Deutsche Zentral-Genossenschaftsbank, Platz der Republik, Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany
Steel, polymer concrete, fiber reinforced plastic; painted with polyester gelcoat
39 ft. x 27 ft. 9 in. x 12 ft. 8 in. (11.9 x 8.5 x 3.9 m)
Commissioned March 1993 by the Deutsche Genossenschaftsbank, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Installed June 14-15, 1994
Inaugurated June 21, 1994
Statement by the Artists
The Inverted Collar and Tie was our first large-scale project to be fabricated as a complex "soft" object, a departure
from the processes of cutting, forming, or welding metal that we had been using so far. Since we wanted to
translate our concept directly, avoiding traditional foundry-casting, we sought out a technique in which lasercut
profiles of foam were enlarged from our model, fastened on top of one another, faired to the exact form, and
coated with resin.
The site of the sculpture, in Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany, a cosmopolitan center for business, was in front of a skyscraper. The subject of a tie seemed to fit, for its vertical ends could flow upward, counter to gravity, in soft mimicry of the rigid giant behind it. At the same time, we could assert a nonconformist attitude by having the sculpture appear to be sliding off its pedestal into the street. Moreover, as a traditional part of office attire, its loosening could signify the relief felt by employees at the end of the workday.
The model of the Inverted Collar and Tie was created in our New York studio, which has a vista of the Woolworth Building, once the tallest skyscraper in the world. The green "lining" of the tie, triangular in form, was inspired by the distinctive green pyramidal roof of the Woolworth. In its way, the sculpture is an homage to the skyscraper, exported to a rival metropolis.
