Catch as catch can

American conceptual artist Lawrence Weiner and German media and light artist Mischa Kuball collaborated on a project for Emscherkunst 2010. The final product is made up of independent works by each artist, which are placed in dialogue with each other and united by a shared title. On the grounds of Berne Park, a former sewage treatment plant between the Berne and Emscher rivers, two round basins and a service building remain from the 1950s. Landscape artist Piet Oudolf transformed one of the basins into a terrace garden in cooperation with the landscape architecture firm Gross.Max. Mischa Kuball used the other basin to create a dynamic light installation: A strip of light circles the outer edge of the round structure like a wave, creating a visualization of its shape and original movement that can still be seen after dark. While the basin is brought to life at night, Lawrence Weiner’s contribution is only visible by day: Catch as Catch can is written on the roof of the neighboring building in easily visible lettering that is reminiscent of billboards from the 1950s. The phrase is an idiom that comes from martial arts and suggests that you should use what is available and take what you can get. This is exactly what the artists did here. The former treatment plant is still recognizable in its entirety. Both the day and the night elements take advantage of the preexisting formal restrictions as an opportunity for a transformation into art that creates a dialogue between light and language.

References: www.emscherkunst.de

www.bernepark.de