Art in the City.Artworks in the public domain.

When it comes to an enthusiasm for art, the city of Basel can look back over a long tradition. The Amerbach Cabinet in Basel, for example, was one of the first art collections in Europe to be made accessible to the public. Later it became the Kunstmuseum Basel. In the 1960s the citizens agreed by referen dum to use public funds to purchase two works by Picasso, thus ensuring that they would remain in the Kunstmuseum – quite a unique state of affairs. When the artist was informed of this he donated four more works to the city.

When it comes to museum lovers, one thing is quite clear: Basel is not a city that can be discovered in a hurry, the reason being about 40 culturally very diverse museums. Quite a few of Basel’s museums are known well beyond the country’s borders for their important collections and their exquisite exhibitions. They have also reinforced Basel’s reputation as a unique art and museum landscape, with buildings designed by internationally renowned architects. The magnets are the Fondation Beyeler, the Museum Tinguely, and the Kunst-museum Basel with the adjoining Museum für Gegenwartskunst. For almost 50 years now, Basel has also been home to the world’s leading inter national art fair, Art Basel.

Art can also be encountered in Basel during a stroll around town: Richard Serra, Jonathan Borofsky, Jean Tinguely or Pablo Picasso are just a few of the artists whose works have enriched the image of the city. In the meantime they have become such a self-evident part of the everyday lives of its citizens that they could no longer imagine their city without them. This brochure would like to accompany you on a walk to the most interesting artworks in the city. Whether you live here and pass them every day, or are visiting Basel for the very first time, you are sure to discover many exciting things. We hope you enjoy your stay in Basel!

Daniel Egloff,Director of Basel Tourism

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There is an art to having so much art.

Index.

Jean Tinguely 7 Carnival Fountain 1977

Richard Serra 7 Intersection 1992

René Küng 7 Large Moon Ladder 1980

Back wall of the 7 Kunsthalle Basel Temporary installations

Michael Grossert 8 Lieudit 1976

Paul Suter 8 Untitled 1974

Marc Covo 8 Look-Listen-Go (Colours in the City) 1994

Copa & Sordes 8 Frieze (Empty Aesthetic) 2005

Carl Burckhardt 11 George the Knight 1923

Peter Moilliet 11 Dr. Rudolf Riggenbach 1971

Guido Nussbaum 11 Soot-Shadows 1998

Hannes Vogel 11 The Rosshof-Courtyard 1987

Alexander Zschokke 12 Teacher and Pupil 1941

Carl Burckhardt 12 Amazon leading a horse 1923

Bettina Eichin 12 Helvetia on the Journey 1980

Samuel Buri 12 Gänseliesl 1978

Rémy Zaugg 15 An accessway to the State Archives in a state of becoming 1999

Bettina Eichin 15 Marktplatz-Fountain for Basel, e.g. Nov. 1 1986, 00.19 am 1986 –1991

