Description
"Meta-Maxi, a work of sculptor Jean Tinguely"
Now let’s leave Reichpietschufer behind us and the pool to our right. We’ll pass the footbridge and continue straight ahead alongside the long ochre-orange Debis building. So we’ll walk about 90 meters, the approximate length of the building. We’ll meet up at the far end of the Debis complex in front of the large windows displaying Mercedes vehicles.Here we are in front of the Debis complex, at number 5. We can see the signs indicating the names of the neighboring streets: Marlene Dietrich Platz and Eichhornstrasse (READER: eich horn shtrasse). On the right begins Eichhornstrasse and we have, on the left, large reflecting pools that lead to an esplanade with ochre buildings in the middle. In front of us, on the other side of the street, we can again see a series of large buildings with facades in ochre terracotta. And we’re currently standing in front of a Mercedes showroom. We suggest that you go in for a moment, not to buy a car but to see a work of art.So to do that, take Eichhornstrasse to your right and go up to the glass door with the name SMART in blue in front of it. We’ll meet up at this entrance, found at number 3.Let’s go inside the building and we’ll go up to the tall metal gate that leads to a large covered interior atrium. From here we have a good view of the inside of the complex and the work by sculptor Jean Tinguely.This glass-covered space is monumental. The glass ceiling towers some 22 meters above our heads. It’s has all the major features that are characteristic of Potsdamer Platz: glass, of course, and walls covered in orange terracotta. This huge hall is used for promotional launches of new automobile models or for Mercedes parties. But those aren’t the only uses! The hall is also used during the Berlin International Film Festival, the Berlinale, as well as for temporary exhibits of contemporary artworks that belong to the Daimler Chrysler foundation. The hall was designed by Richard Rogers, whom we’ve already mentioned. We’re actually at the back of the Chrysler building, which we encountered earlier on our walk. And we see again here the large functional spaces so valued by the architectural maestro.Have a look at the center of the hall. It’s taken up by a huge metallic installation by Swiss sculptor Jean Tinguely, referred to as “Méta-Maxi.”We’re going to talk a bit about this work. But if you prefer you can skip directly to the next chapter entitled “Jeff Koons.”This piece, which at first glance, is quite bizarre, is composed of the most eclectic, unrelated elements: an upright piano, scaffolding, pipes, cylinders, metal rods and a host of other pieces. Peculiar, isn’t it? This type of sculpture belongs to the group of “sculpture-machines” which are able to move, a series Tinguely began developing in 1952 in Paris. Married to the artist Niki de Saint Phalle, together they created the unusual Stravinsky fountain next to the Pompidou Centre in Paris. About this sculpture here, created in 1987, he wrote, “I want to create something funny, something for children to climb and jump on.” And on top of that he added, “I hope that, after having seen it, they come out happy.” And it’s true that this 17 metre long work, an assembly of numerous diverse objects, offers children a rich field for their imaginations to run wild with and have fun creating fantastical stories. Furthermore, the fact that some of the objects are rusted reminds onlookers that these pieces have led a full life. If you want, take a moment to imagine a role for them, to re-instill them with life, and to make them interact with their neighboring objects…… and if you try this exercise, even for just a few seconds, you’ll almost certainly agree that this object is not as absurd as it first appeared…So if you want to let your imagination wander while you contemplate Méta-Maxi, ; otherwise we’ll get back to our walk.Photo Jean-Pierre Dalbéra by "La grande machine-promenade (musée Tinguely, Bâle)" under CC BY 2.0
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