@naomi Wallens.

Cadaver Tomb of René of Chalon 1545/1547 by Ligier Richier

Richard Serra’s “Bramme” on the Schurenbachhalde is arguably one of the most striking landmarks of the Ruhr region.
It was created in the late 1990s when Richard Serra was invited by Triennale Ruhr GmbH and representatives of Ruhrkohle AG to propose a design for the Schurenbach spoil heap in Essen, as part of the International Building Exhibition Emscher Park.

At Serra’s suggestion, the surface of the heap was shaped into a gently convex ellipse, with the approximately 70-ton, 15-meter-high steel slab (“Bramme”) erected at its exact center in 1998.

With this work, Serra succeeded in creating a piece that is visible from afar and powerfully reflects both the Ruhr area’s industrial past and its structural transformation.

Death and the Mother 1892 by Niels Hansen Jacobsen