Cologne, Germany. At the museum next to the Cologne Cathedral, seeing artworks from the 1900s and think back to the 1960s, when pop art flourished.
Museum of Modern Art in Cologne, Germany. Although it started as a private collection, it is now managed by the city of Cologne. The location is next to the Cologne Cathedral in front of Cologne Central Station, and the Rhine River flows to the east. Cologne Cathedral is the world’s largest Gothic church, at approximately 160 meters high. It is like looking up from the bottom of a building.
The museum is from the 1st basement floor to the 3rd floor. There are artworks on areas other than the ground floor. The 1st basement floor is for special exhibition, and the first and second floors are for collections owned by this museum.
As entering the ground floor, there are stairs on the left that go to the 1st floor. On the right there is a space that goes semi-underground. When going all the way to the back, there are stairs that go up to the 2nd floor. When going up the stairs from the left at ground floor and go all the way to the back, see some sort of stairs. So I wondered what they were, but turned out to be intricately connected. It meets the requirements of a good museum.
The collection includes artworks from 1900 onwards. There are no old artworks such as medieval works of art. One of the characteristics of this museum is its abundance of pop art. When I visited for the second time, an exhibition room right next to the first floor by stairs from the ground floor, and there are artworks in three rooms. Many museums have limited exhibitions of pop art. Therefore this is a valuable museum for people who like pop art.
The richness of the collection is worth mentioning, as there were traveling exhibition in Japan. Building and display methods are average. If I point out a distinctive feature, it would be that artworks are in spaces hidden behind pillars here and there. On my first visit, there was a video work placed in this small space, and it remains in my memory as an interesting work. If you have time, please take a look at every corner of the space.
Lastly, I would like to write about the unique coin lockers of this museum. When buying a ticket at the reception desk, those with luggage receive a card and asked to put luggage in a locker. The lockers along the lobby wall are vertical. Put your luggage in and check how to lock it. There is no place to insert a card, no place to put coins, and no lock.
Check the instructions written on the back of the door and watch the movements of the people around. This locking method is unique. There is a cylindrical protrusion in the center of the door, and insert a card into this protrusion and push it in. When pushed it in, I heard a click and the door close. To open the door, place the card on top of the protrusion and push it in lightly, and it will pop out to unlock the door. It was interesting to see how it works.
Visits in 2013 and 2023.
Basic Information
■ Name : Ludwig Museum
■ Address : Heinrich-Böll-Platz, 50667 Köln, Germany
■ Homepage : https://www.museum-ludwig.de/en.html
■ Major artists on display at the time of visit in 2023
Andy Andy Warhol, Liechtenstein, Mark Rosko, Yves Klein, On Kawara, Yayoi Kusama, Jasper Jones, Hockney, Picasso, Giorgio de Chirico, Milo, Cy Twombly.
■ Others
Please be aware that the area around Cologne Central Station does not have a safe atmosphere. Especially inside the central station, I encountered situations where people pretended to be kind and asked for money when purchasing tickets at ticket vending machines. Beggars approached me several times.
Also, at the end of the year when I visited in 2023, there were many police officers and security guards around the station and Cologne Cathedral. I guess this was due to the “Cologne New Year’s Eve mass sexual assault incident” that occurred on New Year’s Eve in 2015 and the immigration policies in place at the time.
