Wegzeichen Sculpture

Seven gleaming facets. That’s what catches your eye first at the Wegzeichen Sculpture. Here before us stands Manfred Hodapp’s Wegzeichen. It’s a striking sculpture of brushed stainless steel. The Wegzeichen isn’t just a static object. It reflects and refracts the sunlight, creating a dynamic play of light and shadow. It almost appears to shift and change before our eyes. This artwork was created between 1986 and 1988. Hodapp placed it near the former Royal Botanical Museum, now home to the Kunstamt Tempelhof-Schöneberg. The building itself has a fascinating history, constructed between 1878 and 1880 in a Romanesque Revival style. It once opened onto both Grunewaldstraße and the Kleistpark. Hodapp’s Wegzeichen was part of a competition. The goal was to reconnect the building with the park. Hodapp and another artist, Dietrich Arlt-Aeras, won with their contrasting yet complementary sculptures. The Wegzeichen, with its sharp angles and reflective surface, embodies a sense of direction and progress. The sculpture was meant to draw attention to the building’s function. It even considered incorporating kinetic elements like light, sound, or movement. Hodapp and Arlt-Aeras envisioned their sculptures in dialogue. They represent opposing forces: the structured and the airy, the static and the dynamic. Although originally intended to stand as a pair, the sculptures were moved in 2010. The Wegzeichen still stands tall, a testament to artistic vision and a city’s evolving landscape. It’s a unique landmark that adds a touch of modern artistry to a historically rich area.