Modular sculpture, inspired by tessellations of molded blocks from GDR-Modern
192 plywood pieces, Weimar 2010
After the ornament had been completely disregarded in early modernist architecture by infuential contemporaries like Adolf Loos (Ornament and Crime), it gained massive popularity once again in the late modernist architecture after 1960. This lasted through the 1980’s. Materials like concrete, plastic and synthetic fibers made it possible to replicate a single form in large surface areas. Tessellations of molded blocks were often a popular means of design in the GDR ›Kunst am Bau‹, or ›percent-for-art‹ schemes. Usually they were used as gable ends, partitions or as outer walls in ›Plattenbau‹ constructions. Even though molded blocks were not a particular feature of the socialist era, today in context of concrete settlement constructions they evoke memories of that time. The temporary installation ›New Bricks On The Block‹ alludes to the creative potential of decorative tessellations and commemorates its aesthetic.