Der Weg Der Roten Fahne. Art in Correlation to Architecture, Urban Planning and Policy

JOURNAL OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM ISSN 2029-7955 print / ISSN 2029-7947 online 2013 Volume 37(4): 292–300 doi:10.3846/20297955.2013.866861 Theme of the issue “Architectural education – discourses of tradition and innovation” Žurnalo numerio tema „Architektūros mokymas – tradicijų ir naujovių diskursai“ DER WEG DER ROTEN FAHNE. ART IN CORRELATION TO ARCHITECTURE, URBAN PLANNING AND POLICY Christiane Fülscher Department History of Architecture, University of Stuttgart, Keplerstrasse 11, 70174 Stuttgart, Germany E-mail: [email protected] Received 03 October 2013; accepted 04 November 2013 Abstract. The presented research focuses on the relationship between art and architecture. On the example of the mural Der Weg der Roten Fahne (The Path of the Red Flag) installed at the western façade of the Kulturpalast Dresden (Palace of Culture in Dresden) the author analyses the necessity of the mural as an immanent element to communicate political decisions of the German Democratic Republic’s government to the public by using architecture. Up until now the mural reinforces the political value of the International Style building in function and shape and links its volume to the urban layout. Keywords: architecture, culture house, German Democratic Republic, International Style, monumental art, mural, political architecture, representation, Socialist Realism, urban planning. Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Fülscher, Ch. 2013. Der Weg der Roten Fahne. Art in correlation to architecture, urban planning and policy, Journal of Architecture and Urbanism 37(4): 292–300. Introduction The mural Der Weg der Roten Fahne An artefact that is designed in collaboration with ar- In 1969 a collective of the Dresden Academy of Fine chitecture depends on its context. Its intention and Arts created the mural Der Weg der Roten Fahne (Fig. 2) significance can only be comprehended and unders- under the direction of Gerhard Bondzin (1930)2. He de- tood by its interaction with the building, where it was veloped the object in collaboration with his professors, installed. In certain cases this building is representing their lecturers, assistants and students3. The mural’s an artefact on its own, and then the object of art is just size is three times as wide as high (30 to 10 metres); an addition. In other cases the object may point to the given its size, Der Weg der Roten Fahne befits the stan- building’s effect and value or even emphasise it. This dard for oversized murals. The 466 concrete tiles were essay presents the synthesis of an object of art and an coated with a mixture of marble and porphyry splint. architectural artefact to exemplify their correlation. After that the tiles were grounded twice and covered The illustrated example is the mural called Der Weg with coloured glass splinters in an electrostatic process, der Roten Fahne (The Path of the Red Flag; Fig. 1) that the result was comparable with the surface of terrazzo. is installed at the western façade of the Kulturpalast Until then this technique had never been used for an Dresden (Palace of Culture in Dresden)1. image of that size (Kiefer 1973: 33). 1 Groundwork of this essay is the author’s unpublished mas- 2 Gerhard Bondzin: 1957–1970 head teacher of the Dresden ter thesis Der Kulturpalast Dresden (The Palace of Culture in Academy of Fine Arts; 1970–1974 Chairman of the Union Dresden) that was accepted at the Department of Art History, of Fine Arts in the German Democratic Republic (GDR); University of Hamburg in 2006. In 2011 another essay concer- 1969–1984 member of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany ning this topic was published in a modified form and with a (SED), district leadership Dresden. different focus (Fülscher 2011). 3 In the piece of art Alfred Hesse, Gerhard Stengel and others had been involved (Schröter, Grösel 1974; Guth 1995: 428). 292 Copyright © 2013 Vilnius Gediminas Technical University (VGTU) Press Technika http://www.tandfonline.com/ttpa Journal of Architecture and Urbanism, 2013, 37(4): 292–300 293 World’s Convertibility). Influenced by the party and city council the issue changed to the victory of socialism using the historical development of Dresden since 1848 in an exemplary manner. Reportedly the artists had problems to transfer the particular Dresden topic to a universally readable conclusion and decided to change the theme to the working class that eked the victory of socialism (Kiefer 1973: 28–29). The mural’s motives The mural’s chief motive is a knee-length portrait of a female standard bearer, parting the mural into a major left and minor right part, in line with the rules of the Fig. 1. Kulturpalast Dresden with the mural Der Weg der Roten Fahne, Schlossstraße, 1969. SLUB Dresden / Deutsche golden ratio. The figure spreads her left arm with an Fotothek / Manfred Thonig inviting gesture, while holding the flag’s shaft in the highly raised