Requiem for a palace

Frank Haase
Sculpture “Requiem for a palace”
Reinforced concrete, glass, transfer film, 2009
80 x 45,5 x 17 cm

The sculpture “Requiem for a Palace” addresses the politically controversial demolition of the Palace of the Republic (Palast der Republik) in Berlin. The work, reminiscent of a tombstone, shows the basic shape of the building, inaugurated in 1977, on a pane of glass in front of a fragment of reinforced concrete. The straight lines and surface of the architecture are juxtaposed with the asymmetrical fragment left over from the destruction of the building. The two components of the plastic, glass and concrete fragment, visualize the conceptual opposing poles “smooth – rough”, “past – present” and “flawless – destroyed”.