Situation Kunst (for Max Imdahl)/Museum unter Tage

Archaic works of art from Africa and Asia meet impressive spatial installations by contemporary artists. A spectacular underground museum building, unique in the Ruhr area, shows thematic exhibitions with exciting cross-connections: The Situation Kunst in the beautiful castle park in Bochum-Weitmar is always worth a visit.

Visitors from outside the city are often left speechless when they discover the wonderful museum ensemble in the south of the Ruhr area city. It was founded in 1990. At that time, Alexander von Berswordt-Wallrabe expanded the art collection of the Ruhr University Bochum with a donation dedicated to art professor Max Imdahl through the ensemble Situation Kunst (for Max Imdahl) in the Weitmar district, which was designed as a permanent exhibition.

ART AND ARCHITECTURE
The concept of art that the art historian Max Imdahl (1925 - 1988) represented in his teachings was of central importance for the creation of the Situation Kunst. The entire complex is designed in such a way that art, architecture and nature relate to one another in a dialog. This is expressed, for example, in Richard Serra's steel sculptures in open wall ruins or in Lee Ufan's boulders next to the main exhibition building.

The Richard Serra Room or David Rabinowitch's installation in the permanent exhibition, reminiscent of cathedral architecture, are just as much a must-see as the changing exhibitions in the architectural gem Museum unter Tage (MuT), which was added in 2015.

After only one year of construction, the underground museum was completed as the final extension of the Situation Kunst, just in time for the 50th anniversary of the Ruhr University Bochum. It is completely "underground" and can only be recognized and accessed in the park by two charcoal-colored cubes.

LANDSCAPES UNDER THE EARTH
The permanent exhibition at MuT, covering over 1.000 m² and entitled "World Views", shows positions in landscape art from the 15th century to the present day. The works of art on display range from classic oil paintings to room-filling video-sound installations.


Tip: Weitmar Castle Park is also a sculpture park. While strolling here, you can discover not only the aforementioned works by Richard Serra and Lee Ufan, but also works by François Morellet, Erich Reusch and Giuseppe Spagnulo.