Surprise! A Libeskind monument in Como: Life Electric!

Did you know that the Lario doesn’t look the same anymore?

Its appearance has changed since a Libeskind monument has been placed in Como: the work of art is Life Electric! While you are discovering the town, your itinerary should include a walk at Villa Olmo and a visit to the Como Cathedral. You will certainly be surprised by the huge visual impact of Libeskind creation, the new jewelry of Lake Como.

Libeskind, in Como once more.

2015, October the 2nd. We are on the terminal platform of the outer dam, in the first basin of the Lake Como, in front of Piazza Cavour and the whole town. The wait is over. The moment of the unveiling ceremony has come, one can see the excitement in people’s eyes and notice a few puzzled glances. The world-renowned architect Daniel Libeskind pays tribute to the beloved town and its inhabitants with a creation of his genius, his (now our) Life Electric.

Born in ’46 in a Polish town, the early childhood of the artist is already hallmarked by sad and atrocious stories, the ones of those who escaped the Holocaust. A spot  that will also imprint his art, especially in great projects of historic significance such as the Ground Zero in New York and the famous Jewish Museum in Berlin. In all his creations, included the above cited, Libeskind uses the space, the matter and the void among forms to create something animated, setting off emotions and memories that are part of human history.

In the late 80s, at the beginning of his unstoppable rise in the world of Art, Libeskind is in Italy, exploring the cultural and architectural treasures of Bel Paese. He is not only attracted by antiquities. During his stay in Como and Milan he is particularly fascinated by the architecture of rationalist Giuseppe Terragni, who designed Novocomum palace and the Casa del Fascio, in Como. In his creations, Libeskind foresees the great capacity to tell the clefts, the traumas, and all the reality of the historical moment that they want to revive. The monument of Libeskind in Como, therefore, has deep and ancient roots, and it represents the strong bond between the artist and the town.

Life Electric: Como and Alessandro Volta in Libeskind’s vision.

“The Life Electric is inspired by the electric tension between two poles of a battery, the great gift from Volta to the humanity.” (D. Libeskind)

The sculpture is very high, about 14 meters, made of 29 tons of pure steel, coated with a special reflective material which, like the waters of the lake, reflects like a fluid the surrounding landscape. The electrical voltage is suggested by the connection between the two large sinusoidal projections, almost touching, bending in large mirror-like arches, playing with light and surfaces reflected among lines, curves and folding of the material. Since it changes with the light, the sculpture never looks the same.

Despite the first uncertainty because of a work that would change forever the traditional view of the lake, the Libeskind’s sculpture in Como, today is seen by many as a new public area, an integral part of the town, an idealist and symbolic connection between Alessandro Volta, the Brunate lighthouse and the Tempio Voltiano. The artist reveals his presence within the area in harmony and respect, void spaces among surfaces of the sculpture lead the glance elsewhere, around and over the work, over the gentle waters of the Lario, in the sky and clouds above, following women, men and children passing by.

How the Libeskind in Como changes in the evening.

Life Electric after sunset. From the pier of Piazza Cavour, but especially along the promenade over the dam leading to the work, you can watch a fantastic show. Besides the kaleidoscopic reflections from the town nightlife, you can enjoy a really beautiful and fanciful play of light on the water surface, at varying frequencies, together with the effect of vaporization of thin and dense water jets. Looking at Life Electric in the evening, you have the feeling of watching a large jewel, suspended like a cloud, over the dark waves of the lake. Did I make you daydream? Yet it’s all true, and just a few minutes away by boat from the Hotel Posta di Moltrasio.

Armando and I will not forget to remind you to visit Libeskind’s monument in Como. We are all waiting for you here!