Polarities and Forming the Center

In both anthroposophy and Rudolf Steiner’s art and architecture, polarities and their connection through a middle realm play a key role. This applies, for example, to the polarity of spirit and matter and their interplay within the human soul as well as in nature. But it also applies to the structure of the human body, with its spherically shaped skull, radially formed limbs, and rhythmically articulated spine and rib cage.
In an enigmatic way, these polarities also shape the design motifs for the first and second Goetheanums, as well as their centerpiece and heart—the wooden statue of the Representative of Humanity between Lucifer and Ahriman. In a more abstract form, they are also expressed in the sculptural motifs above the windows of the first Goetheanum and in the overall form of the second Goetheanum.
What is the secret behind this building motif, and why was it so important to Rudolf Steiner that he wanted visitors to be able to experience it with their senses? We will explore this question through modelling and Visual Art Section November Conference movement exercises, as well as stimulating presentations. The comparison between the embryonic development of the human form, which the participants will explore through modeling exercises, and the building motif of the Goetheanum will be a central focus.
We also wish to use this opportunity to prepare for the upcoming centennial of the opening of the second Goetheanum in 1928 and to explore the relevance of its building-impuls today. Through the central theme of the Goetheanum, linking opposites and finding the power of the middle, Rudolf Steiner made visible an essential capacity for the future, one that we wish to strengthen together.

Yaike Dunselman, Lucie Gmünder, Christiane Haid, Angèle Ruchti, Ulrikke Stokholm und Pieter van der Ree