right hand. As an established symbol of the socialistic labour movement the flag’s drapery encloses the body of the female standard bearer and touches the national coat of arms of the GDR: hammer and sickle. Alongside with her headscarf this brands the figure as a member of the working class. The theme of the red flag pervades the entire mural and contains miscellaneous minor groups of persons. Arranged in temporal order, these whole-body figures Fig. 2. Der Weg der Roten Fahne. Gerhard Bondzin and collective, 1969. SLUB Dresden / Deutsche Fotothek / symbolise evident chapters in the working class’ fight Helmut Seifert and victory (Schröter, Grösel 1974). Accordingly Karl Marx (1818–1883) and Friedrich Engels (1820–1895), Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (1870–1924), Ernst Thälmann In 1967 a public competition for the artistic compo- (1886–1944) and Walter Ulbricht (1893–1973) are por- sition of the mural’s design had been set up. The Jury trayed4. decided in favour of a relief created by Rudolf Sitte The mural’s left part includes the history of the (1922–2009) even though he used his preferred mate- labour movement up until 1945, whereas the artists rial, concrete, exclusively and not in combination with postulated this as the beginning of the movement glass and metal, like the competitive tendering requi- with the insurgence in Dresden in May 1849 (Kiefer red. Sitte’s design showed wave structures and forms 1973: 32). In the lower left of the image the sequence weaving into one another accentuating hammer and starts with three protesters that arm themselves. Above sickle, two stars, the sun, a bird and a small group of them Karl Marx stands erect holding a document in his figures. In spite of the jury’s decision the design was hands. He is flanked by Friedrich Engels on his right. refused by the district party leadership in Dresden. Scenes of fighting and repression are leading to the su- Their decision was based on the missing presentation bject of the Russian revolution of 1914, represented by of the socialist idea of man and the alleged cosmopo- three armed supporters of the labour party and a red litan respectively western influence visible in the con- star, and to Ernst Thälmann, who stands elevated rai- cept. A second competition was called and attended by sing his right fist. On his left side a woman carries the well-known East German artists like Walter Womacka, flag. Then next to the great female standard bearer the Wieland Förster and Jo Jastram; but again Sitte won the sequence is interrupted by a group of figures portraying first prize with a concrete relief. Although he added a the suffering in the Second World War. distinguishable figure group in the centre of his design, The right section of the mural illustrates the post- the SED disapproved of it and even threatened Sitte war victory of socialism. Beginning with the picture with prosecution (Schirmer 1995: 196–197). of a soldier helping a concentration camp prisoner a As a result of this development, Bondzin received – per decree and under unclear circumstances – 4 Ernst Thälmann, 1925–1933 Chairman of the Communist Party the order to create a mural. The title of the assignment of Germany (KPD), Walter Ulbricht, 1950–1971 First Secretary to Bondzin was Die Veränderbarkeit der Welt (The of SED. 294 Ch. Fülscher. Der Weg der Roten Fahne. Art in correlation to architecture, urban planning and policy series of figures in groups can be seen, showing wo- men and men of different professions following one another. Either some are wearing weapons and flags or are raising the right fist. Repeatedly figures look to the portrait of Walter Ulbricht in the middle of that section. On the left side above him Lenin’s head appears as a reduced dark red coloured silhouette. In the front children are playing and a young woman is holding a banderol bearing the title of the mural. Certainly Ulbricht, in his function as the First Secretary of SED, exerted a dominating influence on the mural’s com- position and execution (Schirmer 1995: 197). In representing himself on a par with Marx and Thälmann as Fig. 3. Kulturpalast Dresden. View from the Altmarkt, 1973. well as in striking distance to Lenin (Guth 1995: 428), SLUB Dresden / Deutsche Fotothek / Hering Ulbricht set himself a monument. Nevertheless the choice of motives was consistent with the murals’ purpose to form the socialistic awa- reness of citizens and socialistic community in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). This went hand in hand with a programmatic search for the expres- sion of the socialistic form of society in art as well as architecture and with the transfer of the results of the Bitterfelder Weg 5. In summary, Der Weg der Roten Fahne read as an important contribution to the socialistic monumental art, ought to transcribe artistically ‘[…] the fight of the revolutionary forces in Dresden for progress und socialism, against reaction, imperialism and war’ 6.

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