Marking The City Boundaries
Groningen
Overview
This is an in-depth presentation of the Groningen project in Holland masterminded by Daniel Libeskind. Nine internationally renowned figures from a wide variety of disciplines were invited to design monumental tokens to be placed at the edge of the city. The resulting markers were rich in symbolism and imagination, with a theoretical diversity that could be expected from such a grouping. Among the participants were American historian of art and architecture Kurt Forster, German dramatist Heiner Muller, two visual artists, Thom Puckey from Holland and Leonhard Lapin from Estonia, two architects, American John Hejduck and Gunnar Daan from Holland. The product of enlightened patronage on the part of the citizens, politicians and bureaucrats of Groningen, the scheme set out to confront issues of urban identity on the occasion of the city's 950th anniversary. Containing a wealth of fascinating material both written and visual, this profile demonstrates the incredible vitality and ingenuity which lay behind this unique project.
