Proposal for the Gauforum Square in Weimar.

Size: Approximately 330 x 130 x 1,3m

Materials: Earth and Flowers (tulips, roses, daisies, etc)

This is a Proposal i turned in with my application to the Bauhaus University MFA programm.

The Gauforum has had different names and purposes throughout time. The names of the square have been directly linked to political systems and ideologies. It has been called the “Adolf Hitler Square” and the “Karl Marx Square”. Now a shoppingmall and its parkinglot are the major functions of the square. The buildings surrounding the square are monumental and powerfully designed.

To balance the monumentality of the buildings surroundig the square, I want to make flowerbeds that will cover the entire square. The flowerbeds will consist of seasonal flowers, so apart from the wintertime different flowers will be in bloom constantly. In wintertimes the square will be empty and show its weakness and its decay. Only to rise again in springtime.

The “Platz wo die Blumen sind” is an environment, a continuing action because it has to be worked on constantly and changes through time. Other elements that I hope will become a part of the action are for example friends who make a date that will say to eachother; 'Ich Sehe dich auf der Platz wo die Blumen sind!'. It might also be an answer to the song “Sag mir wo die Blumen sind; die sind schon hier geblieben.”

The proposal consists of an action in four parts:

A – Changing the name of the square.

B – Start of action: Placing a mixture of clay and earth on the entire surface of the square and planting the flowerbulbs in the soil.

C – Maintenance: Growing the flowers.

D - Continuity of the action and maintenance: Working the grounds.

A – The name of the Square will be changed into:

“Platz wo die Blumen sind”

B – The soil will be layed on the parkinglot. Approximately one meter high on the square and on the public gardens at the west side of the square (in front of the former building of the German Work Front). Planting the flowerbulbs will be done at two moments in the year. In October/November and March/April.

C - In order for the square to be filled with flowers throughout the year, several sorts of flowers will have to be used. Flowers will be in bloom during spring, summer and fall. The springflowers can stay in the ground. Before the winter sets in the summer- and autumnflowers have to be digged out of the ground, because they will not survive the cold. They must be stored and planted in again in spring.
D - The grounds will have to be worked continuously, with a returning procedure every year.

The square needs a continuing piece instead of something that is a static land mark. This is needed to contradict the buildings that surround the square. The square needs a piece that changes colour every season.