Der Käfer – Ein Deutsches Wunder
Art at the Construction Site
Thu, September 06 – Mon, November 12, 2018
- Location
- Market Place Karlsruhe
In autumn 2018, the ZKM | Karlsruhe will be showing art at the construction site on Karlsruhe's market place again: from September 6 to November 12, 2018, Georg Seibert's installation »Der Käfer – Ein Deutsches Wunder« [The Beetle – A German Miracle] can be seen on the pedestal of the future staircase leading down to the »Marktplatz« underground station.
The VW Beetle is the symbol of the so-called German Economic Miracle of the post-war era and until the beginning of the 21st century was regarded as the best-selling car in the world. To this day, the VW Beetle enjoys absolute cult status, not only with car lovers, but also with filmmakers, musicians and artists. For Georg Seibert, this Volkswagen is the epitome of »hope for more life and freedom, culture, success and much more«.
Georg Seibert's work »Der Käfer - Ein Deutsches Wunder« [The Beetle – A German Miracle] on the Karlsruhe's market square.
A homage to this »German miracle« is his sculpture of the same name. He takes the beetle from its functional space on the street and wraps it in an »art house« typical for Seibert, a three-dimensional grid of galvanized structural steel. This lucid »second skin« functions as a shelter and pedestal for the sky-blue VW Beetle that seems to float inside, and at the same time lends the entire sculpture lightness. Seibert says that it should »act as a positive motivation in the public sphere«. It should make it clear that a simple idea, such as the one on which the invention of the VW Beetle was based, can lead to success and positively influence the lives of entire generations »if one believes in it and lives it«. (Katrin Heitlinger)
Already in 2015, the ZKM had installed works of art with the exhibition »The City is the Star« in conjunction with the numerous construction sites as part of the »GLOBALE« in Karlsruhe's urban space. Georg Seibert's sculpture was shown as part of the 2011/2012 exhibition »Car Culture. Media of Mobility« on the forecourt of Karlsruhe's main railway station. At the beginning of 2018, the ZKM received the artwork as a donation, cleaned it and restored it. Now, the VW Beetle with its steel shell will be accessible to a wide audience in Karlsruhe on the market square until mid-November 2018.