MA'ALOT

The MA'ALOT by artist Dani Karavan is a large-scale outdoor artwork. Dani Karavan himself describes his expansive work of art, completed in 1986, as an "environment of granite, cast iron, bricks, iron and rails, glass and trees". It not only encompasses the entire Heinrich-Böll-Platz on the north-east side of the cultural building of the Museum Ludwig and the Philharmonie, but also takes in the extended space consisting of the Cologne Cathedral, the main railway station, the Hohenzollern Bridge and the Rheingarten. This is achieved by using the different building materials of the surroundings in the work of art, uniting them and thus placing them in connection and context with each other. 

A closer look at the square reveals subtle references. The circles on Heinrich-Böll-Platz, for example, point to the podium of the Philharmonie concert hall below. Particularly striking is the set of stairs leading from the Rhine to the cathedral and continuing in the tower on the square surface. The stairs are directly related to the Hebrew name of the work of art, which refers to the biblical "Songs of Steps" in Psalms 120 - 134. The steps lead up from the Rhine, over the steps of the tower to the Cologne Cathedral and from there up into the sky. At the same time, a railway track emanates from the tower, forming a parallel to the Hohenzollern Bridge and the railway running there. If you look through the gap in the tower, you can see how the rail runs towards the south tower of Cologne Cathedral, creating a visual axis to the cathedral. A multitude of other elements are integrated into the square, so that one can speak of different meta-levels that interact with and upon each other.

Dani Karavan emphasises that his artwork is open to free interpretation. It is up to the viewer to engage with the work, to bring the strands together and to draw his or her own conclusions.