Art Audiowalk at Zollverein

Hello, how nice to see you here! Let’s start our tour. We will begin right here, in front of the gate that allows the UNESCO World Heritage Zollverein site to present its impressive monumentality and where we find ourselves in a kind of interspace of history, as Harald Fritz once phrased it: “No trace of hard work, dust or noise. Two Gate Houses frame the gate in the Coal Mine’s wall and steer our gaze towards the Main Courtyard. This view has existed since 1932 and has been conserved until today: The coal mine wall, lime tree avenue, cobbled streets and lawns were planned by architects Fritz Schupp and Martin Kremmer in the style of New Objectivity. The cubist sculpture Zollverein presents itself on the green lawn. Machines are seen, workers are not – they remained invisible to the visitors. Coal trains rode concealed behind high walls. Up in the high pit head frame, the pulley wheels moved silently. They still turn today to take those miners down into the pit who are in charge of water management today.”

And even today, most of the many workers at Zollverein remain almost invisible. That is why we will not only come across the works of several artists or the nature that surrounds us like a self-narrating story, but also some interesting characters whose experiences, ideas and both personal and passionate commitment make this location into such a vibrant space for encounters. Without their charm, neither the past nor future history of the World Heritage Site Zollverein could be told nearly as affectingly. So now let’s step behind the first wall and discover the first works together.

2. Ansgar Nierhoff, From a Block & Two-Piece Standing Sculpture (1988) / The Couple (2016)

On the Kunstwiese (art meadow) opposite Hall 6, three works by sculptor Ansgar Nierhoff enter into a dialogue with the architecture and the outdoor area of the UNESCO World Heritage Zollverein: A two-part standing sculpture, a block sculpture and the sculpture "The Couple", which was added in the spring of 2016. The floor sculpture "From a Block", which is just under half a metre high, and the 3.4 metre high two-piece standing sculpture were created independently of each other. By placing them together on the so called Kunstwiese the works, both made of steel, were given a new context. They correspond with the visual axes of the colliery that were a key design element for the industrial architects Fritz Schupp and Martin Kremmer.

The sculpture "The Couple" stands somewhat apart from the other works. The two four- metre-high, elongated steles are hand-forged, each from a different block. The contrast between the round and the angular steles points out an important element in Nierhoff's work: Through forging, he transforms uniform blocks into different shapes. The round shape is created by compressing the material during forging, without removing any of the material.

Together, the three works on the Kunstwiese bear witness to the force necessary for working steel. By showing cuts and hammer marks on their surface, they give an impression of the working process of sculpting.

Just like the majority of the works that we will see, the works that we have just encountered belong to the artistic movement of Concrete Art. But what is Concrete Art? It is an artistic direction that is immediate and oriented towards a sensual experience that can be made without any previous knowledge. All you need is a readiness to experience art in an unprejudiced encounter with the works themselves.

Because it is an non-representational art that does not aim to depict the visible world. That is why the materials, shapes, methods of processing and frequently also the chosen location of their presentation are highly significant.

Unlike the first impression may imply, Concrete Art is always a kind of art that addresses the great social issues of its time and tries to contribute to their transformation by way of a change of perspective, in order to actively change and shape the world towards the better.

Works of Concrete Art were often initially developed on paper, shaped from complex thoughts and concepts that were then transferred into manufacturing processes and materials. This is not unlike the works of the later direction of Concept Art, which also involves the viewers – us – and which places great emphasis on associations and the context of its creation.

4. Alf Lechner, Constellation D4 (1994)

Weighing tons, yet inconspicuous, Alf Lechner's sculpture "Konstellation D4" rests on the lawn in front of the Mine, next to the famous Twin Pit-Head. The sculpture is part of a group of works titled "Konstellation D1-D8" and stands at an angle of 45 degrees to the rectangular ground plan of the colliery buildings. It interrupts the two axes along which the facilities are aligned and thus almost automatically guides the viewer’s eye towards the direction of the Pit-Head Frame. The 16-ton work focuses on the material steel and its physical properties. Despite the sculpture's bulky form and immovable appearance, the curved underside makes it appear as if it could seesaw. Lechner has found a fascinating way to play with the substantiality of his preferred material. Although the sculpture was not originally created for the Zollverein site, it refers to the Zollverein industrial monument and its past through its industrial manufacturing and the choice of steel as its material, which played an important role in the construction of the mine.

5. Werner-Müller-Square

This particularly busy place is the central square of the pit complex. It was named after Werner Müller, the notable industrialist, politician and long-time chairman of the RAG Foundation, which is based at the UNESCO World Heritage Zollverein.

