conscious antithesis to the monotony of everyday life.
Photo of cafeteria
Technique and size: Ink jet on canvas, 2 parts, 135 x 388 cm each
Outdoor area/Gloriaplatz
Piero Maspoli, untitled (wedge), 2007
For the space between the campus and Gloriaplatz, the artist designed a wedge-shaped ramp composed of several sandstone slabs, with the wedge sloping down towards Pestalozzistrasse and the front of the premises. At its highest point, the wedge is roughly 1.2 metres high, slanting down on the naturally sloping ground to about 40 cm and tapering off to a point. The artist chose this shape for the way it harmonised with the lie of the land, causing the minimum of interference with the natural surroundings – a cross between an architectural sculpture and a natural occurrence. Inspired by the name given to the area – “Platte” (plate/plateau) – the artist created a ‘walk-on’ dune landscape between Gloriastrasse and the entrance.
Art using sandstone slabs
Photo of sandstone slabs
Material: Sandstone (upper marine molasse) from Lake Constance region
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