Tobias Rehberger: The Moon in Alabama
MUENSTER. art + public 2014
Project 01
Opening June 1, 2014
A project by Stadt Münster and ISG Immobilien- und Standortgemeinschaft (ISG) Bahnhofsviertel Münster e.V. in the area around the station
Kunsthalle Stadt Münster
Hafenweg 28
D-48155 Münster
T +49 (0) 251 674467 75
F +49 (0) 251 674467 85
www.kunsthalle.muenster.de
www.muenster-art-public.de
They are the hidden networks of switches that regulate communication and transit underneath the surface of urban life: the ubiquitous gray switchboxes. A new project in Münster transforms them into sites of artistic intervention. The internationally renowned artist Tobias Rehberger, known for his famous bar “Günter’s (wiederbeleuchtet),” a highlight of the Sculpture Projects Münster in 1997, re-designed 11 switchboxes at various locations throughout the city. The gray cubes are transformed into playful, colorful objects that create a new image for the area around Münster’s main railway station and invite people to sit, occupy and use the area in new ways.
The artist also “wove” a story into each object: from Goa to Alabama to Wanne-Eickel, each box relates to a different city around the world. Whenever the moon rises in each city, it also rises in Münster: each object, each pipe-like construction is illuminated like a brilliant flower by a globe of light. As the artist Tobias Rehberger himself says, “I am totally open to how people here receive these new objects, open for surprises—if they use them as meeting or orientation points, if they become their favorite places, or if they use the different objects as a means to create a new trail throughout the city.”
Ramping up for the Sculpture Projects 2017: As a venue for the international Sculpture Projects—which will take place for the fifth time in 2017—art in public space has a long history in this Westphalian city of art and culture. The joint initiative “Münster. Art + Public,” which includes the City, museums, the Academy of Fine Arts and additional art venues furthers this tradition. Tobias Rehberger’s project validates this initiative’s recognized competence and stature.
The project’s initiator and supporter is the Immobilien- und Standortgemeinschaft (ISG) Bahnhofsviertel Münster e.V. under the direction of Peter Cremer together with the City of Münster. ISG is an alliance of property and business owners in Münster’s Central Station area dedicated to upgrading and maintaining this district. The project was curated by Gail Kirkpatrick, Director of the Kunsthalle Münster.
www.muenster-art-public.de / www.tourismus.muenster.de / www.bahnhofsviertel-muenster.de