Alexander Zschokke 15 The Three Ages of Life 1941

Pablo Picasso 15 Man with spread Arms 2007

Luciano Fabro 16 Italian Garden 1994

Jonathan Borofsky 16 44’ Hammering Man 1989

Louis Armand Petersen 16 and Hans Eduard Linder Fountain with Crow 1925

Paul Wilde 16 Billsticker 1924

Erik Steinbrecher 18 Landler / Polka 2008

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5Johanniterbrücke

Jungstrasse

St. Johanns-Rheinweg

Birmannsgasse

Soci

nstr

asse

Spal

ento

rweg

Schützegraben

Gerbergasse

Freie Strasse

Wet

tste

inbr

ücke

Mün

ster

-Fäh

re

Klingental-Fähre

Mittlere Brücke

Rittergasse

Dufourstrasse

Aeschenvorstadt

Brunngässlein Mal

zgas

se

St. Alban-Graben

Missionsstrasse

Fiede

nsga

sse

Klin

gelb

ergs

tras

se

Klingelbergstrasse

Hebelstrasse

Pet

ersg

rab

en

Spal

engr

aben

Schö

nb

einstrasse

Heuberg

Ho

lbein

strasse

Feierabendstrasse

Stei

nenv

orst

adt

Austrasse

Leim

enst

rass

e

Holb

eins

tras

se

Burgu

nder

stras

se

Auberg Auberg

SteinengrabenN

adelb

erg

Pete

rsga

sse

SpitalstrasseSt. Johanns-Vorstadt

Bernoullistrasse

Offenburgerstrasse

Leuengasse

Klingentalgraben

Bläsiring Bläsiring Bläsiring

Amerbachstrasse

Rie

hen

rin

g

Oetlingerstrasse

Sperrstrasse

Klingentalstrasse

Drahtzugstrasse

RiehenringIsteinerstrasse

Isteinerstrasse

Bleichestrasse

Maulbeerstrasse

Erlenstrasse

Schönaustrasse

Clarastrasse

Wettseinallee

Riehe

nstra

sseClaragrabenRebgasse

Turnerstrasse

Riehenring

Rheinfelderstrasse

Röm

erga

sse

Alemannengasse

Chrischonastra

sse

Bur

gweg

Schafgässlein

Utengasse

Rheingasse

Oberer Rheinweg

Florastrasse

Claragraben

Feldbergstrasse

Haltingerstrasse

Breisach

erstrasse

Un

terer Rh

einw

eg

Unterer Rheinw

eg

Mü

llheim

erstrasse

Mö

rsbergerstrasse

Efringerstrasse

Klybeckstrasse

Rhein

Rhein

Ryffstrasse

Wattfstrasse

Landskronstrasse

Steinenberg

Wasserstrasse

Müllhauserstr.

Spalenberg

Rheinsprung

Kohl

enbe

rgga

sse

Kanonengasse

Klosterberg

Aesch

engr

aben

Garte

nstra

sse

Peter-

Mer

ian-S

trass

e

Lang

e Gas

se

Lindenhofstrasse

Leonhardsgraben

Korn

haus

gass

e

St. Johann-Fähre

Rh

ein

Birsig-P

arkp

latz

St. Alban-Vorstadt

Elisa

beth

enst

rass

e

St. Alban-Anlage

St. Johanns-Tor

Schifflände

Universität

Marktplatz

Spalentor

Barfüsserplatz

Aeschenplatz

Münster

Leonhards-Kirchplatz

Bahnhof SBB

Elisabethen-anlage

Ham

me

rstrasse

Heuwaage

Thea

ters

tras

se

Kunstmuseum

Bankverein

Stei

n enb

achg

ässl

ein

Eise

ng

asse

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Theater

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1 The Carnival Fountain, mostly referred to as Tinguely Fountain, is an homage to the Basel Carnival and was inaugurated in 1977. It was also intended as a gesture of conciliation towards the Basel public, who had opposed the demolition of the old theatre, whose stage had been located at that spot. For this reason the fountain figures were constructed from parts of the demolished theatre. They appear particularly impressive in winter, when the frozen spray covers them in sculptures of ice. (Theaterplatz)

2 Intersection by American artist Richard Serra enters into an elective affinity with Basel. There is a vague correspondence between these huge steel sails and the gable of the theatre. The work was originally placed here in 1992 as a temporary contribution to an exhibition. A private initiative then presented it to the public. The sculpture has been on Theaterplatz ever since, enabling anyone with an interest to enter it, corresponding to the artist's original idea. (Theaterplatz)

3 One could think that the Large Moon Ladder by local artist René Küng, from Allschwil, would have a hard time asserting its presence between Richard Serra’s sculpture and the theatre’s rising roof. Yet it certainly occupies its own space, while its curves, many of which con sist of branches, delineate a pathway to the sky: an archaic sign in front of a band of digital lettering running horizon tally behind it and briefly announcing the daily programme at the opera house and the theatre. (Theaterplatz)

4 There are no windows in the wall opposite the neo-gothic Elisabethen- kirche. This back wall of the Kunsthalle Basel proffers space for large artistic interventions. At yearly intervals, local and international artists take up the challenge offered by this platform and thus throw up a bridge from the exhibition venue to the public domain. Here we see its highly diverse functions come together: an area to be crossed, a public transportation traffic, a place for resting in, and not least, a site for art. (Back wall of the Kunsthalle Basel)

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Carnival Fountain

Intersection

Large Moon Ladder

Temporary installations

Striking Signs at the Heart of Basel

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5 Heuwaage is where a number of streets converge and depart in all directions. Lieudit by the Basel artist Michael Grossert is a strikingly colourful sign that creates a very special place. Here, painting and sculpture, tectonics and organic shapes form an alliance. In 1976 this was something very new, indeed pro vocative for Basel: only a few weeks after it had been unveiled, the work was vanda lised, so friends of the artist’s got together and painted the opulent form anew.(Heuwaage)

6 Catching sight of art is not just the prerogative of car-drivers circling

the old city centre on the viaduct. Paul Suter’s large, three-part metal sculpture, Untitled, also makes an impact from down below, as it leans, daringly large, over the balustrade, taking up the dynamism of the motorised traffic and outlining other traffic lanes in the air. (Heuwaage, Viaduct)

7 One would really have to shun gravity and walk on the ceiling, as only then would the pedestrian-crossing stripes in the passage between Theaterstrasse and Birsig-Parkplatz be in the right place and the posters left and right of it at the right height. Look-Listen-Go ("Luege, Lose, Laufe") – these are the instructions given to children for crossing the street in Switzer land. This artistic intervention questions the direction things are read in while also reversing above and below. (Passage Theaterstrasse /Birsig-Parkplatz)

