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Arc de 124,5°

Arc de 124,5° is an outdoor sculpture in Corten steel by French sculptor Bernar Venet. It stands in Berlin-Schöneberg on the planted central reservation of An der Urania, opposite the Urania science center. The title refers to the 124.5-degree section of the circle that forms the arc. The work was inaugurated on 2 July 1987 by French Prime Minister Jacques Chirac as France’s gift for Berlin’s 750th anniversary, with Air France helping finance transport. The sculpture has suffered vandalism and neglect over the years, and its location has been criticized as visually problematic. In 2018, the Berlin Mathematical Society named it Mathematical Place of the Month. Venet later created a similar version, Arc de 115,5°, installed in Nice in 1988.

Bernar Venet’s Arc de 124,5° sculpture rising over a grassy area with bare trees and city buildings in the background.
Bernar Venet’s Arc de 124,5° curves above a grassy area in Berlin, framed by bare trees and distant buildings.
April 2008 © Axel Mauruszat · Attribution
The Arc de 124,5° sculpture rises against a blue sky with clouds in Berlin.
Bernard Venet’s Arc de 124,5° sculpture in Berlin, shown against a bright sky and surrounding greenery.
2012 © · CC BY-SA 3.0
Arc de 124,5° sculpture seen from below against a partly cloudy blue sky, with bare branches framing the upper right.
Arc de 124,5° by Bernar Venet seen from a low angle against the sky, with bare branches in the foreground.
April 2008 © Axel Mauruszat · Attribution
Metal plaque for Bernar Venet’s Arc de 124,5° set into a weathered concrete base in the grass.
A metal plaque identifying Bernar Venet’s Arc de 124,5° is set into a weathered concrete base surrounded by grass.
April 2008 © Axel Mauruszat · Attribution
Dark grey memorial plaque for Arc de 124,5° with French and German text.
Memorial plaque for Bernard Venet’s Arc de 124,5° in Berlin-Schöneberg.
September 2010 © · CC BY-SA 3.0

Identification

TitleArc de 124,5°
Typeoutdoor sculpture

Historical context

Artist's activity periodFrom 1971, Venet had almost completely ceased his varied artistic activities for more than five years, focusing mainly on mathematical problems and art-theoretical questions
Formal basisConstructed on the basis of circular-arc fragments and ring forms
Series/contextOne of Venet's circular-arc sculptures
Type of workMonumental steel sculpture
Date of creationfrom the early 1980s

Creator

TeachingHe taught art and art theory at the Sorbonne
Artist nationalityFrench
ArtistBernar Venet

Discovery and provenance

Gift statusA gift from France to Berlin for the city's 750th anniversary
Transport fundingAir France contributed to financing the transport with a donation
Inauguration date2 July 1987
Inaugurated byFrench Prime Minister Jacques Chirac

Physical characteristics

Height19 m

Materials

Base materialConcrete
MaterialCorten steel, lacquered black

Location and ownership

Installation siteoutdoor public space on a green median strip
Placement exceptionPlaced parallel to a heavily trafficked road and hidden behind tall trees
LocationBerlin-Schöneberg, on the landscaped median strip of the street An der Urania, opposite the Urania Science Center

History and restoration

ConditionRepeatedly damaged by paint graffiti and later in a generally dilapidated state
VisibilityOften visible only in the winter months because of plane trees planted on both sides of it
Protest historyIn 2019, artists and the French Embassy protested against the sculpture's neglect; citizens and environmental organizations protested against the felling of 8 plane trees

Significance

RecognitionNamed Mathematical Place of the Month for August 2018 by the Berlin Mathematical Society
Press opinionDer Tagesspiegel described the location as a 'pure makeshift solution', said its longitudinal position along the road was a 'visual catastrophe', and called it a sad case for public art

Other

Title meaningThe title indicates how many degrees of the full circle are represented by the arc segment
Related workArc de 115,5°, a very similar second version by Venet installed in 1988 in Jardin Albert 1er, Nice