Looking Up. Reading the Words…

As part of the 1997 Skulptur Projekte, Ilya Kabakov erected a sculpture on the banks of Aasee that can be found near Donald Judd’s work. Reminiscent of a broadcasting tower, Kabakov’s sculpture represents a connection between heaven and earth, focusing primarily on the experience of the heavens.
Atop a 15-meter tall mast, there is an equally wide horizontal structure made up of two parallel beams with 22 “antennas” lined up across them. Thin, 3mm wire has been used to form letters between these aluminum tubes. It requires intense concentration to make out the words and read the text, which is best done lying in the grass beneath.
The dimensions are deliberately calculated, so that the text is only legible when you carefully focus on it. Without looking closely, it appears as if the letters don’t exist at all. However, if one engages with the work, the broadcasting tower appears to have received a message from heaven. It passes that message on to the viewer personally:
“My dear! You are lying in the grass, head back, not a soul in sight. You hear only the wind as you look up into the open sky – into the blue above, where the clouds drift by – it may be the most beautiful thing you have done and seen in your life.”

Additional information: www.skulptur-projekte.de