Untitled (Five Platonic Solids)

The five Platonic solids are named after the Greek philosopher, who discusses them in detail in his work Timaios from 5 BC. Here, Ekkehard Neumann has recreated these forms out of sheet steel. The objects are loosely grouped without pedestals along the shore of the lake in the Steinfurter Bagno.

A source of fascination for scientists and artists since antiquity, these geometric forms include the tetrahedron (pyramid), hexahedron (cube), octahedron, dodecahedron, and icosahedron, each named after its number of sides (8, 6, 8, 12, and 20 respectively). Plato integrated the solids into his philosophical system, assigning each of them to one of the elements: tetrahedron – fire; octahedron – air; icosahedron – water; hexahedron – earth; dodecahedron – “ether,” which is the fifth element as postulated by Aristotle.

Ekkehard Neumann conceived the sculpture specifically for this location, creating a link between public modern art and historical parks. The work also visually represents theoretical and practical attempts to arrange the environment according to specific parameters.

The park is an example of nature designed according to man’s rules and ideas. The Platonic solids illustrate how this design is driven by the desire to understand the laws of the world and the cosmos, to classify the phenomena and, in turn, understand them. The desire for orientation in a complex environment is shared by geometry, art, philosophy, and landscape architecture, and is clearly illustrated by this sculpture.

Reference: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platonischer Körper