Manfred Erjautz

Three discarded street lamps are assembled into a sculpture on the wall of a building. At the unusual location of the façade of the Akademisches Gymnasium at Tummelplatz, they look like a "plant of urban origin" (Manfred Erjautz). The lamps are connected to the city's lighting network. In the evening, they illuminate the façade and walkway; during the day, their shadows form a wandering play of light on the high school wall.

The materials come from the city of Graz: a classic 'Bogenpeitschenlampe' (arc whip lamp), a straight, conically tapering pole with an oval luminaire in the geometric style of the 1980s and a traditional city park lantern, whose ornately decorated pole was specially cast for this purpose. The new ensemble breaks the monotonous but necessary standard of street lighting and, especially on a school façade, stands for a lived diversity in public space.

The Akademisches Gymnasium is one of the oldest schools in the German-speaking world. It was built in 1573 as a Jesuit college in the course of the Counter-Reformation and served as a precursor to the University of Graz, which was founded in 1585. The present building on Tummelplatz was erected in 1890 for what was then called the 1st k. u. k. (Imperial and Royal) Staatsgymnasium Graz. Staatsgymnasium Graz. The Akamdemisches Gymnasium uses its name today as an honorary title.