The Evolution of Superlatives

The Evolution of Superlatives comprises the objects HI-PLACE, HI-RISE and HI-LIGHT. Each of the three objects shown represents a cooperation between man and one other element of the complex network of nature, man and machine from which we as creators can draw.
HI-PLACE - Man feat. Nature, HI-RISE - Man feat. Man, HI-LIGHT - Man feat. Machine.
Pre-industrial, industrial and post-industrial artifacts are comparatively juxtaposed. A reflection that allows the viewer to recognize the specific nature of the collaborations in each case becomes possible. How do the aesthetics, the handling of material and raw materials, how does the value of the object change? How does control over the design shift within the collaboration?
The Evolution of Superlatives tells stories of landmark visions of the past and present, a story of progress. Through emergent differences in proportion, function, and materiality, HI-PLACE, HI-RISE, and HI-LIGHT position themselves temporally and symbolically in relation to their viewer as well as the other artifacts in the collection. They celebrate the qualities of different eras, protecting them from oblivion. At the same time, they can provide impulses for new ideas and discoveries.
The objects find their formal origin in the typology of towers. The tower is an archetypal symbol that has accompanied man since time immemorial. The tower defines a center that is the starting point for multi-layered perspectives and associations. It offers orientation and protection, demonstrates power and the superlative technological know-how of its time.
The tallest artifacts ever built by man peak and ambitiously rise towards the sky until their apparent dissolution. They represent man's attempt to come closer to the gods as he strives to rise ever higher above the beast. Towers reflect the relationship, characteristic of an era, between man and the context in which he lives. In them one can observe how the balance between nature and culture and subject and object is constantly changing and innovation becomes tradition.