Roman Signer to release energy

24 November 2011. The former St.Gallen law professor Peter Nobel will be speaking about art and culture in urban space in the HSG Audimax. In his lecture, the lawyer and art collector will also trace different cultural forces in the city. Subsequently, the performance artist Roman Signer will lead the audience to a place in front of the University Building, where he will ignite one of his legendary “time sculptures”. Signer is famous for his precisely choreographed experimental designs with fireworks, bicycles, helicopters and other vehicles, as well as tables, drums, kayaks and balloons (Folio Verlag Kunstbuch, 24 November 2011).

Releasing energy with “time sculptures”

The two experiments in the large lecture room and on the University’s forecourt will demonstrate a chain of causes and effects with refinement and with tongue in cheek. “In point of fact, the blast will only consist of a few splutters, but the performance promises to be spectacular anyway,” says Professor Yvette Sánchez, the President’s Delegate for the Public Programme. Signer lets his audience become part of the design of the sculpture while simultaneously enacting their mortality.

The unpredictable “event”, which is based on simple materials, will release energy. Signer’s “time sculptures” will also engage in a dialogue with the HSG’s art collection and provide Nobel, the Chairman of the University’s Art Committee, with an opportunity to speak about “Art and Buildings in the City and at the University”. Each of the five lectures in the series “Who owns the city?”, which is run jointly by the HSG and the City, is moderated by a cantonal minister or a municipal councillor. This time, it is planned that cantonal minister Kathrin Hilber will welcome the artist and the art connaisseur and then moderate the event.

The campus as a place for art

The University of St.Gallen and the Executive Campus HSG have been home to works by important artists like Joan Miró, Alberto Giacometti, Alicia Penalba, Gerhard Richter and Hans Arp for many years. The works of art are integrated in the architecture and everyday university life. Almost all the works were specially created for the place where they can be seen now. Close to the University Campus, outside the building of Helvetia Insurance, there is a fountain created by Signer. “Now we are curious to see how Signer’s performances will impact on the Campus”, says Yvette Sánchez.

Photo: Roman Signer Work Show in the St.Galler Lokremise (2003) / Hannes Thalmann