A climb with no destination
Whoever climbs returns to the start — and that is the work.
Martin Falbisoner — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Martin Falbisoner — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Martin Falbisoner — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Martin Falbisoner — CC BY-SA 4.0
A sculpture in the form of a double spiral staircase with no beginning and no end, in the courtyard of an office building in western Munich, by the Icelandic-Danish artist Olafur Eliasson, installed in 2004. The idea is that the staircase turns back on itself in a closed loop: anyone climbing it arrives nowhere and returns to where they started. The German title, Umschreibung, means both rewriting and circumscribing — describing something by going around it rather than naming it — and both senses are intended. Eliasson is among the artists of this century most concerned with perception and movement: his works are usually not looked at but entered and walked through, and they make the viewer notice the act of their own seeing. His best-known work is The Weather Project in the Turbine Hall at Tate Modern in London. Decisive practical points: the work stands in the private courtyard of an office building, and access is generally available during working hours but it is not guaranteed public space — it may be closed on holidays. Climbing the staircase is not permitted: it is viewed from below.
Whoever climbs returns to the start — and that is the work.
Umschreibung means both rewriting and circumscribing.
An artist who makes the viewer notice the act of seeing itself.
An office building courtyard, west Munich
Deutsches Museum VerkehrszentrumThe Verkehrszentrum is the branch of the Deutsches Museum devoted to everything 2 min walk
Bavaria StatueThe Bavaria is a huge bronze statue of a woman representing the state of Bavaria6 min walk
WestparkWestpark is a public park in southwestern Munich of about sixty-nine hectares, a22 min walkNo. The work stands in the private courtyard of an office building, and entry is normally available during working hours by convention rather than by public right. You may find the gate shut on a holiday or a weekend. If you are crossing the city for it, check first and accept that you may find it closed.
The three Pinakotheken, covering art from the medieval period to the contemporary; the Deutsches Museum, among the world's largest science and technology museums; the English Garden with its standing river wave surfed in the middle of the city; and Nymphenburg Palace. The city needs at least three days.
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