Art in Company
Platino (Georg Röger, *1948 Öhringen, lives in Stuttgart)
Circling Motifs, 2016
Mural for conference room building 128, MB Powertrain, Mercedes-Benz AG, Stuttgart-Untertürkheim. Acrylate paint, acrylic, pigments on glazed facing concrete, approx. 12.75 x 2.76 m
This abstract mural references the history of Mercedes-Benz motor development, translating it into an iconic, site-specific artwork.
The stripes refer to the design principles of the nearby Mercedes-Benz Museum, and respond to the colors of the (urban) landscape, which is allowed into the space via the glazed glass facade opposite the mural. The lower boundary of the orange surface relates to the eye height of a seated or standing viewer. Overall, the coloration gives the facing concrete a painterly quality.
The blue, yellow, and orange stripes are given additional nuances using pigment glazes with a metallic appearance. The colors symbolize current and historic propulsive energies in motor development:
Orange – fossil fuel / combustion engine
Yellow – electricity, environmentally-friendly solar energy / electric motor
Blue – water derived from oxyhydrogen gas / hydrogen motor
Bluish-White (oben) (above) is open in terms of atmosphere, and stands for the unknown territories of future propulsive energies and motor developments.
Like propulsion systems for motors, three rotation forms with different sizes and proportions move through the energy fields of the colored stripes, interacting with them. They blend the original shape of a three-spoke wheel with the graphically minimized silhouette of the Mercedes star. The stars shimmer in a slightly metallic gray that matches the facing concrete. The Mercedes star is integrated into its own construction principle – the wheel – which has become a counter-form.
The relationship of the pale wheel to the darker star shows an active potential for interchange between figure and ground. It accelerates the potential rotation movement, whilst lending it stability and power. In the rotation forms, the original wheel and the Mercedes star, motor development and corporate identity, are shown in alternating arrangements, reciprocally influencing each other.
Dr. Renate Wiehager
Head of the Mercedes-Benz Art Collection, Stuttgart/Berlin