Artist Manuel Gorkiewicz offers a public place for young and old in the form of Piazza, a work that seems to be just that, and yet is much more.
It is located parallel to the main arena of the Paul Speiser-Hof, designed by Ernst Lichtblau (built 1930/31). Lichtblau’s effort was to develop a cubic and open setting that could be communal for all the residents of his tribute to the austere streamlined principles of the International Style movement dominating architecture at that time. As an artist, Gorkiewicz employs geometry and form, but also colour, time, and motion, as well as references to other artists, rather than the history of building. The real sculptural element in his work is the presence of predominantly young people who will animate this public space resolution. It is a piece of performance as much as a painted sculpture, as much as an architectural intervention. This fusion is the bravura of Gorkiewicz. Composed of a trim series of colorful striped bands of awning cloth, forming geometric panels and bunting, Gorkiewicz has created a kind of rudimentary skeletal “tent,” for the people. Piazza was designed for an area where the strong presence of youth often leads to heightened security concerns. In a survey with the local population, Gorkiewicz realized that only a few basic elements were necessary in order to address the concerns of young adults congregating outside. These included shelter, privacy, noise reduction, and a heightened aesthetic context to discourage an image of vagrancy or dereliction. The artist set about using semaphores and colors common to all cultures – whether Middle Eastern or North African, or the stripes of circuses, or television test patterns. A brilliant medley of colors is the first element disarming the viewer, and drawing him or her in. In addition, the public square aspect references one of the greatest masterpieces of all time, the Capitoline Hill “Platz,” designed by Michelangelo. By alluding to the author of the Sistine Chapel, and slyly citing Op Art and artists such as Daniel Buren and Andre Cadere, Gorkiewicz takes the discussion out of the realm of architecture and keeps it firmly in the field of art.
Cornelia Lauf