In early September 2023 a proposal was submitted to an art-for-architecture competition for the Anne-Frank-Schule in Zwickau. Two alternative sites in the outdoor area were available. The proposal entitled “Anne Franks Gegenwart” (Anne Frank’s Presence) gives a compelling message to the school that bears her name.
Anne Frank could be alive today. She was robbed of this presence. But we do not allow ourselves to be robbed of what constitutes her presence: affirmation of life, optimism, belief in the future. All of the things that schoolchildren possess and that we want to reinforce.
For this reason, the art object conspicuously displays the name of Anne Frank in the way in which messages today – especially advertising messages – are displayed. The motif of the advertising hoarding, in the form of a column, undergoes an artistic deformation, however. First it is necessary to discover the name Anne Frank. At first glance it is not visible or legible. Only when walking around the column is it possible to read the letters of the name, rising in a spiral. Thus, the object demands that we approach and cooperate. The direction of reading from bottom to top and the fresh colouring express the optimism that we associate with the name Anne Frank and wish to put at the heart of everyday life in the school. The cylindrical shape of the column responds to the cylindrical school building. The colour red responds to the colour highlights on the façade.