About Art - Molecule Man

Apparently floating on the river Spree in Berlin, Germany, the massive Molecule Man casts a striking shadow which leaves you in no doubt what it’s a sculpture of. However from ground level you really see how well the illusion is realized.

Molecule Man was designed in aluminum by an American artist Jonathan Borofsky, who is better known for another of his works, Hammering Man. Molecule Man is actually a series of three sculptures installed in various cities throughout the world. It is located near Treptowers. It stands near the middle of the Spree River with many workboats and tourist boats passing it every day and can be seen clearly from the S-Bahn train looking down the River Spree towards the centre of Berlin, just left of the Fernsehturm or TV tower.

The giant artwork built in 1998 to 1999 for the new Allianz Corporation headquarters in Berlin (architect: Peter Schwegler). The sculpture consists of three male figures each around 30 metres or 100 feet high. The figures have holes symbolising molecules.

Borofsky's first Molecule Man sculptures were made in 1977 and 1978 in Los Angeles. Early molecule structures included a molecule chair, a ceramic molecule vase, a molecule figure and a model for a molecule building made from styrofoam balls. Originally, he was fascinated by this molecule idea because even though we appear to be quite solid, we are in fact composed of a molecule structure which, in itself is mostly composed of water and air.

He says that this hundred-foot tall aluminum sculpture composed of three figures meeting in the center, not only refers to the lightness inside our own solid bodies, but also the figures joining in the center, refer to the molecules of all human beings coming together to create our existence. Find out more about the artist at: http://www.borofsky.com/