8 Not only in Basel do shady alleyways provide scope for murals, especially

the ones not officially commissioned. Steinenbachgässlein has already seen a number of such unauthorised graffiti. The artists Copa & Sordes took advantage of this circumstance. Their ironic citation of Baroque reliefs is called Frieze (Empty Aesthetic) and uses motifs borrowed from youth and street culture. Thus the back wall of the Berufsfachschule (full-time vocational school) is washable and still makes contact with the unpredictable creative drive that may be lurking in its surroundings. (Steinenbachgässlein)

Lieudit

Untitled

Look-Listen-Go

Frieze (Empty Aesthetic)

9Playful Reversal

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9 High on a plinth at the top of the steps up to Kohlenberg, George the Knight sits on horseback, naked, upright and relaxed. Although not even life-size, the silhouette of the elegant bronze figure by Carl Burckhardt is still striking from a distance. The S-shaped body of

the dragon corresponds to the horse’s three arched legs. All the bodies are elongated, which gives the work a certain lightness. (The steps at Kohlenberg)

10 "That’s him to a T" you might say, were he still walking the streets of Basel: Dr. Rudolf Riggenbach (1882 –1961) was a lover of the arts, a researcher and a publicist, as well as a regular at the nearby "Braunen Mutz" on Barfüsserplatz. The stocky man with his coat usually hanging open, and his cigar lit, was official curator of monu- ments for Canton Basel-Stadt from 1932 to 1952. Peter Moilliet raised a monument to him – in the hope that this original character might continue to stand up for the cultural heritage of Basel. (Leonhardskirchplatz)

11 Since when do emergency lights cast black Soot-Shadows, and how

come there are traces of fire on the large lintel at the exit of the fire station, of all places? Art often has some tricky claims at the ready, and once you have discovered Guido Nussbaum’s devious drawing, you are not likely to forget the signs he has placed high above your field of vision. (Kornhausgasse 18)

12 ARION, OMAR, SCHWARZER TEUFEL, SILBERPFEIL: resonant names guide pedestrians across The Rosshof-Courtyard, the site of a former livery yard or stable. The horses Hannes Vogel summons into the arena are from the world of literature. Here their names are written in capital letters on marble bands forming con cen tric arcs between the old re siden tial and the new university buildings. Protagonists from works by Nikolai Gogol, Tania Blixen, Henry Miller or Karl May, they con jure up temporal, cultural and linguistic spaces far beyond this particular district. (Rosshof, Auf der Lyss)

Dr. Rudolf Riggenbach

Soot-Shadows

11Monuments tell Stories

The Rosshof-Courtyard

George the Knight 9

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13 For more than 40 years, the Basel sculptor and painter Alexander Zschokke participated in compe titions organised by the Kunstkredit. His truly noble view of humankind is visibly influenced by ancient classical models and by the sacred sculpture of the Middle Ages. It was predestined, therefore, for the new university building on Petersgraben: the larger-than-life stone work Teacher and Pupil (1941) expresses humi lity, discipline and a dignified willingness to accept the legacy of the sciences. (Main building of the University of Basel, Petersplatz 1)

14 The Amazon leading a horse is another work by Carl Burckhardt (cf. no. 9). The striding Amazon created between 1921 and 1923 is the artist’s last work. If it is inspected closely, traces can be found of the work on the plaster model, which was only cast in bronze in 1926, after Burckhardt’s death. In addition to the sculptures already mentioned, Basel has another two by this artist. (Schifflände)

15 It is certainly conceivable, and Basel even has an image for it: the

steadfast symbol of the Swiss Nation takes to the road. Bettina Eichin has taken Helvetia and placed her on the projection of a wall on the Kleinbasel side of the Rhine. Helvetia on the Journey has set down her suitcase and shield in the middle of town so as to gaze pensively downstream. This pose, both restful and melancholic, contains a criticism of the heroic self-image of the nation state – and an image of woman on which opinions still differ. (Terrace on the Kleinbasel side of the Mittlere Brücke)

16 Gänseliesl (Goose Girl) by the Basel artist Samuel Buri, located along the steep path called the Rheinsprung, is a work in progress: the artist has left his black-and-white model and his tools on the narrow plank of the scaffold. What ever the weather, the scaffolding rods cast their shadow on the wall and speak merrily of the miracle of painting. The painting opens up the wall, like a window, and gathers the past into the present, capti vat ing us through the illusion it so candidly represents. (Rheinsprung 7)

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Teacher and Pupil

Helvetia on the Journey

Amazon leading a horse

Gänseliesl

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Cultures on the Move

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An accessway to the State Archives in a state of becoming

