The Futurism of Industrial Cities – 100 Years of Wolfsburg/Nowa Huta - 1The Futurism of Industrial Cities – 100 Years of Wolfsburg/Nowa Huta - 2

The Futurism of Industrial Cities – 100 Years of Wolfsburg/Nowa Huta

[ Documentation ]
Super Vision
Impressions of a visit to Wolfsburg
written down by Stefanie Peter

Green meadows have always sparked the imagination of urban planners. With every open plot, they feel the urge to create something new –from the ground up. The blank slate begs for a systematic grand-scale design and encourages one to experiment with buildings and people. Where there was once emptiness, utopias should take shape. The planners of Wolfsburg were obviously infected by such ideas when the city was founded, as anyone driving toward the city can guess. Out of nowhere, four towers suddenly rise above the horizon. Although abandoned long ago, the smokestacks of the Volkswagen factory are still the city’s trademark. At the start of the Christmas season, VW goes all out and installs lights at the tops of smokestacks. One after another, they are illuminated like candles on an Advent wreath. Yet whose advent is this industrial city anticipating? Perhaps the hope of salvation from a future technological wonder ... complete version of the text (download pdf)
Venues
Kunstverein Wolfsburg
Łaźnia Nowa, Cracow-Nowa Huta
Dates
Wolfsburg: 10 Dec. 2005 – 19 Feb. 2006
Nowa Huta: 14 Oct. – 12 Nov. 2006
Participating Institutions
Kunstverein Wolfsburg
Łaźnia Nowa, Cracow-Nowa Huta
Goethe-Institut Krakau