6.1 Ulrich Rückriem, Castell and other Sculptures (1992/93)

The birch-covered spoil tip between the Zollverein Mine and Coking Plant is an almost fairy- tale-like place. Five stone sculptures by sculptor Ulrich Rückriem engage with the unique industrial architecture, branching paths and the past of the coal and steel industry.

The main work of the so-called Forest of Sculptures is "Castell", a split stone block about two metres high and 10 by 10 metres wide, which stands in a clearing. Four openings between the massive stone blocks give visitors access to the centre of the artwork. Once there, it opens up an unusual perspective: you will find yourself in an interior space which is at the same time an outdoor space, due to the unobstructed view of the horizon.

During the following tour of the spoil tip, visitors come across further sculptures by Rückriem: one near the stairs leading towards the upper part of the spoil tip, two sculptures entitled "Granit Bleu de Vire, split and cut" further along the way to the highest point, and a square granite block at the end of the trail.

5. Ilja and Emilia Kabakov, The Palace of Projects (1998/2001)

Since 2001, the walk-in installation in the salt store of the Zollverein coking plant has displayed 61 fictional projects that aim to improve people's lives in unusual ways.

With "The Palace of Projects", the artist couple Ilya and Emilia Kabakov created a "total installation": visitors move around in a collection of very different objects, showcases and sketches in a seven-metre-high pavilion that is shaped like a snail shell. They can look at individual models in several rooms, touch some of them and read the model descriptions, while time seems to stand still for a short moment.

The projects presented in "The Palace of Projects" play with utopian ideas in several ways: they are rich in imagination and remarkable concepts, regardless of how naïve or unrealisable they may seem at first glance. They turn the installation into a museum of dreams, inviting visitors on a journey into foreign worlds of thought and aiming to inspire their own creativity.

"The Palace of Projects" is on permanent loan from Stiftung Industriedenkmalpflege und Geschichtskultur.

8. Jonathan Speirs and Mark Major, Monochromatic Red and Blue (1999)

Since 1999, the Zollverein Coking Plant has been transformed into a work of art at dusk every night, when the "Monochromatic Red and Blue" light installation bathes parts of the disused facilities in red and blue light.

The 600-metre-long coke oven battery on the so-called "black side" of the Coking Plant shines in red light in the dark. The colour is reminiscent of the great heat in the ovens where coke was made from coal at more than 1000 degrees Celsius when the Coking Plant was still in operation. The coking plant avenue separates this side from the "white side", where chemical by-products from coking were processed. Lanterns line the street, bathing it in blue light that suggests the water used to quench the coke.

With their installation, the two British lighting designers Jonathan Speirs and Mark Major impressively stage the imposing architecture of the Zollverein Coking Plant. At the same time, they visualise the transformation of the site into a place for art, culture and leisure. The former pushing machine track was filled with water to serve as a reflective design element.

9. Dirk Paschke and Daniel Milohnic, Works Swimming Pool (2001)

The place where once coal was refined into coke has been turned into a summer-time meeting place in the north of Essen. Composed of two overseas containers welded together, the works swimming pool invites you to relax and swim amidst the impressive facilities of the former coking plant. The Frankfurt artists Dirk Paschke and Daniel Milohnic built the “Werksschwimmbad” in 2001 as part of the arts project “Contemporary Art and Criticism“. Since then, the pool has been emblematic of structural change in the Ruhr region. With their “social sculpture“, the two artists gave a completely new function to a place that until the 1990s was characterised exclusively by hard work in great noise and heat: today, residents and visitors spend their free time there, enjoying a welcome, cooling dip on hot summer days.

10. Zollverein Monument Path

The first of 12 educational stations of the Coking Plant’s Monument Path was opened in the autumn of 2020. Inside the black, cube-shaped building, complex procedural steps of what was once Europe's largest central coking plant are explained with the help of projections and animations. A model of over seven metres in length provides insight into the so-called “black side“ of the Coking Plant.

7. Angela Bulloch, Earth First (2001)

Angela Bulloch's work "Earth First" on the huge gate at the entrance to the mixing plant at the coking plant is more relevant than ever. In seven directives for action, the artist calls for a movement to save the planet and reminds us: “The earth is not dying, it is being murdered“.

The work is part of the "Rules Series" (1993) and bears the name of a worldwide network of environmental groups, Earth First! With "Earth First", Bulloch outlines different ideas for future action, rather than prescribing rules. Systems of rules and their impact on human behaviour play a major role in the artist's work. She examines and collects instructions for action and regulations, which serve her as artistic material.

“Earth First” was installed at the Coking Plant as part of the “Work, Food, Fear“-exhibition in 2001. In 2022, “Earth First” was renovated and now not only gives the mixing plant new lustre, but also reaffirms Bulloch's visions for the future of the planet.

