The perforations
Hundreds of holes making the bodies near-transparent.
OTFW, Berlin โ CC BY-SA 3.0 ยท tian2992 from Guatemala, Guatemala โ CC BY-SA 2.0 ยท Jens Cederskjold โ CC BY 3.0 ยท Fred Romero from Paris, France โ CC BY 2.0
The Oberbaumbrucke is the first choice, giving you the sculpture, the river and the bridge's Gothic towers in one frame. The bank at the East Side Gallery gives a clearer side angle with the three figures separated. River boats pass directly beside it for the closest view, though from a low angle and briefly.
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Molecule Man is a thirty-metre aluminium sculpture standing directly in the middle of the river Spree rather than on its bank โ three huge human figures leaning toward each other until they almost touch, their bodies pierced by hundreds of circular holes that light and air pass through. The sculpture is by the American Jonathan Borofsky and was installed in 1999. The three figures are not arbitrary: they meet at the point where the boundaries of three Berlin districts intersect โ Kreuzberg, Friedrichshain and Treptow โ a point that also separated West Berlin from East, meaning the river here was a real border between two systems. The holes carry the meaning: the artist intended them to represent the idea that humans are at bottom molecules, and that what appears solid is in truth mostly empty space. The sculpture is visible for free from both banks, from the bridges and from river boats, and the best view is from the Oberbaumbrucke at sunset, when it becomes a pierced silhouette against the light.
Hundreds of holes making the bodies near-transparent.
A pierced silhouette from the Oberbaumbrucke.
River Spree at the Oberbaumbrucke, 10997 Berlin