Three dimensional art and architecture: our theme for 2018

An interview with Eva Wolf - our curator

What is three-dimensional art? What is architecture? Are we talking about architectural art or rather artistic architecture? This year’s theme at sculpture network ‘Sculpture and Architecture’ revolves around these questions and many more. There are many interpretations and much room for discussion - the borders between the two are indistinct and, depending on your view, both terms can be interpreted differently. Eva Wolf has been interested in this subject for a long time now. In an interview with sculpture network she told us how she became interested in art and also in architecture and what she hopes to achieve as curator of our yearly theme. 
 
What kind of work did you do previously?
I have been dealing intensively with architecture my entire life. After finishing my studies of architecture at the Technical University of Munich and at the Berlin Weissensee School of Art, I had the opportunity to work as the co-curator of the Berlin Architecture and Film Festival, creating the theme and moderating the presentations and panel discussions of various expert guest speakers. I was always interested in the three-dimensional effect of the views presented. Where does the idea come from? What are the possibilities and what potential does the space have and what tasks should be attributed to it? It is a search for intention, for a three-dimensional realization that goes beyond the ordinary. While I was working for the internationally active Architecture Office of the Coop Himmelb(l)au in Vienna, I was able to work in a very enriching field and to further develop and process these questions and topics. Now I have moved from Vienna back to Munich where I work on independent scientific publications and research projects and participate in conferences and continuing education programs that, among other topics, deal with innovations in technology and society.

How to did you jump from architecture to art?
I really have to think about which first fascinated me. I remember events as a small child in different museums that gave me the impression that art is a great enrichment for me personally. Even then a lot of things touched me deeply and I always had the impression that I could find clearer answers to my questions about life in art - more so than in other areas. 
Architecture as a vessel, a city and a space is always around us and has a great effect on events and impressions. I am interested in which role and task architecture is assigned here and which ones it could have. What is possible and natural: how does an architect deal with this task? 
How can an architect improve the general container in which and with which we humans live? My architecture studies at the School of Art in Weissensee were really valuable to me. We worked on projects and discussed them with students from other subjects. For example, as a young student, I walked through the Berlin Zoo in a platypus costume for a sculptor colleague who was working on a spatial explanation of Kafka: it was an opportunity to dive into her observation of space, her connotations and outlooks and to experience these new ideas intensively. This questioning and the need to work in an exploratory manner was something that I could further pursue during the time that I worked for Coop Himmelb(l)au. I was really lucky in that respect and it was very educational for me.

How did you end up as a member of sculpture network?
I moved back to Munich for family reasons and I was searching for new inspiration and opportunities. In that context my sister recommended sculpture network to me. I was curious and attended a sculpture network event in order to find out what sort of people and ideas are behind this non-profit organization. After that one thing led to another.

You are the curator of our yearly theme. Why did you decide to take on this task?
This year’s theme - based on the year’s motto - moves between three-dimensional art and architecture and really appeals to all my different interests that I mentioned. The opportunity to ask questions, to get involved in a topic and to bring different people together - all of these things are are enormously exciting for me.

What exactly is your job?
Primarily the task is to work together with some amazing people to define the theme in such a way, so that we can all look at things from a different perspective. It is my opinion that if we are alone or if we focus only on one of the two disciplines of three-dimensional art or architecture,  we cannot deal with the complexity and divergence of the present.

If money was no object, which sculpture would you buy yourself?
There are two reasons why it is so hard for me to find a ‘direct’ answer to this question. On the one hand, there is that ‘under the skin feeling’ that I get from some sculptures and which is very intense for me. Therefore, I am not sure that I want to experience that feeling directly in my immediate surroundings. And I would also find it distressing to think that this sculpture is no longer available to anyone else. In principle, I don’t want to own it.
On the other hand, the area surrounding the sculpture is so very important. I can’t imagine where this would be at present.
If money didn’t matter then I would like to commission a sculpture that is conceived and created jointly by experts from several disciplines. I might ask the author and actress Sibylle Berg and the composer and conductor Ondřej Adámek, as well as the research center for Artificial Intelligence. Glass and ceramics would play a role and some steel. And I would install it in a school yard.