12. Machine Park

In this park, machines used in mining that were long invisible above ground are surrounded by plants typical for the site. From pedestrian bridges, you can look at the almost creaturely giants and information boards display more details about what they were used for. A sound concert brings the machines back to life.

The park was designed in 2018 by südstudio Stuttgart, as part of a cooperation between Ruhr Museum and Bergbau Museum Bochum.

14. Thomas Rother, Art Shaft Zollverein

Thomas Rother was an author, sculptor, creator of objects, and spatial artist. In the early 1980s, he established the “Kunstschacht”, or Art Shaft, at Zollverein in the old central machine shop, where he began living in 1990. Rother's workshop was a total work of art – a microcosm within a macrocosm.

Rother worked with industrial materials like dust, ash, and coal, using mining tools and other objects as printing blocks for transfers onto paper and canvas. He also created sound sculptures, which were most recently featured at the Philharmonie Essen. His sculptures can be seen as reminders of a lost industrial world and as “a way to make peace with that time of people and nature being exploited.”

15. Canary, Design Competition "Designallee Zollverein", Axel Hummert (2009)

In 2009, Axel Hummert and his colleague Silke Tinnefeld won a design competition organised by the city of Essen and the Zollverein Foundation, which focused on turning the 300 metre footpath from the railway station to the UNESCO World Heritage Zollverein into a design avenue.

The designers created birds, that were two metres high, 3.6 metres long and weighed 100 kilogrammes. They were handcrafted from plastic by Ulrich Wiedemann in Lindau, Lake Constance. In earlier times, canaries were used in mining as an early warning system because they are

very sensitive to gases like carbon monoxide. In memory of this vital collaboration between animals and humans, eight oversized, bright yellow canaries can be discovered on the northern part of the Zollverein site.

The canaries were installed as signposts at Zollverein in March 2010, when Essen and the Ruhr region were European Capital of Culture. Since then, visitors have used them to find their way from the railway station Zollverein-Nord to the colliery grounds.

17. Hex, Asteroid PF751ZH (2016)

In front of the administration building of the Zollverein Foundation, sunlight makes the 590- kilo "Asteroid PF751ZH" shine. The two-metre high and three-metre wide sculpture by steel sculptor HEX has been located there since 2019. It is part of a series of asteroid sculptures by the artist and was created in 2016. The sculptor specialises in stainless and Corten steel, but also works with iron, marble and stone. This choice of material is linked to the artist’s desire to preserve his works from transience and preserve them for posterity. When working with steel, it is particularly important for HEX to go beyond its limitations as an industrial material. That is why he uses free forms for his asteroid sculptures and completely dispenses with industrial reproducibility. HEX sees steel as a natural material.

All of the artist's sculptures are created in his workshop in the Hallertau region of Bavaria. He has been a member of the Royal British Society of Sculptors since 2011 and his works can now be found all over the world.

18. PACT

Since it was founded in 2002, PACT Zollverein has been an initiator, catalyst and venue for seminal developments in the fields of dance, performance, theatre, media and visual art. Under the roof of the former Pithead Bath at the Zollverein Coal Mine here at Shaft 1/2/8, PACT has created a space for movement and exchange between actions, experience and theoretical discourse. In four key areas of activity, PACT carries out a regional, national and international social and cultural mandate which contributes to the standing and appreciation of dance and performance as independent art forms: In its residency programme, PACT operates as an artists’ centre offering space for concentrated working processes. As a platform, the venue initiates exchanges between artists, academics and students from diverse disciplines and promotes critical dialogue and reflection on artistic methodologies and findings. Its third main focus is on presenting an innovative and high calibre stage programme featuring premieres, co-productions and guest performances. The fourth and last focus point is represented by projects concerning topics and research of urban living, the role and impact of urban space on communities and the development of collective models and approaches to shaping urban society.

19. Maria Nordman, LA PRIMAVERA (1998 – 2002)

The light that awakens nature from hibernation in spring plays an important role in Maria Nordman's art. Her work "LA PRIMAVERA" (engl. "Spring") in the tower passage of the former Boiler Ash Bunker is a place of art that offers visitors an intense experience of themselves.

The open space around the Boiler Ash Bunker is part of the work: Three-time "documenta"- participant Maria Nordman is interested in cycles, rituals and gardens. The ginkgo and sequoia trees, from which coal was formed in prehistoric times, as well as the Nordmann fir are part of the work.

In the vestibule of the installation, visitors will therefore find items such as blankets, chairs and a table that they can use for a picnic in the garden of "LA PRIMAVERA".

Inside the artwork, which is entered one at a time, light penetrates only through a small gap. Alone in space and time, depending on weather conditions and the position of the sun, you find yourself in a place that is always extraordinary, but in a different way each time: It is a space that only becomes a work of art the moment that a visitor enters it and allows themselves to be absorbed by silence and seclusion.