Marktplatz-Fountain for Basel, e.g. Nov. 1 1986, 00.19 am

The Three Ages of Life

17 The City Archives necessarily involve the process of becoming, especially as archives have changed from being static historical- anti quarian institutions to being public agencies relevant to the present. The artwork An accessway to the State Archives in a state of becoming aims to acknowledge this self-image by confronting the historistic archive building with a contemporary idiom. Thanks to Rémy Zaugg, everything belonging to the building, the land- scape, the city, the body or the universe, is "becoming". (Staats- archiv Basel-Stadt, Martinsgasse 2)

18 This opulent vegetable and flower stall was initially intended for the Marktplatz. And the Marktplatz fountain for Basel was originally a work commissioned by the Sandoz company. The fire catastrophe of 1 November 1986 in Basel, however, put an end to that. The artist Bettina Eichin then made a new design in which she referred to the accident, whereupon the company withdrew. In the meantime the work was enriched by Johann Peter Hebel’s poem "Die Vergänglich-keit" and it took years until the work – which is an homage to life’s profileration and at the same time a memento of death – found its final location in the little Cloister. (Cloister of Basel Cathedral)

19 Water sprays in fine jets from the edge into the centre of the large

basin and spills over the lower rim of the bronze cylinder – the fountain re calls the Rhine, which can be crossed from here in no time at all. Pushing their way along in a dubious parade are goats, children, masks, cyclists, bathers and dogs. All year long they recall the Basel carnival, spewing water from their mouths, eyes and noses as they do so. Above all this rag, The Three Ages of Life represent the seriousness of life – and the artist’s expectation of his sculpture. (St. Alban-Graben / Dufourstrasse)

20 Basel and Picasso – an unusual liaison. Thanks to a referendum held

in 1967, two of the artist’s key paintings, Les deux frères (1906) and Arlequin assis (1923), are part of the public art collection. The "Yes" given to the public loan motivated Picasso himself to donate another four works. Reason enough to call the square behind the Kunstmuseum after that master of modernism. His Man with spread Arms is an enlarged, weatherresistant version of an original work dated 1962. (Picassoplatz)

Man with spread Arms

Culture of Commemoration

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17Kulturen des Aufbruchs.

Italian Garden

44’ Hammering Man

Fountain with Crow

Billsticker

Our Image of Man is our Image of the World

21 Is it a garden? A square? Some interim space? A fragment of a southern landscape which found its way to Basel? The trees could be sculptures, and the ground cover with the integrated lights could be an image of the sky. And in that sky, the new offices built between 1990 and 1993 by the architects Diener & Diener look like a boat on un dulating waves. Luciano Fabro lets the raw material in his Italian Garden have its say; the design of this space seeks its model in the phenomena of nature, but also in the Italian pergola. (Dufourstrasse / Brunn-gässlein)

22 Jonathan Borofsky’s 44’ Hammering Man is an outsized image of the frenzy of activity in our world. The huge black giant, seen mainly in silhouette, manages three to four slow-motion hammer blows per minute. He developed from a drawing to a monumental outdoor sculpture made of Corten steel and aluminium. This full-time worker has brothers: one stands in front of the grounds of the fair in Frankfurt am Main, and using this same symbol Borofsky has also left his mark on other centres of economic activity like Seattle, Seoul and Washington. (Aeschenplatz 6)

23 The transformer house, the square in front of it, the tram stop simply would not be the same without that black crow on the acorn at the top of the fountain shaft, keeping watch over the pipe and the trough. With wings half spread, it observes everyone who drinks or washes their hands here. And it is in good company: the Kunstkredit, a cantonal promotional agency, together with the Water Suppliers have been deco rating Basel’s fountains with likeable animal figures for decades. (Aeschenplatz; corner of Aeschenvorstadt / Aeschengraben)

24 Once again, albeit on a smaller scale, a work on Aeschenplatz points

to the significance of work. Paul Wilde has placed a Billsticker on the advertising pillar. After all, how would the interested citizen know what was going on in the worlds of politics, art and culture, if that minor employee did not update the posters regularly? He himself seems to know the answer, and, with his large brush in his hand, strides along proudly, an identification figure for the working class. (Aeschenplatz; corner of Aeschenvorstadt / Aeschengraben)

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Many of the works in the public domain in Basel are the fruit of competitions organised and publicly funded by Kunstkredit Basel-Stadt and are the property of the canton. Private initiatives and companies have also enabled donations to be made that constitute further striking signs throughout the city.

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Landler / Polka

At first sight, the circular fences don’t look like artistic interventions, or do they? Landler / Polka revolve around wilderness and exclusion. Erik Steinbrecher protects a stand of trees that screen the park from the heavy traffic on Nauenstrasse. However, whereas a fence usually separates one’s own piece of tended ground from the uncontrolled wilderness of the neighbouring area, here the fence around a small rise with wild shrubbery and grass keeps out the well-mowed lawn. (Elisabethenpark)

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Keep out?

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