The George Cup Research Center New York - Hannover

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Reconstructing Squareround # 15, 1975 / 2012

at Brunswick Foundation Cultural Heritage


George Cup, sketch Squareround # 15, Art in Amerika, 1976

Fatal Accident at Wahington Monument, Washington Post, 1987

In 1975, the design of a large-scale sculpture of american minimal-art duo George Cup & Steve Elliott at the Washington Monument has been implemented. The minimalist steel sculpture Square Round # 15 has been set up within sight of the obelisk at the corner of Constitution Avenue and 16th Street at the entrance to the Washington Monument.

Only twelve years Square Round # 15 coined the public space at the entrance area of the Obelisk. A truck accident in 1987 caused enormous damage to the sculpture. Square Round # 15 has been disassembled for restoration, reestablishment however has no longer taken place. During the preparations of the first retrospectiv in Germany, George Cup visited Germany for the first time since the emigration of his family to the United States in the 1930s. Stops of his trip was among other places Braunschweig, triggered by a walk on the wall of the local Lion Obelisk memories of Sculpture Square Round # 15. In the tension between tradition and innovation developed Cup before his death in August 2008 plans for a contemporary variation of this sculpture with night lighting.

The George Cup Research Center has developed the plans for competition in the garden of the Villa Gerloff'schen in Braunschweig and submitted. 15 artists were invited to the competition. Besides the work Wild Cube by Lois Weinberger were a total of 5 positions selected to be implemented in the next 3 years.

Against the background of current contemporary art production, minimalist design language gets to new relevance. Reconstructing Square Round # 15 is representative of George Cup & Steve Elliott's cutting-edge work that had to be newly re-discovered by the late rehabilitation Cup. The implementation of Square Round # 15 will take place in 2013.