Space Earth Human (Microcosm)

Space Earth Human (Microcosm)

Weltall Erde Mensch (Space Earth Human), a pair of mosaics on each side of a wall, by Otto Schutzmeister from 1974 in Eisenhüttenstadt, Brandenburg, Germany

This mosaic mural has two sides, Mikrokosmos and Makrokosmos. On the front, Mikrokosmos depicts scientists and celebrates nuclear energy. On the back, Makrokosmos depicts astronauts and celebrates space exploration. Schutzmeister created the mosaics three years after the first nuclear power plant opened in the GDR and the year after the death of Yuri Gagarin, the first person in space. The mosaics are on the grounds of an apartment complex in Eisenhüttenstadt, which was founded in 1950 as the first socialist model city in the GDR. Its name means "Ironworks City," but it was also known as Stalinstadt from 1953 to 1961. Weltall Erde Mensch is the title of the book that East German teens received from 1954 to 1974 for participating in the Jugendweihe ceremony.

Otto Schutzmeister, artist

Martin Maleschka, photographer

Flickr

1974

Photograph: 2020

Copyright Martin Maleschka

Mosaic mural