Meaningful
From 11 April, the glass and iron sculpture “Meaningful” by Susanne Röwer will be on display in the newly designed foyer of the Rottenburg College of Church Music. The art object, created in 2021, was acquired by the Diözesanmuseum for the new field of activity “Contemporary Art and Art Education”. This field is dedicated to artists of the present day, mediating their works and bringing them into dialogue with the Christian iconography of past art epochs. In future, the university will regularly present such modern museum pieces and thus create a meeting place in its rooms for the visual arts as well.
Röwer’s sculpture is being shown for the first time in Rottenburg. The artist, who works with very different genres such as metal, glass, stone or paper and exhibits internationally, combines the materials in an impressive way. The Rottenburg art object, a foreign body in the minimalist foyer, also gives the visitor pause. Almost organically, it seems to float above a flat base, to rise, to creep. Iron coils with pointed thorns form a ring above three groping feelers; inside, a reddish bubble of glass. The thorns cut deeply into the translucent surface, as if it might burst at any moment. At the same time, the bubble adapts to the thorns, partially encloses them, seems to waft and pulsate.
The first association that comes to the viewer’s mind is probably the crown of thorns. Symbol of supreme suffering, of Christ’s mockery, but also a distinction and symbol of his kingship, his omnipotence. In Latin, the crown is called “corona”, a term omnipresent today with a completely different meaning. Corona, too, has become a symbol of suffering for many people, but still allows many people to rise above themselves, distinguishes them. In the sculpture, symbols and perspectives combine; iron and glass, hardness and fragility, both formed in fire, meet in lively interplay. The sculpture is thought-provoking and opens up meaning for the visitor, in Holy Week and beyond.
Please register with the secretary’s office (Tel.: +49 7472 169820) to view the sculpture.
