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City marker S09 Architektron Urania

Leonhard Lapin

About this artwork.

An eighteen-metre-long spiral staircase leads upward, leading nowhere. At the top of the stairs one looks into an obliquely placed mirror and sees himself and the starry sky: a confrontation with the cosmos, a momentary ascension to earth that brings a kind of enlightenment.  That was initially the idea behind Lapin's design for this city marker. But because the steps only start at a height of three metres – this is due to the proximity of the railway line, which may lead people to fatal end – the stairs cannot be climbed and remain an imaginary confrontation with the infinite "nothing".
 
The title, Urania, refers to one of the nine muses from Greek mythology. Her name means "heavenly". Urania is the muse of astronomy.
 

The work forms part of the Stadsmarkeringen, The Books of Groningen, marking the city boundaries, project.

 

Location.

Antwerpenweg (aan het spoor langs fietspad naar Bloemersmaborg)

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Facts & Figures.

  • Design
    Leonhard Lapin

  • District
    Oosterpoort & Europapark

  • Year of creation
    1990

  • Art type
    Freestanding sculpture

  • Material
    Steel

  • Dimensions
    h 18,00 m

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