Monheim Cube – Mischa Kuball
The “monheim_cube” consists of a floor plan shaped by illuminated tubes embedded in the ground and a three-dimensional, walkable illuminated cube. This cube is located in the city center on the shopping boulevard linking Monheim bus station and Eierplatz square. The light installation can be walked on and reacts interactively to the movements of passers-by. The play of light is complemented by a sound installation that can only be heard inside the cube thanks to special audio technology. The intensity of the light and volume of the recorded sound compositions intensify the closer one gets to the work of art.
Reflecting the central cube, three luminous fragments of the cube are located at various entrance and exit roads of the Monheim Mitte district, thus extending the artwork into the entire urban space. Further fragments of the cube can be found at the following sites:
Segment A: Berliner Ring
Segment B: Opladener Strasse
Segment C: Krischerstrasse
The “monheim_cube” is also used by the Monheim Triennial for festival artists to enable them to play site-specific music or for performances.
Notice for visits
The cube and the three segments are currently being revised, since there have been problems with moisture penetration and the installed LEDs. The integrated sound system also needs to be optimized. The city expects the repair to take a few weeks. After that, the cube and the three segments will return to their respective locations.
Experiencing the cube
Due to the changing pieces of music and the changing light situation that depend on the weather, time of day and seasons, the “monheim_cube” can be experienced time and again in ever-changing ways, thereby also changing the space in which people move together in the city. In this way, Kuball uses simple geometric forms and sparse means to create a complex, sensual experience that can be experienced individually while sharing it with others.
In addition, three additional light segments, located at sites slightly outside the center, complement the cube. United, these segments once again form the shape of a cube; individually, these luminous fragments that are spread across key traffic axes make reference to the work of art in the city center, thus creating an artistic connection between the periphery and center of Monheim.
About the artist
Mischa Kuball was born in Düsseldorf in 1959, and works of art by him have figured in public spaces since 1977. The following exhibitions are particularly noteworthy:
1995 Projections/Reflections; Kunst-Station Sankt Peter, Cologne
2008 Re:Mix/ Broca II (Letters/Numbers), Experimental Art Foundation, Adelaide, Australia
2008 Private Light for the Ráday Utca, Goethe Institut Budapest, Budapest, Hungary
2010 Mischa Kuball: New Pott – Neue Heimat Im Revier, Lehmbruck Museum, Duisburg
2014 Mischa Kuball – Les Fleurs Du Mal (Blumen Für Marl), Skulpturenmuseum Glaskasten Marl
2017/2019 res·o·nant, Jewish Museum Berlin
2021/22 Referenzräume, Museum Morsbroich, Leverkusen and Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg