On the Asthetics of Scrap Metal

Why rust of all things?
Steel sculptures, especially rusty ones, tend to evoke feelings of disgust and rejection in the observer due to the obvious (albeit prejudicial) assumption that they must be made from waste. Quite clearly, however, all that rusts is not waste.
It may be true that rust isn't likely to make us want to touch the object or even approach it too closely, but once we learn to abstract away from our initial negative associations, we are able to appreciate the expressive qualities of rust as a fitting symbol of the passage of time. Obviously, this artistically alluring quality would be lost if the objects were to be flat-coated and painted. To hide the sculptures beneath a neat layer of paint would mean, in effect, to deny their materiality and inherent evanescence. The artists usually refrain from subjecting the large-scale steel sculptures to any alternative methods of surface processing, as the effects could not be appreciated from an appropriately large viewing distance.

Beauty
Rusty steel sculptures certainly can be as beautiful to the observer as, say, nineteenth century art. However, as we all know, beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder, and that makes for a rich variety of tastes. While beauty may no longer be the primary objective of contemporary art, it continues to exist, although not in any prescribed form, but rather in forms determined by the works themselves.
Aesthetic qualities such as the type and degree of beauty attributable to the works, while depending crucially on the artists themselves, are also influeced by other contributing factors such as the material used or even the display venue. Sometimes the inherent beauty of a sculpture is exposed only by its being displayed in isolation in a museum. Depending on the individual intentions of the artists, the works on display at the Stahlpark represent a more or less balanced contraposition of beauty and ugliness, reflecting a more or less pronounced scepticism towards traditional conventions. As a result, the works offer many surprises, so visitors to the gallery should beware that in many cases the basic beauty of the works is distorted by deliberate ugliness.

Stylistic Classification
The prefabricated (?? Halbzeuge) necessitate three-dimensional thinking in simple basic shapes. The result are a reduced 'language of shapes', rigid, concentrated formations and a geometric figurativeness. The material also lends itself to large-scale works. By taking a head-on approach to working around centre axes the artists are able to produce works of grand archaic appeal. On the other hand, steel is also suitable for conceptual and minimalistic art in the tradition of Russian constructivist sculpture and the mutifaceted cubist works. Some of the steel sculptures can be traced stylistically to the various trends of the Sixties, particularly the French "Nouveaux Réalistes", a group of artists who would assemble found objects into large machineries, enriching their works by introducing aspects of everyday aesthetics and kinetics. Names such as Tinguely or Luginbühl come to mind.
The history of iron sculpture goes back over 100 years. Since then artists have been trying to appropriate the material, as it were, to convey their creative ideas.