Future Then, Future Now.
Frank Oehring and Jürgen Mayer H. in dialogue about design in the present.
Wednesday, September 24, 6:00 PM
The tour and conversation begin at 6:30 PM.
Was the future better in the past? Do we have a human need for retro-futuristic nostalgia? And when is architecture perceived and valued as “futuristic” by its contemporaries?
Half a century ago, artist and designer Frank Oehring created a milestone of futuristic (and functional) light art in architecture with the large light sculpture and guidance system of the International Congress Center (ICC) Berlin. Only in recent years has this work regained growing attention and late recognition. It now seems finally to have arrived in its present, still radiating the spirit of optimistic speculation about the future.
On Wednesday evening, the exhibition “PLACESHIPS” will – in the spirit of the ICC – become a “dialogue machine”: Models, sculptures, collages, and drawings will frame a guided conversation between Frank Oehring, Jürgen Mayer H., and the audience. Light sculpture meets Metropol Parasol, rapidograph sketch meets safety patterns, the ICC “brain” meets spaceship-like 3D models, and the present meets the future.
The conversation is part of the “Encounters” series within the exhibition “J.MAYER.H – PLACESHIPS” at the Deutsches Design Museum.
