Tue, 23 Mar 2004

“Unseen” paintings from first Goetheanum building exhibited for the first time

Dornach, 23 March (NNA) – “What did the original paintings in the first Goetheanum building look like?” This is the question underlying the exhibition “Angels Humans – Designs for the paintings in the first Goetheanum” which can currently be seen in the so-called “Terrassensaal” of the present, second Goetheanum building in Dornach, Switzerland.

According to the Goetheanum, the question arises because Rudolf Steiner, builder of the Goetheanum and founder of the General Anthroposophical Society, was himself artistically involved in the decoration of the smaller of the two cupolas of the first building and reworked the original paintings of the artists from all over Europe whom he commissioned to undertake the work. Paintings and drawings, “unseen” until today, by these artists are being exhibited for the first time. There is also an accompanying programme.

Rudolf Steiner reworked the paintings in the small cupola which covered the stage before the building opened in 1920. What the original paintings looked like remains a riddle. The exhibition of the drafts prepared by the artists is an attempt to find some sort of an answer to this question.

The extent to which Rudolf Steiner changed the original motifs also remains unclear. Did he merely correct details, paint over the originals or have them washed off and start again?

Finally, the artist Hilde Raske (1903 – 1986) left a series of studies in „counter colours“ to Rudolf Steiner’s designs, providing considerable research materials for artists and academics which have not so far been exploited.

Rudolf Steiner chose artists whom he considered able to undertake the work: Arild Rosenkrantz (1870 – 1964), Louise Clason (1873 – 1954), Ella Dziubaniuk (1881 – 1944), Mieta Waller (1883 – 1954) and Margarita Woloschina (1882 – 1973). The exhibition hopes to give some indication why he decided to become involved himself.

END

The exhibition can be seen in the Terrassensaal of the Goetheanum until 25 April. Opening: Wednesday 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., Thursday and Friday from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday and Sunday as well as Easter Monday (12 April) from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.. Entry CHF 8 and CHF 5 (concessions).

Item: N040323-02EN Date: 23 March 2004

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Nationwide demonstration against genetic engineering planned for Stuttgart

Stuttgart, 23 March (NNA) – The German “Aktionsbündnis Gentechnik freie Landwirtschaft in Baden Württemberg”, a group fighting against the use of genetically modified organisms in agriculture, is planning a nationwide demonstration against GMOs in Stuttgart.

The action under the motto “We want to say clean – no GMOs on our plates and fields” is planned to take place on 18 April.

ENDS

Item: N040323-01EN Date: 23 March 2004

Copyright 2004 News Network Anthroposophy Limited. All rights reserved. See http://www.nna-news.org/copyright/

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German Waldorf schools to strengthen quality assurance

Frankfurt/Main, 23 March (NNA) – Waldorf schools in the German state of Hesse intend to strengthen their activities to enhance quality assurance. According to the regional association (LAG) of Waldorf schools, the “SchuB” (Schulberatung) project to provide advice for schools will draw together current activities of the association and extend them by additional services.

The Waldorf schools have taken the step to strengthen the development and use of their own procedures for quality assurance since the projects provided by the regional education ministry are only partly accessible to non-state schools and do not take account of the particular characteristics of Waldorf schools.

The Waldorf schools also criticised plans by Hesse’s education minister, Silke Lautenschläger, to enact standardised education plans for kindergartens since they failed to take account of the fact that children developed at varying speeds.

Standardised plans would not contribute to an improvement of quality, would make kindergartens more like schools and increase the performance pressure on small children who needed sufficient “space” to develop their abilities, the schools said.

END/cva

Item: N040323-03EN Date: 23 March 2004

Copyright 2004 News Network Anthroposophy Limited. All rights reserved. See http://www.nna-news.org/copyright/

More NNA reports at: http://www.nna-news.org/content/